Apparel screen printing is a great way to get your brand name, logo or design on a high-quality piece of apparel. It is also a very durable method of printing that can stand up to many washings and still look great. It is important to understand that screen-printed garments, however, require special care. If you want your shirt to hold up over time, you should avoid hot water and bleach and always wash your shirts inside out.
The best part of using screen printing is the ability to use a wide range of colors on any fabric. This makes it possible to create a unique piece of apparel for your business or organization, and to print a design that will catch the eye of any potential customer or client. It is also a great choice for clothing that needs to be very durable, such as work uniforms.
In order to produce a high-quality screen-printed garment, the process of printing is very time-consuming. This is because each color of ink requires a separate screen and stencil. Unless you are a professional printer, creating these stencils takes a lot of skill and time. Because of the lengthy setup required to produce a single shirt, screen printing is most cost-effective when you are ordering in bulk.
To make a screen-printed shirt, the printer first prints the desired design on an acetate sheet. This will then be used to coat the mesh screen with a light-reactive emulsion. The open areas of the stencil on the acetate are then exposed to bright light. This hardens the parts of the emulsion that cover the stencil, leaving only the mesh screen to absorb the ink.
Next, the screen is placed on a printing board. A squeegee is then run over the top of the screen to pull ink through the stencil’s open areas and imprint it onto the fabric below. If more than one item is being printed, the screen is removed and a new garment is positioned on the printing board. The squeegee is then run again to apply the ink to the new garment.
Another great advantage of screen-printed shirts is that the ink doesn’t actually become part of the fabric, like it does with heat transfer vinyl. This means that the ink on a screen-printed garment is very durable and will hold up well to many washes, while heat-pressed vinyl tends to fade over time. This is why screen-printed shirts are often used for work uniforms or athletic wear. They can be worn for a long period of time without wearing out, and will continue to look sharp even after repeated washes. Heat transfer vinyl, on the other hand, can fade, crack and peel over time if not taken care of properly. To prevent this, you should avoid ironing on the printed area and do not expose it to direct sunlight. If you are interested in using a custom-printed garment for your business or organization, contact us to discuss the possibilities of apparel screen printing..