- Center-top hole with 0.25 inch clear is the safe default.
- Measure the garment before you pick a tag size.
- Ground is FREE. Date the packed total on the live hang-tag form.
Download on this page
Answer first: hang tags fail in a warehouse, not in a blog. Punch the hole in the layout before you pick a size. Then open hang tags and read the live packed total. Ground shipping is already FREE inside that print number on CheapFAST.
A Wynwood apparel brand ordered 2,000 hang tags for a drop. Their designer reused a 2x3.5 business-card file. The barb landed on the brand name. They rebuilt with a center-top clear zone, picked a size the hang-tag form sells, and reordered with FREE ground on the print line. That rebuild cost less than explaining a ruined carton to retail partners.
The barb hits a letter. The stock cracks at the punch. The tag is too wide for a baby tee and slaps the customer in the chin. This guide is the hole talk. Download the checklist on this page and mark the clear zone before you export.
Start with the garment, then the hang tag hole
A 2x3.5 tag on a newborn onesie looks like a license plate. A 2x6 bookmark-shaped tag on a jacket disappears. Measure the placket. Then pick a size the hang-tag form actually sells. If the size is gray, it is not for sale.
| Garment | Tag habit | Hole habit |
|---|---|---|
| Baby tee | Smallest live rectangle | Center top, 0.25 inch clear |
| Adult tee | Mid rectangle | Center top unless a fold tag |
| Jacket | Larger live size | Keep the punch off a foil name |
| Hat or small soft good | Smallest enabled size | Confirm the form sells it first |
| Retail multipack | Size that fits the bag neck | Keep barcode away from the punch |
Where the punch actually goes
Center top is the safe default. Offset holes look designed until a plastic barb lands on your phone number. Keep type and QR codes at least a quarter inch from the hole edge, not from the trim. The hole is a second trim.
If you want a fold-over tag, that is a different construction. Do not draw a fold on a flat tag file and write fold please in the notes. Folded cards and hang tags are different URLs. Production punches to product spec. Design as if the hole is already there.
Stock that survives a punch
14 pt and 16 pt card stocks are the usual hang-tag papers when the form enables them. Thin text stock tears at the hole. Soft-touch can scuff a warehouse. UV helps scuffs and fights a pen if you needed a write-in size. If a coating chip is gray, it is not for sale here.
Ground is already inside the CheapFAST print number. A boutique in Utah and a shop in Hialeah show the same FREE ground. We eat the rural box. Honest limit: this guide will not invent a dollar figure the hang-tag form has not painted yet. Open the form and date the packed total the morning you buy.
String, pins, barcodes, and honesty
String and pins are only real if the hang-tag form sells them. We do not hide a barb in the shipping line. If the add is missing, you string them. That is not a surprise fee later. It is a missing option.
Do not upload a business-card PDF and write punch the top in the note. A 2x3.5 card puts the name under the barb on many tag sizes. Rebuild the layout for the tag, or start in Studio from the hang-tag page. Keep barcodes and QR codes out of the clear zone so a warehouse scan still works after the punch.
Quantity math and ship math on hang tags
Open the hang-tag form, set quantity, and read print, FREE ground, and the packed total. Once you have a packed total, divide by quantity for a per-tag budget number. That number is for your cost sheet. It is not a business-card floor and not a flyer floor. Different product, different cell.
Air is the only extra ship dollar after you open 2nd Day or Next Day. Ground does not need the ZIP box. Type a rural ZIP on Ground and the FREE tag should not move.
Scenario: boutique hang tags that tore at the first rack
Take Nina in Wynwood. She ordered cute square tags from a craft PDF that put the hole 1/8 inch from the top edge. On the rack, half the tags tore when customers tugged the string. The art was fine. The hole placement was not. Hang tags need a size the form sells, a hole far enough from the edge for the stock, and bleed that survives the die.
Open the live hang-tag form for the sizes and stocks CheapFAST actually sells. We do not invent a hang-tag dollar on this guide. Match Canva or Illustrator to the chip in inches. Keep logos out of the punch zone. Leave clear space around the hole. Export PDF Print. Then quote the packed total the morning you buy.
Hole placement habits that survive retail handling
| Habit | Do | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Edge distance | Follow the form / template margin | Put the hole on the trim |
| String path | Clear art under the punch | Run a barcode through the hole |
| Stock | Pick a chip that feels like apparel | Assume copy paper is fine |
| Size | Match the product chip | Crop a business card PDF |
| Quantity | Quote real unit count | Guess from a craft-blog pack |
When a business card is not a hang tag
Business cards start from $36.53 with FREE ground as of 2026-09-18, but a punched card is still a card. If the piece must hang on a garment or bottle, use the hang-tag product and template. If the piece only needs a pocket handoff, stay on business cards. Mixing the two in one cart note creates a wrong die and a reprint talk.
String test before you reorder
After the first small run, hang a tag on the real garment or bottle with the real string. Tug once the way a shopper tugs. If the hole tears, move the punch farther from the edge on the next file and re-quote the live hang-tag form. Size, stock, and hole placement are one system. Fixing only the art leaves the tear on the rack.
Can I use a business-card file for hang tags?
Only if the tag size matches 2x3.5 and you still leave a hole safe. Most card files put a logo in the exact place a barb wants. Rebuild for the tag, or start in Studio from the hang-tag page before you upload.
Do you punch after print?
Production punches to the spec of the product. Design as if the hole is already there. Do not draw a decorative ring and assume we will match your ring exactly. Mark a clear zone and keep type out of it.
Is ground free on 2,000 hang tags?
Ground stays FREE on CheapFAST hang tags. Print scales with quantity and stock. Read the live packed total on the hang-tag form the morning you buy. A Miami ZIP and a rural ZIP show the same FREE tag on Ground when you leave air closed.
Round hole or slot?
Use whatever the guide and form describe. Do not request a custom slot in the notes and expect a new die. If the option is missing, it is not for sale here. Call (855) 608-5536 only if you need a custom conversation, not as a substitute for a missing chip.
Where is the hang tag template?
Guideline downloads and Studio use the hang-tag family so the hole lands correctly. Order this art lands in the CheapFAST cart with a product_id, not another shop. Download the hole checklist on this page, then open the matching guideline for the size you billed.
Will a rural ZIP raise my hang tag total?
Not for Ground. We eat rural destination on Ground. Air still prices from the ZIP after you open 2nd Day or Next Day. Leave the ZIP closed unless you clicked air, and re-check the FREE tag after any ship-method change.
Are fold-over hang tags on this form?
Only if the live form sells that construction. Do not draw a fold on a flat file and hope the note field saves it. Folded cards are a different URL. The packed total would be wrong if you force a fold on a flat tag quote.
Why did my barcode fail after punching?
The barcode sat too close to the hole or the trim. Move it below the clear zone, keep quiet space around the bars, and re-export PDF Print before you reorder. Warehouse scans fail when a string hole or trim barb clips the code on the rack.
Related: business cards if you do not need a hole at all, or business card upgrades if the job is really a wallet card.