T- Shirt Printing
T shirts are very common and you can see almost every design, text, image, graphics and what not printed on a tee. A new movie is released, great a new t shirt is ready! You definitely have seen all the famous Spiderman, batman, superman T- shirts but do you know how they are printed? Well now you’ll know. Read till the end and you might want to get a shirt by the end.
Do you know how brands use T-shirt Printing for their marketing? Yes they print their logo and taglines for their employees as uniforms and they promote the brand as they go! We have a separate article for uniforms so you know how they’re designed, printed and delivered to clients, but right now we get back to our T shirts.
So There are various ways a design is printed on a T-shirt and the most fun of them is a DIY you get to see on youtube, No that is not legit. We’re about to tell you the ways for large scale printing and it involves the following:
- Direct to Garment Printing
- Screen Printing
- Dye Sublimation
- Heat Transfer Vinyl
- Plastisol Heat Transfer
- Airbrushing
Direct to Garment Printing
In direct-to-garment printing, water-based inks are sprayed directly onto t-shirt fabric using a specific printer. For printing intricate patterns in numerous colours on cotton t-shirts, DTG is the ideal method. It can be applied to small-print runs or single shirts.
Screen Printing
One colour at a time, screen printing prints inks onto t-shirts indirectly through a mesh that is partially obscured by a stencil shape. It functions well for straightforward designs with plenty of orders and few colours.
Dye Sublimation
Because dye sublimation may be applied to every part of the shirt, it is often referred to as all-over printing (AOP). Dye sublimation, for instance, can cover areas like seams or print repeating patterns. Unlike DTG and silkscreen printing methods, which apply ink to specific printing locations on flat shirt surfaces, this method is different.
Heat Transfer Vinyl
Heat transfer Vinyl printing—also referred to as iron-on printing, transfers graphics from sheets made of vinyl or plastic. Using reusable tape, you colour one side of the sheet and then cut it into shapes for your design. You apply an adhesive that has been heated to the opposite side.
Plastisol Heat Transfer
Plastisol screen printing is an indirect screen printing method that transfers ink to t-shirts using a plastic-based transfer sheet. Instead of using a mesh screen, heat transfer paper is used to apply inks in this more straightforward kind of silkscreen printing.
Airbrushing
Using a tiny spray painting tool, airbrushing is a manual technique for applying paint to t-shirts. There are four steps in the process:
- A stencil is created and attached to the t-shirt with temporary light adhesive.
- The airbrush loaded with paint is then attached to an air source
- The Airbrush applies paint to the T-shirt attached to a board and an easel, one colour at a time
- Paperback paper is applied and iron is used to set the paint after it dries.
Factors that effect T-Shirt Printing
Direct to Garment and Screen Printing are two most common printing methods. There are a few things to keep in mind while choosing the printing method. The fabric of t-shirt, the quality of the paint, the printing process of any of these methods and a lot more might effect the print. It also depends on the design you choose to print. The complexity of the design is a significant factor that should be considered while choosing the printing method and what might have the best results.
The complexity of your design, the fabric you’ll be printing on, the size of your order, and your budget should all be taken into account when choosing your t-shirt printing process. Using a print-on-demand company can help you reduce expenses and expedite operations.