Needle gun

All about needle guns

A needle gun (marking gun, label gun) is a device for marking goods — attaching price tags, labels, labels to them by piercing with plastic connectors. 

This method can be used to mark clothes, textiles, toys, leather goods, shoes (up to the laces), bags, backpacks, pillows, carpets, bouquets of flowers, and other products. Usually, a marking gun is used to mark goods in trade and production: in shops, supermarkets, on production lines of enterprises, factories, on the market. 

The tag contains basic information about the product. There are no requirements for the content of the tag, but it usually includes the name of the product, the name of the manufacturer, serial number, date of manufacture, product barcode, price, size, and sometimes the composition of the fabric or filler. 

There are different types of needle guns: manual and automatic, mechanical and electric, standard, with reinforced needles, with a thin needle for delicate fabrics. Prices for high-quality labeling equipment in Ukraine start at UAH 300.

What is the difference between needle guns?

It may be different in a needle gun: 

• type of fabric that the needle gun can work with

• thickness and length of the needle

• body material

• gun size, weight, cable length

• how to replace the needle

• price

How needle guns work

Plastic label holders are installed in a special hole in the gun. The needle for the needle gun is hollow, with a miniature piston inside. When the trigger is pulled, the gun pushes the plastic connector into the needle cavity. The needle pierces the fabric, and the piston, when the lever is pressed, pushes the holder forward through the fabric. The label holder locks onto the fabric and attaches the label to the product. 

Correctly selected high-quality needle gun 

• quickly and efficiently label goods

• neatly attaches tags from the first puncture

• does not damage the material when piercing

If the needle in a needle gun is clogged or the piercing mechanism is jammed, the reason may be either an incorrectly selected gun or a poor quality model. In most cases, when the gun damaged the product during labeling or the needle itself broke, the reason is the wrong needle thickness and type of gun for the material, so it is important to know how and by what criteria to choose a needle gun?

How to choose the right needle gun?

The most important things to consider when choosing a needle gun:

1.types of materials to which the label will be attached, 
2.frequency of use, 
3.ease of use.

Needle gun and fabric type

For delicate fabrics — silk, satin, lace, synthetic fabrics, cambric, tulle, thin or loose soft polyester, chiffon — evening and wedding dresses, expensive and delicate items, blouses, shirts and other lightweight clothing.

✔️ Fine needle: 1.2–1.3 mm in diameter and 4–8 mm effective length (how deep the needle can pierce the material).

For medium density materials — thin and medium density denim, cotton, polyester, nylon, soft leather up to 10 mm thick, thin fur — soft toys, shoes with tags attached to the laces, bags, backpacks, denim, cotton clothing, pillows made of durable fabric, bedspreads, towels. 

✔️ Standard (medium) needle 1.9–2 mm in diameter, 8–13 mm effective length (usually up to 21 mm total length)

For dense materials and leather products — denim, fur, thin plastic, polyethylene, durable leather, rubber — carpets and dense textiles, toys with dense filling, bags, rubber products, shoes, leather jackets, belts, plastic and rubber accessories and parts.

✔️ Thick needle: 2.1-2.3 mm or more in diameter and 8-21 mm in effective length.

Needle gun and place of use

In shops, supermarkets, tailoring and repair shops, small dry cleaners, markets, thrift stores and second-hand shops, carpet cleaning services, cushion restoration — low-intensity work — you can choose a lightweight plastic needle gun based on the size of the needle, ease of use and the best price.

In the production of soft toys, bags, briefcases, in a textile factory, on a sewing line in an enterprise, in a dry cleaner with an intensive flow of customers — intensive load — in addition to the size of the needle, it is important that the main elements of the needle gun body are durable and wear-resistant, and the price/quality ratio is important.

Ease of use

The needle gun needs to be held in your hands while attaching the tag and operated, so even though the metal body is stronger, in practice it is often more convenient to work with a plastic needle gun because it is lighter and less tiring. 

The size of the gun should be comfortable for the employee's hand — for a small hand, it is better to choose a smaller model so that it is convenient to pull the trigger of the needle gun and aim, because a bad tag attachment can ruin the appearance of the product.

Electric needle guns need to be plugged in, so the length of the cable also affects the convenience of operation. If the cable is too long, it will get tangled and interfere with the work, and if it is too short, it will "tie" the worker to the location of the outlet. Pay attention to where you have the outlet you plan to use to connect the nail gun, and make sure that the nail gun you choose has a sufficient length of power cable. But if you really like a particular model of the needle gun with a short cable, you can fix this shortcoming with a regular extension cord.

You should also pay attention to the compatibility of the needles and plastic connectors for the labels you plan to use — it is always better to buy a needle gun with plastic connectors for it. 

Models of needle guns have different mechanisms for changing the needle — the way the lock is attached, the direction and depth of the needle. Also, some models require special tools for needle replacement. Therefore, it is important to familiarize yourself with the characteristics and instructions of a particular model before changing the needle.

How do I change the needle in a needle gun?

General steps that are most commonly used to change a needle:

1. Turn off the gun — make sure it is not in use and not connected to a power source if it is electric.

2. Find the needle lock — most models have a special mechanical lock to hold the needle in place.

3. Open the lock — usually, you need to turn or push the lock to release the old needle.

4. Remove the old needle — note how the old needle is positioned in the retainer and memorize its position — remove the old needle carefully to avoid injuring yourself or losing it.

5. Insert a new needle — Insert the new needle into the gun in the same position as the old needle.

6. Close the retainer — turn the retainer to securely lock the new needle.

To make sure that the chosen model of the needle gun is right for you, contact Torgsoft specialists, and they will help you choose the equipment and place an order with delivery in Ukraine.