A T-shirt is simple, but the pattern printing process presented on the T-shirt is not simple. How many printing processes are there for the pattern on the T-shirt or customized T-shirt? Which process is better to choose when customizing T-shirts or T-shirts? T-shirt printing is basically divided into four categories: screen printing, transfer printing, hand-painted, and digital direct injection.
Screen printing
Screen printing is the most widely used T-shirt printing. 90% of the T-shirts bought outside the store are screen printing. The screen printing technology is relatively complex, mainly including design, film production, printing, printing, and drying. Screen color printing, simply speaking, if the pattern of a T-shirt has three colors: red, yellow, and blue, it needs to print three editions, one edition for each color. However, it is a little different from CMYK printing. Most of the domestic are spot color printing, and the superposition of CMYK outlets on T-shirt printing is difficult to control.
Heat transfer printing
It can be said to be a supplement to screen printing, because many too complex images can not be completely screen printed, so there is heat transfer printing. Heat transfer printing simply means that the special paper printed with the picture is pressed onto the clothes through the heat transfer machine. Its advantage is that the color of the printing pattern is lifelike, and more importantly, it is fast and convenient. The disadvantage is that some light-colored patterns are not clear enough, and the place printed with the picture is not breathable. T-shirts made by heat transfer printing are generally suitable for making a large number of disposable t-shirts for collective activities. Transfer printing technology is a popular printing technology in recent years. Its principle is to print (print) the pattern on the transfer paper first, and then print the pattern on the T-shirt fabric through high temperature and high pressure. Compared with screen printing, transfer printing has the advantages of fast and convenient, realistic color, but it also has the disadvantages of relatively low color fastness and high mass customization cost. If you just want to design a unique T-shirt, you can consider printing the design and then transferring it to the T-shirt. There are many tutorials online.
Hand-painted T-shirt
Hand-drawn, most hand-painted T-shirts are now completed by spray painting. Of course, many are painted with strokes. The pigments used are generally acrylic pigments and textile dyes. The cost of hand-painted T-shirts is relatively high, and no one can guarantee that every piece is painted the same. Hand-painted printing refers to painting on T-shirts with a pen by hand. The commonly used pigments are textile dyes and acrylic pigments. Because it is hand-drawn, the experience and technology of the painter have a great impact on the whole printing process. And once an error is made, it is inconvenient to change, so the paint and manual cost of hand-painted T-shirts are very high.
Digital direct injection
Digital direct jet printing is currently the most high-end and cutting-edge printing The digital direct-injection machine can print. The super long and thickened platform can make the width of printed articles 600-1800mm, the length 1-2.5m, and the thickness 0-20cm. The parameters produced by different manufacturers are different. Although the professional digital inkjet machine is indispensable, the direct injection technology is relatively mature. Of course, digital direct jet printing also has many incomparable advantages. In addition to large-scale printing, it can also print accurately and uniformly. And it has the advantages of color fastness, ventilation, no odor, non-toxic, and so on.
What kind of printing process should I choose? The above four types are the common types of T-shirt printing, so which type of printing is better to choose to customize the T-shirt? In fact, the four kinds of printing have their own advantages. As for which process to choose, it depends on the quantity of customization and their respective needs.
Choose from the cost price: compare the above four technologies. If there are only a few pieces of your design to be printed, you can choose heat transfer printing. The price cost is more cost-effective.
If you want to make dozens or hundreds of pieces, you should choose screen printing or direct spray printing (75% cotton). The larger the printing volume, the lower the plate-making cost, and the cheaper it will be on each T-shirt.
Choose from the DIY perspective: if you want to have a strong DIY, of course, it will be better to choose a hand-painted T-shirt. You can do it yourself.