Apparel screen printing is a popular way to make promotional T-shirts and other fabric items that feature your company name, logo or design. It’s a great choice for people looking to brand their company, team or special event, as it allows them to create unique, high-quality, and durable promotional apparel that will stand out from other shirts that are on the market.
In fact, the popularity of apparel screen printing is rising so much that it’s become one of the most common ways for entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. While it does require a significant investment in equipment, it’s also a very lucrative business that is able to be done from almost anywhere, giving people the freedom to pursue their passion for making and selling t-shirts.
Unlike heat transfer vinyl, screen-printed apparel is made with ink that’s bonded to the fabric rather than being stuck on top of it. This makes the shirts more comfortable to wear, more versatile, and able to withstand repeated washings without losing color or quality. It’s also a great option for printing on more than just t-shirts, including sweatshirts, bags, and other clothing pieces that can withstand the heat-printing process.
The process of apparel screen printing involves creating a stencil for the desired image using a mesh screen that’s coated with a light-reactive material called photosensitive emulsion. The emulsion hardens when exposed to bright light, leaving areas of the screen that aren’t covered by the acetate overlay (which features the printed design) as open spaces where the ink will be applied. The screen is then run through a print press with ink, which is transferred to the garment using a squeegee.
When deciding which apparel screen printing technique is right for your project, consider the following questions:
What kind of designs work best with this method?
Because it’s a labor-intensive process, screen printing works best with solid graphics that don’t include small details. It’s not cost-effective to create stencils for intricate designs, so it’s a better choice for larger graphics or simple colors that are easy to print.
How many colors do you want to print?
When printing multiple colors, it’s important that each of the screens is correctly registered so that when they are all run together on a shirt, the colors line up perfectly. To register the screens, a press operator prints each of the colors on a scrap shirt and then uses the results to adjust each of the other screens. This process is known as registration and it ensures that all of the colors will appear on the final product. This requires careful attention to detail and a high level of craftsmanship, but it’s one of the most critical steps in the process of screen-printing apparel. If your job calls for several different colors, it may be worth investing in a machine that has laser or micro-registration capabilities. This will save you a lot of time and headaches in the long run! apparel screen printing