A T-shirt is simple, but the printing process of the pattern on the T-shirt is not simple. So, how many printing techniques are there for the pattern on the T-shirt or customized T-shirt? Which process is better to choose when customizing T-shirts?
T-shirt printing is basically divided into four categories: screen printing, transfer printing, hand-painted and digital direct printing.
1. Screen printing
Screen printing is the most commonly used T-shirt Printing, 90% of T-shirts bought in stores outside are screen printed. The screen printing technology is relatively complex and mainly consists of several steps: design, film production, printing, printing, and drying. Screen printing, to put it simply, if the pattern of a T-shirt has three colors: red, yellow, and blue, it needs to be printed in three versions, one for each color, but it is a bit different from the CMYK printing. Similarly, most domestic printing uses spot colors, and it is difficult to control the superposition of CMYK dots on T-shirt printing.
2. Thermal transfer printing
Thermal transfer printing can be said to be a supplement to screen printing , because many too complex images cannot be completely printed by screen printing, so thermal transfer printing is used. Simply put, heat transfer printing is to press special paper with printed images onto clothes through a heat transfer machine. Its advantage is that the printing pattern is vivid in color, and more importantly, it is quick and convenient. The disadvantage is that some light-colored patterns are not clear enough, and the areas where the pictures are printed are not breathable. T-shirts made by heat transfer printing are generally suitable for producing a large number of disposable cultural T-shirts for group activities.
Transfer printing technology is a printing technology that has become popular in recent years. The principle is to first print (print) the pattern on the transfer paper, and then pass it through high temperature High pressure is used to print patterns on T-shirt fabrics. Compared with screen printing, transfer printing has the advantages of speed, convenience, and realistic colors, but it also has the disadvantages of relatively low color fastness and high mass customization costs. 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 on the Internet, so I won’t go into details here.
3. Hand-painted T-shirts
Hand-painted. Nowadays, most hand-painted T-shirts are done with inkjet printing. Of course, there are also many that use pens, and the paints used are usually acrylic paints and textile dyes. The cost of hand-painted T-shirts is relatively high, and no one can guarantee that every piece will be the same.
Hand-painted printing is to draw on T-shirts by hand using pens. The commonly used pigments are textile dyes and acrylic paints. Because it is drawn by hand, the experience and skills of the painter have a great influence on the entire printing process. And once a mistake is made, it is inconvenient to change, so the cost of paint and workmanship for hand-painted T-shirts is very high.
4. Digital direct printing
Digital direct printing is currently the most high-end and cutting-edge printing. .The digital direct inkjet machine can be used for printing. The extra-long and thickened platform can make printed items 600-1800mm wide, 1-2.5m long, and 0-20cm thick. The parameters produced by different manufacturers are different. The market space is beyond imagination. Stones, shells, plates, bamboo crafts, mobile phones, cups, lighters, keys, stationery, laptops, CD players, MP3s, crystal badges, smart cards, business cards, certificates, photos, plaques, flowers, couple sets , CD… The printing range covers dozens of categories and tens of thousands of items such as personal supplies, craft gifts, office supplies, stationery and signs, home decoration and building materials, flowers and fabrics, clothing\shoes and hats.
Digital inkjet printing is a new technology that mainly includes drilling, splicing, stringing, peritonealization, cutting and other processes. Although it is inseparable from professional digital inkjet printers, direct inkjet technology is relatively mature. Of course, digital direct-injection printing also has many advantages that traditional printing cannot match. In addition to large-scale printing, precise and uniform printing is also possible. And it has the advantages of non-fading patterns, breathability, no odor, and non-toxicity.
