T-shirts designed with images, colorful and trendy decals are always the best friends of young people. They are the embodiment of dynamism and fashion, providing comfort and absorbing sweat extremely well.
But ensuring sharp, durable image quality depends on modern t-shirt printing techniques. To help you choose a beautiful, satisfactory shirt without worrying about the image being damaged, let’s learn about these techniques with custom t shirts Dallas right away!
Heat transfer printing technique – Solution for printing small quantities
Thermal transfer printing technology is also known as Dye Sub, dye printing, sublimation ink printing.
This is a widely used t-shirt printing technique using ink and heat transfer paper. The image is printed on paper, the ink is heated until the pattern is completely adhered to the T-shirt fabric.
Basically how this type of printing works is: You will design the print and draw it on a type of paper called heat transfer paper . Then you will use a heat transfer printer to press the printed image from heat transfer paper onto the t-shirt
- Advantages: With heat transfer printing technology, you can freely create images including full body or 3D printing. The colors are true, sharp, and extremely eye-catching. The implementation process is also very simple, helping to reduce product costs.
- Disadvantages: Heat transfer printing technique can print on most fabrics, except white, light colors… Limited quantity per print.
Modern T-shirt printing techniques: 3D printing
This is a modern printing technology with an unlimited number of frames and colors. 3D printing using the “sublimation” printing method brings the whole world to a more personalized and lively T-shirt than ever before.
- Advantages: Enjoy creating designs and colors from overflow, landscape, omber, galaxy to complex, detailed designs. The printing ink sinks deep into the fabric fiber, increasing the image’s lifespan by 2 times compared to other techniques.
- Disadvantage: Does not print on fabric with 65-100% cotton content .
Silk printing technology – Delicious, nutritious, and cheap
Screen printing technique is applied according to the principle: Only a part of the ink penetrates the mesh to print on the t-shirt. This is because the other meshes have been sealed with chemicals.
- Advantages: Fast printing speed, thin ink layer, bright colors and does not make the shirt stiff, causing discomfort when worn. Often used in printing large quantities of t-shirts, helping to reduce costs.
- Disadvantages: Ink drying time is about 3-5 days. It is difficult to print many colors and designs with high color gradation. Printing in small quantities increases costs.
Based on the characteristics, people can classify screen printing in the following ways:
BASED ON HOW THE PRINTING MOLD IS USED:
- Silk screen printing on manual printing table.
- Screen printing on a printing table has some operations mechanized.
- Silk screen printing on automatic printer.
BASED ON THE SHAPE OF THE PRINTING MOLD:
- Print using a flat mesh die.
- Printed using a rotating barrel-style circular mesh mold.
BASED ON PRINTING METHOD:
- Direct printing: Printing on products with white background colors or light background colors does not affect the printed color.
- Unattached printing: Printing on a product with a colored background, but the ink must ensure that it can destroy the color of the background and attach the color to be printed on the product.
- Backup printing: Printing on products that have color but cannot be used for removable printing.
SILK PRINTING PROCESS
The screen printing process can be summarized in 6 steps:
- Step 1: Prepare the printing frame and mix the glue: The frame can be made of many materials such as wood or aluminum alloy… The printing frame must be washed and dried cleanly. Depending on the purpose, the frame can have many different shapes, but most of the factories I see use rectangular frames.
- Step 2: Take a copy, also known as drawing a picture in the frame. This is quite time consuming so the cost of a printed copy is quite high. From 400k or more depending on complexity
- Step 3: Mix ink: Based on the original print, the technician mixes the ink according to the color chart. Printing ink needs to be carefully prepared to closely resemble the original image and especially must be suitable for each material being printed.
- Step 4: Test print and proofread: Before mass printing, the test print step helps detect errors for correction. The worker will put ink on the trough and sweep it onto the net. The worker will scan both sides evenly, then dry it thoroughly and continue to stick the film on the outside of the net, use tape to tape the 4 corners, use a glass sheet to press the film onto the net and expose it to sunlight for a few minutes. 3 minutes or use a drying machine, then you can check your product.
- Step 5: Print output : After evaluating the quality of the print with no errors and meeting printing standards, the worker begins mass printing.
- Step 6: Once the film has dried, remove it and give the frame a good washing to get it ready for the next printing run.
Digital printing / DTG printing – When quality comes first
Digital printing is a remarkable advance in printing technology
In the list of modern T-shirt printing techniques , DTG digital printing technology is definitely indispensable . This technology is also known by another name: DTG or Direct to Garment printing.
This is considered a backward step for the T-shirt printing industry. Images are printed directly on t-shirts, helping to overcome the disadvantages of previous techniques.
6-STEP DIGITAL PRINTING PROCESS
STEP 1: Draw the print file and insert the print file into the receiving end of the digital printer.
STEP 2: Based on the print file, prepare materials, ink… and install them into the printer.
STEP 3: Test printer operation.
STEP 4: If the machine works ok, proceed to print.
STEP 5: After printing, let the ink dry. If you want to dry faster, you can put the printed product through drying machines.
STEP 6: Conduct inspection of completed printed products. Finish the printing, packaging and delivery process to customers.
- Advantages: Applicable to all types of fabrics, not picky about image, design, number of shirts. Fast printing speed and high precision, providing true colors, high precision, without stiffening the shirt.
- Disadvantages : Large initial investment costs, including specialized machinery and ink. Print colors are often darker and deeper than screen printing.
Modern T-shirt printing techniques: Printing decals
This technology is also known as Vinyl printing. Although not as commonly used as lua printing, decal printing still brings its own characteristics and never loses its “quality”.
This technology is also known as Vinyl printing. Although not as commonly used as lua printing, decal printing still brings its own characteristics and never loses its “quality”.
Maybe you don’t know: Reflective t-shirts that are HOT on the market use decal printing. Garment factories will buy a batch of reflective decal paper, then use a machine to cut the decal according to the sample and use a machine to press the reflective decal onto the T-shirt.
- Advantages: Can print small quantities, suitable for all fabrics from dark to light colors. Images bring unique, sharp effects without fading.
- Disadvantage: Cannot print images with too small a cut. The print makes the shirt stiff and easy to peel. Production time is relatively long, costs are high.
Intumescent/Embossed printing technology
Inflated printing and embossed printing are techniques developed from silk printing . They use a printing frame designed as a mesh and allow ink to pass through holes in the position to be printed.
The difference is that inflatable printing technology uses a flexible color paste to create thickness and thickness for the designs. The created image will have a puffier and taller feel than a screen printed design.
- Advantages: Unique, high-quality image, creating a characteristic convexity, making the shirt beautiful and attracting all eyes.
- Disadvantages: High price, often used for high-end products. Often used to produce large quantities of t-shirts for companies with high budgets.
Modern T-shirt printing techniques are increasingly upgraded to bring sharp, vivid images to consumers.
Depending on each design and fabric material, custom t shirts Dallas will choose the appropriate technology to ensure maximum quality, bringing shirts that are not only beautiful in form and diverse in effects, but above all, ensure durability. durable for customers.
Come to us to choose for yourself fashionable designs to keep up with the trends of young people!