Flocking — adding a first name, a nickname or a number to a garment — is one of the most popular customisations in sports club shops. Every member wants to see their name on the back of their sweatshirt or on their sports bag. But there's one detail that most clubs put up with without even realising it: the colour of the text.
The problem with flex: a choice limited by the rolls
In the textile marking industry, flocking is traditionally done with heat-transfer flex. The principle: letters or numbers are cut from a roll of coloured material, then heat-pressed onto the fabric. The process is reliable and proven, but it has a structural constraint: you are limited to the roll colours available in stock.
In practice, a marking workshop typically carries around ten flex colours: white, black, red, navy blue, yellow, green, grey… If the exact colour you're looking for doesn't exist as a roll — or isn't in stock with your provider — you have to fall back on what's available. The result: text in white or black by default, regardless of your club's visual identity.
For a club whose colours are burgundy and gold, or turquoise and charcoal, or any other combination outside the standards, it's a frustrating limitation.
The DAGOBA solution: DTF flocking, any colour you choose
DAGOBA has chosen to produce text flocking not with flex, but with DTF (Direct to Film) printing. The text is printed onto a film with digital inks, then heat-transferred onto the textile — exactly like a logo.
The consequence is simple and immediate: you can choose any colour for your flocking. No roll constraint, no limited stock. You define the exact colour with an RGB code, and the text is printed in that precise colour.
Match the text to your logo colours
This is where that freedom really comes into its own. Instead of settling for white flocking on dark items and black on light items, you can use the exact colours of your logo for the flocked text.
Imagine a club whose logo features gold and navy blue. With traditional flex, the first names on the back will probably be in white — correct, but generic. With DAGOBA's DTF flocking, those same first names can be printed in the exact gold of the logo. The result is a garment where everything is consistent: the logo, the text, the colours form a harmonious whole that reinforces the club's visual identity.
This attention to detail makes the difference between a club garment that's "fine" and a club garment that looks the part.
Flexible configuration in the dashboard
In your DAGOBA shop dashboard, the flocking colour can be set at several levels depending on your needs:
- At the global shop level: you set a default flocking colour for light items and another for dark items. This is the simplest setting and is sufficient in most cases.
- At the individual product level: if a particular item requires a different flocking colour — for example a yellow jersey on which you want black flocking rather than the default colour — you can adjust the colour specifically for that product.
This flexibility lets you achieve a perfect finish on every item, whatever its background colour, while keeping the configuration simple for the shop as a whole.
A detail that matters
The flocking colour might seem trivial next to the choice of items or the placement of logos. But it's an element your members see up close, on text that concerns them personally — their own first name. Flocking in the right colour, matched to the logo and the club's identity, is a sign of quality and attention to detail that doesn't go unnoticed.
To learn more about the marking techniques available on your shop, read our article Textile marking: DTF, embroidery, flocking or screen printing or visit our help centre.
