We get this question all the time, and honestly, it's a fair one. There are three brands of tags, a handful of sizes, two ways we put your design on, and more colors than a sale barn on a Saturday.
This page walks through all of it in plain English. Ten minutes from now you'll know exactly what to order.
Pick the closest one. We'll tell you what we'd order if it were our animals.
Herd tags have to survive years of brush, feed bunks and weather. Engraving is cut into the tag, so it lasts. The choice is really about budget and look.
If it needs to pop in photos, match your show colors or put your logo in front of buyers, UV printing is the way. Taking a string to a big sale? Full-color sale tags carry your logo and each animal's lot number. If you want the tag to stay in the ear long after the show, pick engraved instead.
Cattle tags are too big for little ears. These are livestock tags sized for small stock.
A lot of ranch dogs wear one. They ship with a collar ring already attached.
Keychains for show buyers, business keychains with your logo, bag tags, and announcement tags. Here are a few favorites.
This is the biggest decision, and it comes down to one question: is this tag going to live in an ear for years, or is it for a show season?
The laser cuts your design into the tag itself. Nothing to fade, peel or rub off. This is what we put on our own cows.
Your design is printed onto the tag in full color. Backgrounds, logos with several colors, the works. These are the head-turners in the show ring.
All three are real livestock tags, the same ones you'd find at the feed store. The difference is the plastic, the shapes, and how we can decorate them.
A tough, thick tag with crisp engraving. Black or white engraving only, and the tag color decides which one you get (black tags get white, white tags get black, brown tags get white).
The only tag we can do both ways. Engraved, it's our lowest-priced herd tag. It runs on our fastest laser with no cleanup, so it costs less without giving anything up. UV printed, it's our full-color show tag.
The name a lot of folks already have in the barn. A good fit for small stock, dog tags and keychains. We engrave these with a light black marking.
Go by the animal, not the tag. Large is for grown cattle, medium and small are for calves, and the smallest tags are for goats, sheep, pigs and dogs.
Tags are shown to scale with each other.
Each brand comes in its own set of colors. The small letters on each swatch show the engraving color you'll get, so there are no surprises when the tag shows up.
Ritchey engraving is black or white only, and the tag color decides which. Dark tags get white engraving, light tags get black. Red/Black is retired, so you may still see it on a listing or two until it’s gone.
Engraved MCT tags get a light black marking on every color. Black MCT tags are UV printed only. Want colored numbers? Pick an inverted option (+$1). We engrave around your lettering so it stays the tag color. Engraving can't add any other colors. For full color, go with UV printed.
AllFlex tags are engraved with a light black marking on every color.
Screen colors are close, not perfect. Every monitor shows them a little differently.
The little stuff that trips people up. Read this part even if you skim everything else.
Every ear tag we make needs a button on the back to lock it in the ear, and you'll need a tagger to put it in.
MCT and AllFlex tags come with an AllFlex button, which needs an AllFlex or similar universal tagger. You can also choose a collar ring or no button.
On Ritchey tags you choose the button, so pick the one that matches the tagger you already own:
Don't have a tagger? We sell the Universal Total Tagger and Y-Tex tagger, plus single replacement buttons so you don't have to buy a 25-pack.
Want something on the back too? Add up to 3 lines of text (15 characters per line), or 1 line of text and/or your brand or logo.
Backs are text and brands only. No background designs or custom graphics back there.
Free: any of our background designs, and your own brand or farm logo.
$5 per design: custom artwork you upload yourself. That's once per design, not per tag.
Adding your brand is not a custom design. Logos need to be your own, not another company's. See Artwork that works for what to upload.
Making your art with AI? Don't ask it to "design an ear tag," or you'll get a picture of a tag. Ask for only the artwork that goes on the tag, on a plain white background.
AI doesn't know what can actually be engraved or printed, so we may need to simplify some details. AI art you upload counts as a custom design (+$5). Our tips page has copy-and-paste prompts for both.
AI artwork tips & tricks →Upload: simple artwork with solid shapes and clean lines, like clipart or a logo. A clear PNG or JPG is fine. Have a vector file (SVG, AI, PDF)? Even better.
Won't work as-is:
Only have one of those? We know a gal who can redraw it professionally, so you'll have clean artwork on hand anytime you order something custom. See Digitize Your Brand.
Type your animal's name into our Live Font Preview and flip through every font we offer before you order.
Try the Live Font Preview →Want colored numbers on an engraved tag? We can flip it. Instead of engraving your lettering, we engrave everything around it, so the tag goes light black and your numbers and text stay the color of the tag. A turquoise tag gets you turquoise numbers. It's $1 more per tag. That's the only way to get color on an engraved tag, so we can't add any other colors. It's one or the other: a background design or inverted colors, not both. Inverted tags are for numbers, text and brands.
Numbered herd tags get bulk pricing here on the website. Bulk orders use a shorter list of fonts that read well from across the pen.
Same info as above, all in one place.
| Ritchey | MCT engraved | MCT UV printed | AllFlex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Long-term herd ID, sale tags, gifts, dog tags | Herd tags on a budget | Shows, events & sale tags | Goats, sheep, pigs, dogs |
| Sizes | Large, Medium, Small, Neck Chain | Large, Small | Large, Small | Medium |
| Tag colors | 14 | 11 (+ inverted black) | 12, incl. black | 7 |
| Design color | Black or white, set by tag color | Light black | Full color | Light black |
| Background designs | Yes | Yes (not on inverted tags) | Yes | Yes |
| How long it lasts | Years. Lifetime engraving guarantee. | Years | A season or two | Years |
| Made in | 2–3 weeks | 2–3 weeks | 2–4 weeks, no rush | 2–3 weeks |
| Starting price | $6 | $3.50 | $12 | $8 |
Nothing gets engraved or printed until you've seen a mock-up. Approve it or ask for changes right from that email. If we don't hear back in 3 days, we'll send a reminder, and if it's still quiet after 7 days, we go ahead and make it just like the mock-up shows.
Pick your tag, size, color and button, and tell us what you want on it.
You'll get a picture of your tag by email, usually the next business day and always within 3–5 business days.
Ask for changes or approve it. The clock on making your tags starts here, so the sooner the better.
USPS Ground Advantage with $100 insurance. Track it anytime on our Order Lookup page.
In a hurry? Our ready-to-ship tags skip the mock-up and go out in 1–3 days. If you order them with a custom tag, we'll hold them and ship everything together unless you ask us not to. Shipping them separately costs extra postage.
Yes, as long as the button matches. On Ritchey tags, choose the button for the tagger you own (AllFlex or Y-Tex). If you'd rather use Ritchey buttons with an AllFlex or Y-Tex tagger, our Ritchey tool pin makes that work. MCT and AllFlex tags come with AllFlex buttons, so they need an AllFlex or similar universal tagger.
On MCT and AllFlex tags the laser leaves a light black mark. It's easy to read, just not jet black. If you want true black or white, go with Ritchey.
Engraved tags sometimes can, so send us a message before you order. UV printed tags can't be rushed.
Nope. Your own brand or farm logo is free, and so are our background designs. The $5 design fee is only for custom artwork you upload yourself.
We work with someone who digitizes brands. Check out our Digitize Your Brand page.
Let us know. We can change the name or hold the order for you.
Not right now. We ship anywhere in the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories and APO/FPO addresses.
Tell us what the tags are for and we'll point you in the right direction. No question is too basic.
~Cristine
