Custom printed shirts can literally come in all shapes, colors, designs and sizes, so there is not just one printing method which is best for all. To really decide on what printing machine would be best for you to purchase, familiarize yourself with each of the printing methods listed here, and manufacture the best custom printed t shirts you can ever have.
• Screen printing – Screen printing is a technique that utilizes a woven mesh that can support a stencil that blocks ink. The attached stencil then leaves open areas of the mesh where the ink is able to pass through. Then, a roller or a squeegee is moved across the stencil, forcing the ink to move past the woven mesh and onto the fabric. Screens are pressed onto the fabric one color per screen.
Advantages of screen printing include high quality and durability. Colors rarely fade with washing. The disadvantages of screen printing, however, are that each color requires a separate screen. So this method isn’t very feasible for designs with complicated color schemes. This also has a tendency to be messy, and large quantities of shirts of the same design must be printed before this method can be feasible. With this method, you will most likely have to impose a minimum number of shirts to your customers.
• Heat Press/ Inkjet / Laser Transfers – This method uses the process of transferring ink on a transfer paper then onto the shirt by applying heat and pressure. In some cases, an iron can be used to transfer images to the cloth.
Advantages include easy printing for complex designs and many colors. A single order of a custom printed t shirt can be accommodated as these are great for small orders. Custom t shirts printing is relatively easy. However, clear disadvantages include inability to print on dark shirts, cracking, and fading away of the design.
• Vinyl Cutters – This uses a machine to cut designs on sheets of vinyl. Heat is then used to adhere the cut vinyl to vinyl paper. Advantages of this custom shirts printing method are high quality and durability. This is also good to use for small orders, and you can easily customize different shirts.
Disadvantages include having to separate and cut out each color independently. This also doesn’t work well for complex patterns and designs.
• Direct to garment – This prints directly on the shirt. Advantages include reduction of steps, and great for small orders. Disadvantages are the difficulty of printing on dark shirts and the cloth being the brightest part of the design.
As mentioned before, there is no one custom shirt printing method that is best for all types of designs and orders. However, having this information in mind, as well as an idea of what your market will be, should enable you to decide on which t-shirt printing machine will be best for you to purchase.