When it comes to your branded t-shirts the right type of printing makes a difference
There are a ton of tee-shirt printing options, and each one has advantages. What works for one type of design may not be the best choice for another one.
To help you make the best decision on your next graphic t-shirt order, we’ll take a look at two of the more common, and popular, printing options.
What are the most common printing methods? Silk screening and tshirt print on demand are the most common methods.
What to Know About Silk Screening
Think of silk screening as using a large stencil. You send your design to the printer. From there, they burn it onto a screen, push ink through it, and onto your garment, typically using a squeegee or an automated process.
You get vibrant colors, slightly more vivid than with print on demand Singapore services. Since water-based ink is used in the process, the graphic feels soft and will last through multiple washes. You don’t have to worry about the design easily fading or the ink cracking.
Since there is a high amount of setup involved, most screen printers won’t print small orders. If you want photorealistic images, silk screening may not be the best option. You get more realistic images using print on demand Singapore companies.
Screen printing is the way to go when you’re ready to up your quality and profit margin. You get quality prints and often receive price breaks on bulk orders.
What to Know About On-Demand Printing
Tshirt print on demand is a great option when you only need a small number of graphic shirts or have an online store. You can easily order a single graphic tee the second a customer clicks on the purchase link.
On-demand printing is similar to using a laser-jet printer. Stick the black garment in the printing machine and the laser printer takes care of the rest.
Since there is virtually no setup to print a shirt on a DTG printer, you can produce smaller t-shirt runs and even one-off prints with little hassle.
Going with the printing-on-demand method has a few benefits. There’s almost no prep or setup involved in the printing process.
This makes it easy to print small quantities and one-off t-shirts at a reasonable cost.
Also, since the print is done digitally and not with screens, DTG (direct-to-garment) printing is excellent for high-detail and photorealistic prints.
You may also run into a couple of downsides including the lack of price breaks.
DTG printing doesn’t produce extremely vivid colors, but it is a great method for realistic graphics. You also want to avoid using dark-colored t-shirts for printing, it’s best to stick with white and other light colors. The dark fabric can cause the graphics to appear faded and dull.
This printing method also isn’t great if you are looking for long-lasting designs. The ink can start to fade after several washes.