Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Custom tags cover the tag and label jobs that don't fit a standard category. A shape, size, stock or finish that's specific to your product rather than pulled from a template. They're common for apparel and accessories, where a hang tag communicates brand and price alongside care information, but the same custom approach applies to gift tags, retail packaging accents and any product that needs an identifying tag attached with string, a loop or a pin. Because there's no fixed template, the main decisions are size, stock weight and attachment placement. Bring your specifications or a reference sample and we'll match it.
"Custom tags" is really a catch-all for tag and label work that falls outside the standard sizes and shapes catalogued elsewhere. A nonstandard footprint, an unusual die shape, a heavier stock, or a finish that a template wasn't built to accommodate. It's the category to reach for when your project has a specific requirement rather than a generic one.
The most familiar use is apparel. Hang tags carrying a brand name, size, price and care instructions, attached with a string or plastic tag pin so they can be removed easily at checkout. The same construction extends well beyond clothing, though: gift tags for packaged products, retail accent tags for accessories and housewares, and identification tags for anything that needs a piece of information attached without being permanently adhered to the product itself.
Construction options include cardstock weight (heavier stock holds up better to repeated handling on a shelf), stock finish (kraft for a natural, rustic look versus coated stock for sharper color and print detail), and attachment method. A punched hole for string or ribbon, a slot for a plastic tag pin, or a loop built into the die shape itself. Lamination or a protective coating is worth adding if the tag will be handled by multiple people before it reaches its final owner.
Because these are one-off dies and specifications rather than a stock template, it helps to have a clear reference. A sketch, a sample of an existing tag, or a rough size and shape in mind. Before finalizing the design. Custom die shapes also take more setup time than a standard rectangle or circle, so it's worth ordering enough to cover a full production run rather than a small test batch, since reproducing an identical custom shape later means paying for that setup again.
A tag hangs by a single hole and gets knocked against everything around it, so stock choice is about resisting that rather than about appearance. Card below about 300gsm bends at the hole and then tears. Heavy card from 350gsm upward holds its shape. Synthetic and plastic stocks step outside paper entirely for tags that must survive weather, chemicals or years of service.
Why do my tags keep tearing? Almost always the hole rather than the card. An unreinforced hole in light stock is a tear waiting to start. An eyelet fixes it.
Full color on one or both sides covers retail and branding work. What distinguishes this family is how often the tag carries machine-readable or unique content. Barcodes, QR codes, asset numbers, sequential numbering. Those are printed as variable data, so every tag in the run differs, and they need contrast and a quiet zone rather than a decorative treatment.
Can each tag be different? Yes. Numbers, codes and names all print as variable data. Send a spreadsheet and tell us which column maps where.
Lamination is doing structural work on a tag, not just protecting the print. A laminated tag resists the bending and abrasion that comes from hanging loose against other products, and it stops moisture softening the card at the hole. Beyond that, foil and spot UV are available and are worth most on retail swing tags where the tag is part of how the product is judged.
Is lamination worth it on a tag? More than on most products. It is what stops the card softening and bending at the hole, which is where tags fail.
The attachment is the part that fails, so it is specified rather than assumed. A plain punched hole is fine on heavy card for light use. A metal eyelet reinforces the hole and roughly transforms how long the tag survives. Beyond that, the fastening itself (string, elastic loop, plastic barb, ball chain or split ring) is chosen against what it attaches to and how securely it has to hold.
Do I need an eyelet? On anything handled repeatedly or hanging with any weight, yes. It is a small cost against the tag tearing off entirely.
For tags that do not fit the standard categories. An unusual die-cut shape, a specific stock or finish, a fastening chosen for a particular product, or a combination of printed branding and machine-readable data on one piece. The manufacturing is the same; every element is specified against the job rather than pulled from a preset.
Do I need to supply a dieline? No. Describe the shape or send a sketch and we draw it, then show the outline and hole position on your proof before tooling.
Ask for samples before a long run. How a stock behaves at the hole is what decides whether tags survive, and it is invisible on screen.
Structural rather than decorative on a tag. It resists the bending and abrasion of hanging loose against other products, and stops moisture softening the card at the hole where it will eventually tear.
A metal ring reinforcing the punched hole. It is the single most effective thing you can add to a tag, because the hole is where tags fail and an eyelet moves the failure point somewhere else entirely.
Metallic foil or raised gloss on selected elements. On a retail swing tag these earn their cost, because the tag is handled at the moment a purchase decision is being made.
Sequential numbers, barcodes or QR codes printed as variable data so every tag is unique. Essential on asset and parking tags, where a tag that cannot be tied to one item does nothing.
Same family, genuinely different jobs. Your current selection is highlighted.
| Tag | From | Build | Order it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swing Tags | $170 | Card, string or barb fastening | It hangs on a product for sale |
| Asset Tags | $175 | Synthetic, numbered or barcoded | It identifies equipment for years |
| Parking Tags | $170 | Mirror hang, color coded | Checked through glass at a glance |
| Custom Tags | $175 | Your shape, stock and fastening | No standard tag fits the job |
No. Describe the shape or send a sketch and we draw the dieline, then show the outline and the hole position on your proof before any tooling is cut. If you have one from a previous supplier we will check it.
Yes, and it is a common combination. Keep the barcode in a plain light area with a clear quiet zone around it. The usual mistake is running artwork or a metallic finish under a code that then will not scan.
Tell us what it attaches to and whether removal should be easy or difficult. Those two answers narrow it quickly. String for presentation, barbs for security and speed, ball chain and split rings for tools and keys.
Usually. Send a physical sample. Stock, laminate, eyelet size and fastening are all far easier to identify in the hand than from a description, and matching the construction matters more than the artwork.
Pricing for custom tags starts at $175 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of custom tags prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a digital proof showing the outline, the hole or eyelet position and, on variable-data jobs, sample records from your list. Barcodes are checked at final size rather than trusted to scale. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Yes. Your shape, stock and fastening is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: your shape, stock and fastening. Order it when no standard tag fits the job. If you have seen it called custom tags printing elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on custom tags it is worth asking for one, because the difference between card and heavy card is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on heavy card, but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are lamination, eyelets, foil and spot uv. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: custom tags are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. Where the job used custom tooling, that tooling is reused, which is why a shaped run costs less the second time. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
