Why Spending On Premium Screen Printing Is Worth It

Apparel has definitely become more expensive, and even for simple basic t-shirt the price and expectations of quality have gone up. When delivering quality, as a brand, your focus should be on 100% customer satisfactions. Opting for a cheaper material or cheaper print can cost you credibility and brand loyalty.


What Is Premium Screen Printing?

Premium screen printing refers to specialty printing shop instead of the print-on-demand companies such as Printful or Zazzle. Premium screen printing includes experts screen printers that will navigate the process for you and deliver top quality prints.

A premium screen printing shop will always have designers on their team to assist with technical design inquiries and be able to help you prepare your artwork for screen printing.

Additionally, premium also refers to the type of garment. A good screen printing shop will offer you a variety of fabric types - of course, this may also vary according to the design and ink needs to achieve the perfect print.

Screen printing creates unique visual outputs when compared to digital printing. The ink for screen printing is absorbed deeper, providing clearer edges to the image. Screen printing ink can also be applied thicker, resulting in long-lasting, brighter and more vibrant colours even on darker shades.

What Are T-Shirt Premium Options?

When it comes to custom t-shirt printing you have a choice of three fabrics — polyester, cotton or blended materials.

1. Comfort Colors 1717 Heavyweight T-Shirt

Comfort Colors 1717 is 100% ring-spun cotton, making this fabric very durable and heavy. This material is comfortable and the style is a relaxed fit and a bit oversize. This style has been very popular in recent years for it’s fit.

Features:

  • Relaxed fit and unisex

  • 6.1 oz./yd², 100% ring spun cotton, garment-dyed

  • Double-needle armhole, sleeve and bottom hems

  • Twill taped neck and shoulders for extra durability

  • Heavyweight

  • 7/8" double-needle topstitched collar

  • Pre-shrunk

2. Bella+Canvas 3001 Classic Unisex T-Shirt

This Bella+Canvas 3001 custom print t-shirt is a modern tee with a crew neck and side-seam construction for durability. Designed with superior airlume-combed and ring-spun cotton, it has a very soft feel and smooth surface which makes it great for direct to garment printing.

Features:

  • 100% combed and ring-spun cotton

  • Shoulder-to-shoulder taping

  • Side seamed

  • Retail fit and unisex sizing

  • Soft and lightweight

  • Crew neck

3. AS Colour 5001 Staple Tee

The AS Colour 5001 staple t-shirt has a soft and relaxed fit, made from a blend of cottons with a fit that can be worn for any occasion. You can dress it down or dress it up. A true staple for every closet.

Features:

  • 100% combed cotton (heathers 15% viscose)

  • Shoulder-to-shoulder taping

  • Side seamed

  • Regular fit and unisex sizing

  • Mid-weight

  • Crew neck

What if you’re just getting started?

As a small business, we understand that quality investments matter but funding for those investments can sometimes be tight. If you are at a point where you have to be highly focused on budget, consider simplifying your logo to be a 1 to 2 color print, and keep the design limited to the front of the garment. Not only does this reduce cost, but simple screen printed designs are considered to be more fashionable, which will have your customers reaching for it more often.

Why Not Use On-Demand Apparel Printing?

Print-on-demand can oftentimes be the easiest and cheapest option, however, if you’re looking to build a brand that people trust, this may not be the best option for you.

Control of your merchandise cam often times be lost, you have to trust the printer to do their job properly, but quality control can quickly become overwhelming.

Additionally, order fulfillment can take longer or can be affected by other events such as holiday rush, this is why we always recommend to make orders ahead of launch time to avoid any delays. With a premium print shop, they often times can set you up on a scheduled re-order system.

The main downside of on-demand apparel printing is the loss of control over the quality of the print and the quality of the fabric.

Check Out What Is Print-On-Demand? Pros And Cons Of This Business Model?


In Conclusion

When launching an apparel brand, the fabric itself should be priority. We believe that choosing premium garments coupled with premium printing will cement the high-quality integrity of your brand and in turn also cement brand loyalty with customers.

If you want your custom t-shirts to market your business effectively, they need to be worn and seen. The only way to ensure that happens is to make a great t-shirt people will want to wear.

Print shops such as Family Industries, are a greatexampleshigh-qualityhigh-qualite of a premium print shop offering high quality printing and high quality service for all clients.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator


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Streetwear Fall Trends

The fall isn’t only for flannel and pumpkin spice lattes; in the fast evolving world of fashion trends, streetwear is front and center. With streetwear becoming more mainstream and social media usage is on it’s all time high, fashion history seems to be repeating itself. The trend this fall is reminiscent of the 1970’s, 1990’s and early 2000’s. We’ll take you to the top 5 trends for this fall/winter season.

Fashion Is Recyclable

It’s not only middle part hairstyle that Gen Z’s have brought back, it’s also streetwear with big wide leg pants and alternative apparel such as oversize sweatshirts and Dr. Marten boots. This fall we are seeing some styles from the early 2000’s making a comeback as well as some 70’s and 90’s , here are some of those trends.

Read more about The ‘90s fashion trends that are making a comeback in 2021

Velour Tracksuits

Baby Phat and Juicy Couture had a hold on us back then, and continue to have a big influence now. These tracksuits are the ultimate (more fashionable) alternative to athleisure apparel. Tracksuits have made a comeback for all most every generations since the 70’s and the '70s are as far away in the mid-'90s as the '90s are from today.

There are ways to customize your own Velour Tracksuits by incorporating chainstitching or embroidery of your name or nickname. Generally, the material for these tracksuits are more suited for embroidery.

Corduroy Jackets

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Once again, the 70’s comeback is being demonstrated by this trend. Corduroy is not longer your dad’s style; specifically the double breasted or utilitarian cut. Corduroy jackets are best worn with high waisted pants and boots, and they can be customized by adding embroidery or embroidered patches.

The best colors are dark and earthy colors, coupled with light pants or a turtle neck!

Fashion Tip: Tan colors are in this season! Don’t be afraid to pair tan on tan.

Letterman Jacket

Most notably made popular in the 90’s, this trend has been around since… well, the year 1865. The Harvard’s baseball team sewed the letter ‘H’ to their uniforms and the varsity jacket was born!

This jacket has evolved since 1865 but has not changed much in recent years. This style used to be signifier of your athletic accomplishments, it is now worn by many for the purpose of style.

The letterman jacket has also been a signifier of not only American sportswear but American streetwear as it was made trendy in the 80’s and 90’s. Basically, you can’t go wrong with this fit.

This jacket is great to customize with embroidered patches!

Fisherman’s Beanie

fisherman-beanie.jpg

A fisherman beanie is a bolder style because it sits higher on the head, leaving the ears, and potentially the front of the hair, exposed. The look is inspired by the dockworkers for which it’s named, but it really can be worn with just about any casual outfit.

Are you not sure about how to wear this type of beanie? Check out How To Wear a Beanie Without Looking Like an Idiot

Statement Tee

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People have a lot say, so what best way to express your thought than through a statement tee?

The statement tee has been around for a while now, however, it is again becoming a staple in everyone’s closet. Witty phrases and political statements are an easy and affordable way to upgrade your wardrobe and show a little bit of your personality.

Read 14 Statement Tees That Let Your Clothes Do The Talking


Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator


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How To Design Artwork For Screen Printing With Puff Ink

Puff Prints are here to stay, and there’s certain design rules to follow to ensure your puff print looks perfect. In this article, we’ll take you through some of the design choices that can make your print stand out and some techniques we feel are essential when designing artwork to be screen printed with puff inks.


What Are Specialty Inks?

Specialty inks refer to specific print finishes. For example, reflective inks, glow in the dark inks and our favorite, Puff Inks. These inks help with making your screen printed designs stand out from the norm. Now, these inks generally require an additive, for inks to create that “puffy” look you will want to select your regular plastisol ink in the color you would like to print and then add a Puff Ink additive which is then mixed with the pigment.

Learn more about Foils and Metallic Prints

So, Does printing with puff ink require A special set up?

Besides mixing the puff additive with your ink and some technical file setup, the process is somewhat similar to other forms of screen printing.

One of the main setup rules are ensuring that there is enough puff ink laid down on a garment in order for it to expand enough to notice, a general rule of thumb is to not have any lines or small details in your artwork that are less than 1pt.

Before puff ink is exposed to heat, it sits flat on the garment like any regular plastisol ink. Heating the finished design (usually by sending the garment down a curing oven) will activate the puff additive and enable the ink to rise and expand about one to two millimeters on all sides.

One important tip we can give you is to prepare for color loss. Because puff ink is an ink additive, it will dilute your plastisol ink color. You can offset this either by starting with a bolder ink color than you planned to use, or if you’re color matching or trying to achieve a brighter color, lay down your puff additive/ink mix, flash the ink lightly without activating the puff additive, and print another layer of undiluted plastisol ink.

Testing Puff Ink Additive

PUFF REQUIREMENTS:

  • Halftone: 20 lpi

  • Line Weight: 1pt minimum

  • Max Art Size: Check with print shop what the maximum art size is as this changes from factory to factory. As a rough guide, an A3 page size would equate to a large chest print for a men’s garment.

  • Image File Types: Most print shops will accept .psd, .tif, .jpg, .gif and .png.

  • Vector Art File Types: Vector PDF, EPS, AI or CDR Files.

Learn more about How To Prepare A File For Screen Printing

Creative Uses of Puff Ink

Because puff ink does not activate until heat is applied, it allows for you to experiment with different design ideas. However, if you’ve never done it, make sure to consult with your premium screen printing shop.

Multi-Color Prints

When you have a print with several colors, you can add a puff effect to one of them, creating a more dynamic print.

Gradients

a 3 color halftone gradient printed in puff ink is totally possible! By thinking outside the box. Take a simple typographic logo and inject visual interest, tactile feel and a higher perceived value for your garment in one ingenious print.

Placement

You can play around with placement in any way you would like, this gives you the ability to print puff on sleeves, back or front of the garment. Puff can also be applied to accessories like hats.

Learn more about Different Screen Printing Techniques

What Not To Do with Puff Ink

  • Don’t use puff additive when screen printing fine detail. Some of the detail of your print will be lost when your ink puffs up in the dryer. While some level of image detail is possible to achieve with puff inks, images with extremely fine detail will be lost.

  • Don’t print abutting colors. Similarly, puff ink doesn’t work when printing two colors that register right up against each other. The fine edge will be lost to the puff effect.

  • Don’t over cure your puff ink. Be careful to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on curing your puff ink.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator


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For any inquiries, send us a message!

OR

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com