3 Custom T-Shirt Options
Custom t-shirts are probably the number one item sold across the whole nation. Walk into any store or gift shop and you will see uniquely designed t-shirts on the rack or wall. Every tourist shop has them...worldwide. So why not create your own?
Custom t-shirts are great because they are usually easy to create and relatively inexpensive (check out our pricing). At Embroidery Works Plus, we customize your t-shirts and apparel three different ways:
- Discharge Screen Printing
- Traditional Screen Printing
- Direct to Garment (DTG)
All three processes begin with great artwork. You can send us your print ready artwork or you can easily use our online Design Tool. The Apparel Design Studio allows you to start from scratch or you can begin with an image you already created. Simply upload it to the design tool, add text where desired and place it on the garment of choice where you want it printed.
If you want to start from scratch, we have hundreds of great art graphics to get you started. Load your desired graphic, add your text and send it our way for a quote. The design tool actually gives us print ready files from your artwork. See, you really can create that group of custom shirts you've always wanted to do. So read further and decide which custom decorating process you want to use. Want to see what some others have done? Check out our picture Gallery.
Discharge Screen Printing
The most desirable choice is Discharge Screen Printing using Water based inks. These types of shirts are what you see in most of the upscale lines of t-shirts throughout the country. This process doesn't put any ink "on" the garment like traditional screen printing, but actually removes the dye in your shirt and replaces it with the water based ink right into the fibers of the shirt. This gives your shirt that soft feel where you can't feel the ink at all.
Traditional Screen Printing
Usually, the least expensive decorating method is traditional screen printing. Pricing is based on the number of colors in the image and the quantity of shirts you happen to screen print at one time. The minimum for traditional screen printing is 24 shirts, all with the same image(s) and colors.
Screen printing is a form of printing using mesh screens coated in emulsion. An image is exposed onto the screen, then washed out leaving the mesh clear where the image had been. A pool of ink is then pulled across the image on the mesh with a rubber bladed squeegee and the pressure forces the ink through the mesh and onto the garment producing the printed image.
Versitility is a major advantage in screen printing. As long as the surface is flat, it usually can be printed. Once printed, it also has to be able to survive the high temperatures required to dry the ink. Check out our current Screen Printing Specials.
Direct to Garment
A great alternative for lower quantities or extensive colors in your design is Direct to Garment. Where screen printing prints each color at a time, Direct to Garment prints all the colors at once on the t-shirt. To receive the best quality, Direct to Garment is limited to 100% cotton apparel. This may include t-shirts, aprons, bags or towels. New to Direct to Garment? Read a little more.
Direct to Garment has been around for a little while. In simplest terms, it is a "corvette" of the inkjet printers. It uses special water based inks and like an inkjet, prints all of the image with one pass. The drying process or curring process then dries the ink into the fibers of the cotton shirt. Like discharge screen printing, you don't feel any ink on the shirt.
What are it's advantages? Plenty.
- Cost effective price for lower quantities
- Quicker turn around times
- Lower quantities lend themselves to creating intricate designs
- Higher image resolutions are achieved. Prints at 200 dpi versus 70 dpi with screen printing
- Designs are sent Direct to Garment from the computer. No screens are required
So get your design. Choose your custom decoration process and give us a call or stop by. We have all three of the custom processes on display in our showroom. There is nothing like touching it and feeling it. So stop by... soon.
