Patent Application
20060021270
The present invention is related generally to the art of garment labeling, and more particularly to an improved method for replacing original manufacturer brand labels with private labels of garment decorators.
It has been a long-standing and popular practice for companies and other organizations and/or associations to engage the services of screen printers and embroiderers, known in the trade as “garment decorators”, to decorate various articles of clothing, such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc., with company names, logos, and the like. In order to fill such orders, the garment decorator will typically purchase “off-the-shelf” pre-manufactured garments to decorate. However, unless large quantities of garments are ordered, private labels (i.e., labels bearing the decorator's own company name, logo and contact information) will not generally be sewn into the garments being purchased. Thus, for smaller orders, which is quite often the case, the decorator is left with a final product bearing the original manufacturer's brand label, with no reasonable means to advertise its own business.
Currently, the only known method available to decorators who wish to private label smaller quantities of pre-manufactured garments is to cut the original manufacturer's brand label out of the garment (leaving the care instruction label) and sew in their own woven or printed private label. This process is extremely laborious and inefficient; it involves not only removing the original brand label, but also requires costly time, equipment and people skilled enough to sew in a new private label. Since smaller orders for garment decoration are now more often the norm than the exception, there is a distinct need to provide a means by which the decorator can more effectively and economically advertise its business through private labeling. It is with this in mind that I have developed a new and effective way of applying a private label to a garment which does not require such additional time consuming and labor intensive sewing operations.
In accordance with the present invention, an improved method is proposed for private labeling of pre-manufactured garments which requires no minimum garment quantity, and which is less time consuming and labor intensive than previous methods known in the art. Toward this end, it is contemplated that the original manufacturer's brand label be removed from the garment and an adhesive-backed private label be produced and applied to the garment's care instruction label in accordance with the method described herein.
The original sewn-in brand label of the pre-manufactured garment must first be removed. This may be accomplished by either cutting the label from the garment, or alternatively providing the pre-manufactured garment with a brand label having a perforated tear line that allows the label to be torn from the garment. Removal of the original brand label may then be effected simply by grasping the free portion of the label and pulling it to separate it from its sewn-in edge.
The replacement private label, which bears the decorator's private labeling indicia, is preferably constructed of a flexible, yet durable, printable woven fabric, and carries a pressure-sensitive adhesive strip on its rear face along its top edge. The adhesive strip also preferably has a non-stick peel-off backing that may be readily removed to expose the adhesive and simplify application of the private label to the garment. The private label, adhesive strip, and printing ink utilized must be water-resistant and washable. As used herein and throughout the appended claims, the term “washable” is intended to connote that the subject material is capable of withstanding at least about 20-30 home laundering cycles without serious degradation of the integrity of the material.
The remaining care instruction label of the garment, which is also typically sewn into the garment, provides a durable and flat substrate to which the new private label may be secured. Since most care instruction labels of pre-manufactured garments have a non-printed border adjacent their sewn-in edge, this provides an area to which the adhesive strip of the private label may adhere without obstructing the printed care instructions borne on the label. Moreover, most care instruction labels are also of generally uniform width, so the decorator may produce large quantities of standard sized private labels and use the same printed label for multiple job orders.
In order to secure the private label to the care instruction label, the adhesive strip of the private label is positioned over the non-printed border region of the original care instruction label and the non-stick backing material is removed. Then the private label is firmly pressed against the care instruction label, thereby securely bonding the two together and essentially creating a “private label” flap that lays over the top of the care instruction label. Thus, with relative ease, the free end portion of the private label may be lifted away from the care instruction label for easy access and viewing of the garment's care instructions.
This process may be effectively used to private label small quantities of garments, as well as large quantities. It eliminates the cost prohibitive and labor intensive sewing operations required for prior sewn-in private labels, and given the generally standard sizing of care instruction labels, garment decorators may mass produce their private labels and use the same on multiple job orders and for many different garments. This will significantly increase the ability of the garment decorators to advertise their services, which has heretofore been severely restricted.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:
As stated previously, it has become popular practice for companies and other organizations and/or associations to engage the services of after-market garment decorators to decorate various articles of clothing, such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc., with company names, logos, and the like. In connection therewith, the decorators will generally purchase an order of plain pre-manufactured garments, such as that shown in
Although garment decorators have heretofore sought to advertise their decorating services by private labeling their garments, such efforts have normally been limited to large orders where economics warrant the expenditure associated with sewn-in private labels. For smaller quantity orders, however, sewing private labels into a garment has been found to be cost prohibitive, thus leaving the decorator with no effective way of advertising their business. It is with this in mind that I have developed a method for adhesively applying private labels to pre-manufactured garments which requires no minimum garment quantity, and which is less time consuming and labor intensive than affixing sewn-in labels.
As shown in
In accordance with the present invention, as shown in
In order to secure the private label 11 to the garment 1, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 13, which is also water-resistant and capable of withstanding repeated wash cycles (i.e., 20-30 home laundering cycles), is applied to the rear face 15 of the private label 11, as shown in
It will be noted that the thickness of the adhesive strip is actually extremely thin relative to the thickness of label 11, but is shown exaggerated in
In use, it is intended that the original brand label 3 of the pre-manufactured garment 1 be removed. While it is preferred that this step of the process occur first, it is certainly conceivable that the brand label 3 may be removed subsequent to applying the new private label 11. This step of removing the original brand label 3 may be accomplished through a cutting operation using any employable means for cutting the label material. Alternatively, it is further contemplated that the pre-manufactured garment 1 may be produced with a brand label 3 capable of being torn off. In such case, as shown in
While the original manufacturer's brand label 3 is removed, as shown in
As shown best in
In order to secure the private label 11 to the care instruction label 5, any non-stick backing material 17 carried by the adhesive strip 13 must first be removed. Then the private label 11 is positioned over the care instruction label 5, as shown in
The foregoing process may be used to private label small quantities of garments, as well as large quantities. For small orders, the above process can be implemented by hand, but if the quantity of the order warrants, it is contemplated that auto-handling garment equipment (not shown) could be used to implement the process. In any event, the above process eliminates the cost prohibitive and labor intensive sewing operations required for prior sewn-in private labels, and given the generally standard sizing of care instruction labels, garment decorators may now mass produce their private labels and use the same on multiple job orders and for many different garments. This will significantly increase the ability of the garment decorators to advertise their services, which has heretofore been severely restricted.
It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention which comprises the matter shown and described herein and set forth in the appended claims.
