T-shirt Printing Techniques + Pros and Cons

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T-shirt Printing techniques explained pros and
cons

• By Printsome (www.printsome.com)

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T-shirt printing techniques

• Screen Printing
• Direct to Garment
• Transfer Printing
• Cad Cut Vinyl
• Embroidery

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Screen printing

• The technique behind most of the t-shirts we
  wear. It was first invented in China when they
  discovered that holding a silk mash over a wooden
  frame with strategically placed holes left an
  awesome design on the fabric. It quickly spread
  to other countries and continents and the
  technique was improved into the beloved screen
  printing we know today. Screen printing basically
  pastes a layer of colour on top of the garment
  through a screen.

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Screen Printing

• Pros
• Simple and versatile
• A very durable technique that is easily scalable
• It is also relative inexpensive for bulk orders.
  
• Cons
• Limited colour mixing as the ink is pushed
  through the screens
• The resolution of the design is also limited
• The printing is a multistep process that involves
  placing different screens over a shirt in perfect
  alignment to create the final design.

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Direct to garment

• This is a relatively new technique that started
  to be developed in the 90s by a digital image
  company and it became commercially available in
  2005. This technique took the printing world by
  storm.
• As the name states, this technique prints ink
  directly into the garments. This technique goes
  straight into the fiber meaning that you dont
  feel the ink when you touch the t-shirts.

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Direct to garment

• Pros
• Extensive colour options and maximum detail in
  design
• easily customizable designs.
• Cons
• Not cost effective for big batches
• Limited design placement

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Transfer printing

• Originally the method behind this technique is
  that it transfers an image from one surface to
  another, permanently. It was mostly used to add
  decorative details and features to ceramics. The
  process has now been applied to transfer designs
  onto t-shirts and other types of garments. You
  can distinguish transfer printing from other
  printing techniques because it requires heat to
  be applied at the end to set the image.

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Transfer printing

• Pros
• Fairly simple and it can produce high quality,
  complex designs
• It is also one of the best techniques for full
  colour printing
• Cons
• Slower than the other procedures
• Its got limitations onto which type of fabric it
  can be printed
• Cant be used on fabrics sensitive to high
  temperatures
• Could be some restrictions on reproduction of
  darker shades
•  

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Cad cut vinyl

• Even though it is considered a printing technique
  there is no printing involved. A state of the art
  machine cuts a high quality vinyl paper into the
  shape of the design. One of the most common uses
  for this technique is the sports kit, mainly
  football kits.

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Cad cut vinyl

• Pros
• No setup costs and gives bold and vibrant colour
  images
• More viable printing locations such as shoulders,
  sleeve, and collar
• Can also be used on polyester and nylon
• Cons
• Not suitable for quantities over 25
• Not suitable for oversized designs as the print
  can seem bulky

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embroidery

• Embroidery is another where there is no printing
  involved but instead a machine stitches a
  particular design or text onto the garment of
  choice. It is one of the most used methods for
  golf shirts and corporate work wear.

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embroidery

• Pros
• Very professional looking
• Long lasting method
• Cons
• Logos may have to be altered due to difficulty of
  showing shading with thread
• Very small text is very difficult to be done