Seeing a drawing and immediately thinking how good it would look on a personalized shirt is very common. And why not carry it out? Once you have decided, then the first doubt arises. Which printing technique is more convenient to use? Screen printing, or direct to garment printing? Knowing info about the techniques each of them uses and what their differences are, as well as their pros and cons, is essential to obtain a personalized t-shirt with the maximum guarantees and according to your tastes and needs. T-shirt printing has more than one secret and knowing them will allow us to make the best decision. Screen Printing Vancouver is going to share those secrets with you.
Traditional T-shirt screen printing
It is the traditional and the simplest method. The screen printing of shirts consists of using plates which press them on the fabric to transfer the color. This means that, if the drawing you want to print has six colors, you will need six different plates to screen the personalized shirt. Therefore, it is not the most appropriate method for full-color designs, such as photographs.
One of the advantages of silk screen printing is that it is an excellent technique for medium and long runs. In addition, it has excellent resistance to washing and personalized t-shirts are very pleasant to the touch. As disadvantages, if we want to print on a dark fabric, we must use the previous white base so that the results are as expected and the personalized shirt has the highest quality.
Direct to garment printing
It is a more modern technique. With it the printing goes directly to the fabric through specialized printers, which raises the cost, but offers an optimal quality. If we want to reproduce an image with detail or photographs, this is the printing technique that suits us, but we must take on the inconvenience that can be a somewhat higher cost before a longer production process, so it is suitable for short runs.
Another advantage of direct to garment printing is the infinite variety of colors that can be reproduced in cotton or polyester fabrics, and the detail acquired by the images, which can accept shades and gradients. The designs will not detach from the fabric with the passage of time. And although the white color cannot be reproduced today, there are alternatives that allow solving this small inconvenience.
In the screen printing of shirts you have to opt for a traditional technique, such as direct printing, or another more advanced, such as digital printing. Both have their pros and cons, so when deciding on one of them we must take into account aspects such as the design we want to express on our personalized shirt or transfer shirt, the number of items we will need, the degree of detail or the number of colors we want, the budget we can assume or the time available to receive the order. Consulting doubts to Custom T-Shirt Printing Vancouver professionals is always an excellent option.