Shirt printing or designing customised apparel’s demand has swiftly increased as the approach has attracted youth as they can experiment with multiple options that reflect their styles and tastes. Statista shares that in 2024, the United Kingdom’s shirt-printing market is forecasted to fill their bank accounts with US$2.35bn.
The game revolves around the several types of shirt printing methods which we will discuss in the blog followed by what is shirt printing, a brief history of how the concept of shirt printing emerged, advantages and disadvantages of the shirt printing methods.
We like how you scrolled down to read the information as that displays your eagerness to learn about shirt printing methods and implement them in your lifestyle.
Let’s begin then!
What Is Shirt Printing?
Shirt printing is also referred to as screen printing. People and businesses prefer this method as it is easy on pockets and comprises a simple procedure. One can try abundant options that look visually appealing. Be it abstract for casual wear or logos to represent a corporate entity, the customisation allows you to unleash your inner fashion designer and maybe turn heads around to ask where you got the shirt from.
Now you must be wondering when the idea of shirt printing actually came into existence or if it has been in the market forever. To know that you will have to read below as we will discuss the history of shirt printing in the next section.
History Of Shirt Printing
Our wardrobes are filled with printed shirts and guess what the concept did not come out of the blue, but passed through multiple innovative and unique technological advancements and timezones.
How many of you love travelling? We have to go back to the 1950s to enlighten ourselves regarding the history of shirt printing, and how it emerged and captivated fame with time.
1950’s
The masterminds behind the shirt printing technique were several Miami business entities that started working on decorating T-shirts with character names and logos of local resorts and prominent tourist attractions which worked to get the attention of the visitors as well.
1960’s
Let’s step into 1960 and discover what the shirt printing method has in store for us. Do you recall those ringer shirts that were in one colour, but with colourful collars and sleeve band ribbing? Well, they were the gift of this era. Besides that screen-printed and tie-dyeing shirts became available in the shops. Hippies, rock-n-rollers, political protestors and drug addicts got inclined towards the custom-designed shirts at extreme levels that they began to wear like their uniform. Some of the designs that reached instant popularity were happy faces, patterns of multiple colours giving a swirling effect, and the close-up of the face of the recognized revolutionary leader Che Guevara who can forget the famous symbol of I love NY that many people still wear.
Shirts were sold at a turbo pace as everyone wanted to have them as a part of their closet and flaunt in front of others. Witnessing the surge of the attire, the procedure of screen printing faced improvements. Michael Vasilantone, an American inventor, artist, and entrepreneur was the expert in developing the screen printing machine in the same year. He used it frequently and sold the device too. Screen printing machines and the steps of printing won many hearts and managed to become one of the popular shirt printing methods.
1970
The major boom came in 1970. How? Giants like Coca-Cola and Disney started making the most out of printed shirts as a means of positive advertising and marketing. They gave orders in bulk to print their logos and characters. Apart from that people asked the vendors to print the characters or names of their favourite movies and TV series. Which is commonly seen on display today.
2000
Make way for some humorous and politically funny printed shirts. That is what happened in 2000. Pop celebrities wore them and that only made the style a trend. After movies and films, people generated humorous ideas of adding jokes to the shirt with famous political statements and quotes. Such text-based shirts were worn by volunteers and participants in events, charity functions and businesses on a local scale.
2015
We are heading towards more recent times. Do you think the craze for printed shirts has witnessed any kind of dip in these years? No right? People still prefer going for placing orders for printed shirts as that opens the door for vibrant and creative ideas that you had always wanted to see on your shirt. The customisation horizon is wide open and people like to experiment with a wide range of patterns. Plus more modest and professional options are appearing in the shape of uniforms and polo shirts.
We hope you found the history of shirt printing interesting and now it is time to head towards the main topic of the blog which is the most popular shirt printing methods.
The Most Popular Types Of Shirt Printing Methods
Discussing the most popular types of shirt printing methods, we will provide you with their advantages and disadvantages too so your investment is worth it even if you feel like going to a vendor to get your shirts printed or getting the printing machine at home too.
The following are the renowned types of shirt printing methods:
Screen Printing
Screen printing is more popularly known as silk screen printing. It is a traditional solution that aces at creating long-lasting and premium quality prints that every customer wants. How does screen printing work? Let’s check out the method.
Method
- Create a stencil of your favourite design and place it on a nylon mesh screen with ink. Then prepare the screen in advance to make sure that just the areas that need the design are vulnerable and other spaces are blocked so the ink is applied on the fabric through the stencil.
- In the next step, cover the mesh screen with ink and press down with a sponge for the ink to spread evenly on the fabric.
- By pressing it with full pressure the ink will transfer to the shirt through the exposed areas giving you the clear and accurate print that you initially wanted.
- After that remove the screen and allow the shirt to dry.
Advantages
- Screen printing carries immense potential for producing durable and vibrant prints.
- This becomes the go-to procedure for shirt printing when you want to print several shirts at one time.
- One of the good parts about this customisation is that it is compatible with fabrics like polyester, cotton and other mixed materials.
Disadvantages
- However, the drawback of this printing is that it does not print the design on the whole shirt and has a limited capacity.
- The initial installation cost of the procedure requires a hefty price and is time-consuming
- The printing disappoints you with a restricted choice of colours so if you had a really out-of-the-box idea involving a rainbow of colours, then you will be let down due to the boundary.
Plastisol Transfers
The next most popular variant of the shirt printing method is plastisol transfers. The method’s synonym is indirect screen printing and yes people print their shirts through this arrangement since it turns out to be a cost-effective and easy way to get your imagination on the fabric.
Method
- Screen print your desired design on a special paper.
- Put the special paper on the shirt and use heat and pressure to transfer the design on the shirt to see your print
- You will get sufficient time to print in this way and there will be no need to panic at the eleventh hour that the shirt is not ready as the printing can be done beforehand and anywhere on the shirt you want
Advantages
- Plastisol printing stands as an ideal method for small custom orders that the clients want on an urgent basis since the turnaround time is quick.
- It provides you with the perk of durability and endure multiple washes. Unlike other printing results that fade away in one or two washes.
- Plastisol and screen printing are similar in terms of versatility and quality but are less annoying because it does not result in much waste or test your patience.
Disadvantages
- If you promote and use eco-friendly methods for everything, then you would have to keep plastisol printing aside since the ink it contains is not environmentally friendly as compared to other options. The condition is to dispose of the material in a correct way or else it will harm the environment.
- The ink in plastisol is not breathable as compared to water-based inks. In summer shirts sticking to your body become irritating as it does not let you breathe and if you reside in a region that experiences a hot climate more often then you will have to look for other options. You won’t be able to continue with any of your physical activities as the material will keep sticking.
- Plastisol ink makes the entire shirt heavy. This can be good for those who have no issues in wearing heavy materials and bad for those who prefer light materials.
Heat Press Printing
For printing small batches of shirts your go-to method will be of none other than heat press printing. In the early 2010s, heat press printing was liked by all vendors and fashion designers, but with the advancements in technology, the concept is less used in the market.
The procedure keeps itself apart in handling any type of intricate design with ease. Like it won’t ask you to come up with something simpler. Interesting right?
Method
- Do you have a design in place? Great as you will use that on vinyl paper that will be further transferred to the fabric by the use of a heat transfer machine.
- The more heat and pressure you will apply the better the outcome as the print will be clear and crisp.
- Just peel off the paper and cut the area left with extra dye once you are fully done with the printing.
Advantages
- The shirt printing comes out to be a fun and straightforward strategy to try that is just not limited to fabric printing as people use it for customising plates and mugs.
- It gives a quick turnaround of shirts, unlike screen printing which is a very time-consuming process.
- Heat transfer steals the show in being very cost-effective as you only need a heat press and a sheet to transfer the design on the shirt.
Disadvantages
- The results of the heat printing technique fade away quickly when washed many times.
- The process asks for your time in comparison with other printing methods that still execute the printing in seconds. First, you have to create a design and then put enough pressure to obtain the perfect results.
- Heat printing lets you down when it comes to printing large volumes of shirts as it is manufactured for small slots.
Heat Transfer Vinyl Printing
Heat transfer vinyl printing or iron-on printing works specifically in shifting the designs on the shirt from sheets made out of vinyl.
Method
- Take the vinyl sheet, whose one side will be coloured with tape that is removable in nature. The other side you will observe is coated with an adhesive which will do its job when heated
- Then cut the design into whatever shape you want.
- You have the liberty to create the pattern manually or design it digitally and then begin cutting.
- Again if you feel like cutting the design manually then you are free to do so or there is a better option of using the HTV cutting machine itself to save time.
- You can remove the extra material with scissors
- Then place the design on the shirt and with the help of an iron or heat-transferring tool, put pressure which will shift the design on the fabric.
- After that peel the tape away to leave the image behind.
Advantages
- The heat transfer vinyl procedure attracts beginners who want to learn printing step by step.
- It is affordable therefore people are fond of getting their shirts printed through this technique.
- Great at performing well and is very versatile, expanding the horizon to come up with more personalised items that will suit all kinds of occasions
Disadvantages
- There is a limited variety of colours, which means you will have to re-adjust your designs according to the colour scheme provided by the printing method.
- Will you be printing shirts in bulk? Then get ready as the machine will consume your time and insist on increasing labour power for speedy delivery.
- If exposed to UV rays and washing the printed designs will sooner or later crack, which you will not like to see.
Dye Sublimation
People call dye sublimation printing an all-over printing too. Because it furnishes you with the easiness of printing the design on the overall shirt. Unlike other printing methods that limit themselves and you to print only half of the shirt, dye sublimation gives you a free hand to print the repeated design on the whole textile.
Method
- First, create a digital image file that you want to get oriented on your shirt.
- Grab a special kind of paper that uses an exclusive type of liquid gas.
- Put it in it’s printer that will print the design on the paper in a reverse direction
- Then press the paper on the shirt and move the heat on it which will convert the liquid gas into its gaseous form.
- After applying the heat allow it to cool down as the ink gets transferred to the shirt.
- By doing this you are not only printing the shirt but also changing the texture and color of the garment.
Advantages
- It provides a permanent and crisp shirt result that you won’t be able to feel with your bare hands.
- The sublimated inks tend to merge into the shirt’s fabric, giving you a smooth finish.
- The shirt designs crafted out of sublimation are experienced to be longer lasting as they don’t fade away that easily.
Disadvantages
- Black or similar dark-coloured surfaces are not compatible with dye sublimation as it require white shirts or at least light-coloured fabric to give promising results.
- The fabric you intend to pass through this dyeing should be pure polyester and even if not pure then must be at least ⅔ of polyester.
- If the printer is not used for quite some time then you can expect the printheads to choke.
Belt Printing
Another popular shirt printing method allows you to print the design on the overall shirt irrespective of the front and the backside.
Method
- For this printing, you will have to use a belt printing machine so that you can print continuously on the roll.
- Then feel free to cut the shirts out of the belt printer
Advantages
- They can print long parts as single components
- Then large shirt batches can be printed of small parts without any kind of barriers.
- Parts are automatically removed as they reach the edge of bed of the machine.
Disadvantages
- The material used in the belt is not suitable for adhesion.
- The print quality is not as good.
- It does not share a good bond with standard heated beds.
Conclusion
We have finally reached the end of the blog and hope you understood the most popular types of shirt printing methods with their methods followed by their advantages and disadvantages. So the next time you hit the market you will be fully aware of the printing methods and will know where to invest according to your needs.
