All about Swingtags

1st Generation Swingtags

These tags are a very dark purple. When analyzed by a professional printer, we were told it is printed on 80 lb. card stock. The color it is closest to in the Pantone Color Scale is named simply "purple". The red heart is closest to the color named "warm red". They all have the same UPC code on the back. The code is: 44046-01362.

2nd Generation Swingtags

2nd Generation Tags are still dark purple. They are still made from the poorer quality paper and some have the white spots and streaked ink because of misregistration in the color process.  The color seems to vary greatly and is closest to #2665C in the Pantone Color Scale. This is considered Violet with Transparent White. It seems they must have tried to "lighten" the color a bit, or simply they just did a very poor job of mixing the colors. The red heart is still closest to the color named "warm red". They have a different UPC code for each "style" of Puffkin.  The proper UPC codes are the main source of differentiating between a 1st and 2nd generation tag.

The paper quality is very poor because it is not "coated". It is very common to see white dots, streaked ink and white edges along the edge of the heart. This is because of the poor printing. The tags are "processed" color which means they went through the machine to add one color at a time until each color was on. The white dots and lines are "misregistrations". This means that when the paper was put in for its second and third run, it was not lined up exactly. Another noticeable aspect about these tags is the edges are not perfectly smooth and may even have a perforation "nick". This is because of the poor quality of the cutting "die". The "die" is the heart shaped paper punch and if it isn't sharp enough or applied with enough pressure it can leave these "nicks". These minor flaws are considered "normal" with 1st and 2nd generation tags and should not devalue the Puffkin.

Notice the hole where the Swift attacher (the "plastic thingie") goes. You will see that it was not completely punched through. When the punch is not made well, then the Swift attacher "gun" makes it's own hole with a big needle that can sometimes leave rough edges around the hole. It makes it look like the hole has been worn by the plastic attachment, but really it came from the factory this way. This was another punching die that was improved on the third generation tag. When the hole was punched for the Swift attacher to go through, it cut clear through the paper and made a nice, neat hole.

3rd Generation Swingtags

These are closest to the PMS color 2645C which is named "lavender". They are made from a higher quality, coated paper with a truer inking process so you don't see white edges or spots as often. The die cutting process makes for a nicer edge as well. The quality of the color printing has increased dramatically. The heart color is closest to PMS186 which is "dark red" and has a beautiful hue to it. Each animal still has it's own UPC code and the retailer can now easily keep track of which styles are selling and, which aren't. The Swibco web site address was added to the inside cover on the left side of the tag.

4th Generation Swingtags

This swingtag was introduced on November 1, 1999, and Swibco announced that all new Puffkins, and every Puffkin made from that date forward would have the new "twice as nice" (as it was billed) double heart shield swingtag.  The interior has remained much the same, with the addition of BOTH website addresses being listed rather than just the swibco.com address.  The front decorations and overall shape are the major changes.  

With the motto, "Twice as nice for the New Millennium", Swibco discarded the heart shaped tag (similar to Ty's Beanie Baby tag), and went for the shield shape which sets it apart in the bean bag world.  Instead of "Puffkins" scrawled across a single heart (again a Ty similarity), Swibco added another heart, and outlined them both with a dark red line rather than the black outlined heart in previous generations.  With more room on the swingtag, "Collectible" and "By Swibco Inc" were added across the top and bottom of the tag.

Like the 3rd generation tag, the paper is strong, heavy stock, coated for durability, and the die cut reduces any "nicks" and "perforations" that used to be normal factory issue on the 1st and 2nd generation tags.  These swingtags will definitely stand the test of time, though as always...make sure you protect them!