Introduction
Brand apparel manufacturers have been “going global” for several years and those in the U.S. are sourcing more and more of their garments from overseas sewing locations. In response to supply chain demands from the retailers, these manufacturers completely finish their products by affixing the proper tags and labels to their garments. Manufacturers can either order finished tags and labels from a service bureau or print the tags and labels themselves. In-house printing of tags and labels provides maximum flexibility — however, manufacturers often encounter numerous problems transferring data to remote locations. These problems include lack of speed, low accuracy, loss of control, and the hassle of handling a lot of data. One solution to these problems is to use a software application that can handle data files from a manufacturer in any form, transform the data into tag and label batch printing files, and transmit those files to the printing locations.

The Problem
A large apparel manufacturer began to receive requests from its factories to print their own tags and labels. Until recently, the manufacturer relied on a service bureau to print and ship tags and labels to these plants, but neither the manufacturer nor the contractors were satisfied with the service bureau’s performance. Service bureaus usually provide the bulk of tags and labels in plenty of time for use. However, changes in data, increases in production, and incorrect or lost tags and labels slow down the garment finishing operations. As a result, contractors hold garment shipments while they wait for tags and labels to arrive, and then pay extra to expedite the shipments to their destination, which often results in a financial loss for that shipment. In order to keep the supply chain moving during shortening fashion cycles, the manufacturer began looking for an in-plant printing solution for quick tag and label turnaround and maximum flexibility.

Printing tags and labels at contractor locations requires careful control of the data from the manufacturer. Manually entering the data or emailing it to the plant locations is not sufficient. To implement an in-plant printing program, the manufacturer had several factors to consider.

First, the manufacturer recognized that most of its 20 global factories had enough volume to justify buying an in-plant printing system. These factories would need to buy printers and blank stock to run on those printers, requiring a global supplier. Second, the manufacturer had to get the data to those factories quickly, easily, and accurately. The manufacturer had just implemented ordering tags and labels using standard EDI electronic documents. Therefore, any data handling systems would have to use these EDI documents. Finally, the manufacturer wanted to maintain the option of ordering service bureau tags and labels for its smaller factories using the same EDI documents.

The Solution
The apparel manufacturer decided to implement an in-plant printing solution, D2Comm, from Paxar Corporation. The complete solution included:

• Sending EDI850 purchase orders from the manufacturer to Paxar,
• Data transfers to contractor locations via the Internet,
  
• Printing tags and labels with an in-plant printers.
  

Paxar provided the manufacturing locations with software and hardware installation and training, blank tag and label stock and ribbons, format layouts, and technical support to get the contractor locations started and to keep them running successfully. In addition, Paxar arranged to receive the EDI from the manufacturer and deliver service bureau tags and labels to locations that were too small to justify an in-plant system.

“D2Comm as I know it, has revolutionized the way we transfer information to our in-plant print sites. It has cut down lead time from days and weeks, and in some cases to minutes,” said a representative from this apparel manufacturer. “It has provided us with the flexibility and speed we needed along with the reassurance we wanted.”

The In-Plant Printing Business Model
Using this solution, brand apparel manufacturers can allow their manufacturing locations to print their own tags and labels in their plants. In-plant printing has many benefits. First and foremost, there is very little turnaround time for printing make-up tags and labels. Operations do not hold garments to wait for a service-bureau to deliver tags and labels and operations do not want to pay extra to expedite these garments to ensure on-time delivery. Printing in-plant means less worry in managing large volumes of unique tags and labels. Because every garment style needs a unique identification, such as the UPC code, the trim department has to order these from a service bureau, track them as they come in, and manage them on site. The ability to print their own tags and labels when needed eliminates the hassle to manage these tags and labels.

How the Process Works for the Manufacturer
The manufacturer sends an EDI850 purchase order to Paxar. The EDI850 contains the tag and label data including print quantity, provides the PO number for reference, tells which printing location receives the data, and directs what format layout to use. From the EDI, the software translates the data into batch printing files that then places the data into the contractors’ Internet folder. If no contractor is designated, the order goes to a service bureau location that prints the tags and labels using the same roll stock and data as the printing locations.

Contractors log into the D2Comm website with personalized user names and passwords and receive the batch printing data files plus any format layout changes that the manufacturer has approved — automatically. After receiving the data, contractors can open the batch printing files (identified as the PO for the cut they are working on) and print the tags and labels on in-plant printers.

Going to an in-plant system of EDI, software, printers, and blank stock was justified by saving money in the following areas:

• blank tag and label stock is less expensive than the delivered service bureau labels;
• less labor is required to order, maintain, and fix problems with labels;
• overnight delivery service expense for expedited labels will be eliminated;
• expedited shipping expenses for garments awaiting labels will be eliminated;
• less time and labor expense will be required fixing errors from mis-ordered and misapplied tags and labels.
• aesthetically, the tags and labels are produced from the same blank stock, same data layouts, and same data anywhere in the world.

In-plant printing is not for everybody. The trade off is between capital expenditure and flexibility. The contractor location has to spend the money for the printer and train operators. This usually requires a necessary volume of tags printed to justify. Smaller manufacturers can usually get by with service bureau tags and labels they purchase as they need them.