Thomas Edison. Alexander Graham Bell. Michael Vasilantone. Yes, in our industry, that name is as iconic as the other famous inventors. Vasilantone began to develop, use, and sell a rotary multicolor garment screen printing machine in 1960. You may not believe it, but like you with trying to come up with the perfect design—he was stressed.
T-Shirt Design Inspiration:
You’re about to order 47 custom designed t-shirts for your company’s 10th anniversary of being in business. Do you create something classy? Something light and fun? Wondering which color combinations will work? Being the person in charge of something that could make you shine…or way worse, look like an abject failure, can riddle you with anxiety. We understand. Responsibility is a huge thing. While we might feel proud with taking on the role, it can create massive amounts of stress, panic, and consternation. Innately, we can’t stand to fail or to be ridiculed. We, at Good Guys Signs, have received thousands of phone calls from people placed in charge of ordering products. We have felt the angst in their voices, the trepidation in their questions. We call these “pain points.” Because we grasp what they and you are feeling, we’ve created three methods with which you can nail that perfect t-shirt design. We have design templates, a design tool, and supremely talented designers at your fingertips. Best of all, each is free of charge. Now, let’s move forward to illustrate how this whole thing works.
How T-Shirts are Printed:
What better place to start than with the oldest form of printing? Screen printing takes us back to around 960 A.D. in China, where the genesis of the first versions of the method began.
While this print method has been around longer than any of the newcomers, it’s by no means antiquated at all. This method of t shirt printing continues strong today. A couple prominent factors weigh into this technique still holding onto the title belt as the premier printing approach going.
How it Works- The screen print process is much like photography prior to the age of digital cameras. A screen gets coated with emulsion and set in a dark room, where it sits to dry. The dark room stops emulsion from being exposed to light, preventing the emulsion from hardening before the desired time. The image that will end up on the t-shirt is securely placed onto the emulsified screen. Under a highly intensified, heat-driven light, the emulsion’s chemicals harden on the entirety of the surface area other than where the image is. The hardened emulsion will prevent any ink from passing through. Where ink for the image needs to be applied, the emulsion has been removed, which will allow the ink to pass through.
The custom t shirt is placed into the printing machine, and ink is distributed directly where it needs to go. It then gets cured, which is industry lexicon for dried. The process to get to the screen printing machine is time-consuming. But once in there, the mode is more efficient than any other printing method.
Screen printing is a versatile and effective printing method that produces t-shirts with hard-to-match quality, rich-colored imagery, and unparalleled durability.
Discharge Printing- Discharge printing is a screen printing process where the same techniques and equipment are generally used. The big difference is that discharge inks, which are atypical in standard printing, actually remove dye from the shirt.
Discharge inks are water-based and require activation with a chemical agent. The ink, activator, and pigment(s) are mixed together, then applied onto the shirt. From there, the ink is cured, and after a short period of time, the pigment has now made its way into the body of the fabric.
Because discharge inks essentially bleach out the fabric’s color, they should only be used on darker garments. Additionally, and importantly, discharge ink only works with cotton because cotton is a natural fabric. However, if you like the exceptional feel of a tri-blend tee, which is synthetic, the ink will maintain its place within the fabric because of the cotton involved. A tri-blend shirt will simply produce a more vintage, worn look.
Dye Sublimation Printing- Like with other heat press scenarios, dye sublimation goes through a pre-pressing step. This helps the garment avoid moisture during the transfer of the ink to the shirt. It also provides the smoothest possible surface with which to transfer the image.
Said image will be printed on what’s known as dye sublimation transfer paper, based upon the graphic desired. In layman’s terms, think of transfer paper like old-school stickers that we used to iron onto a shirt. After we ironed the image on, we just pulled back the “transfer paper,” and the image or graphic would remain.
So, once the transfer paper is specifically placed on the desired position of the t-shirt, both go into a heat press for less than a single minute. The image goes from a solid to a gas, then back to solid again in that short time span. The result is an image that looks amazing on polyester. A shirt that feels light, because the t-shirt itself has been dyed. Ink has not been applied on top of the fabric. You get a shirt with an unrivaled super soft feel, and an image that is as high-resolution as there is on the market. And you own a t shirt with an image that will never fade or crack; an image that’s good for the lifespan of your garment.
Direct to Garment (DTG) Printing- This is a printing technique used for t-shirts that produces an exceptional quality image. Using what’s known as specialized aqueous ink, DTG is a printing method that works phenomenally well for smaller orders. This form of t shirt printing requires a pre-treatment of the garment with a specialized, specific DTG machine. The shirt is sprayed with a chemical prior to being placed in the machine. This is to ensure three things. 1) a stronger bond with the image 2) laying down loose fibers on the shirt for a smoother substrate 3) a chemical reaction with the inks for a superior curing process.
Then, it’s into the DTG printer to duplicate the image from a computer. It’s basically like transferring a picture from your computer onto paper via your printer. Only in this case, it’s fabric that will have an image on it.
The entire process for DTG printing, or digital printing, takes several minutes to complete. This printing technique is ideal for smaller shirt orders. Because it is a digital process, the image of the print is pristine, delivering a higher resolution than traditional print methods.
Creating a Design for Printing on a T-Shirt:
There is quite a bit to mull over when deciding on creating a design for printing on a t-shirt. We spoke to the pain and anxiety at the outset of this article. We understand you and your fear of feeling like the buffoon who might end up botching or bungling an important decision. We implore you to take a deep breath, get through the nervousness, and concentrate on other questions that you will need to address. Among the questions to ask yourself are:
- How many shirts will I need?
- What level of quality shirts do I want? Economy? Mid-level? Luxury? Stated plainly, quality level translates into cost per shirt.
- How many colors do I want printed on each shirt? Each color added equates to more cost per shirt.
Moving from budget to timeline, how quickly do you need your garments? Certain factors will play a role as to how soon you may be able to receive your order. If you hire a designer to prepare your shirt for printing, there is a good chance you will go back and forth with amendments and/or changes. This most definitely adds time, and if you are in a hurry, we suggest taking an alternate path. As previously alluded to, we, at Good Guys Signs, have design templates, as well as a design tool that are both quite user-friendly. With a couple clicks of your mouse, the print design process is extremely expedited.
Out of Stock-
Specialty colors, sizes, and large bulk orders will take more time. Let’s play out a scenario. Think about when you’ve gone online and added any item to your cart for purchase. You might live in Cincinnati. You walk away from your computer to get your credit card. You come back in 5 minutes, a day, or even a week. In that short amount of time, someone in Houston might have added the same item to their cart and paid immediately. Now, that item is out of stock, and you are left out in the cold. No bueno! Given scenarios like the above, it’s best for you to have a few extra days available in your timeline.
Also note that even if there is a guaranteed timeline (for example, 10 days), holidays are not counted, so there will be a delay, or delays, depending on when you place an order.
T-Shirts & Your Marketing Campaign:
Custom t-shirts are an extremely effective, low-cost tool to market basically anything. All you need is a shirt, a printed logo or graphic, and any other information you feel is pertinent to deliver your promotional message. Whether you buy shirts for staff or volunteers, or you dole them out to supporters of your cause, a custom T-shirt design is mobile with whoever is donning it. It is not a pen that has been thrown in a drawer never to be seen again.
Did you know that people react to people much more so than with inanimate objects? A study performed in Salt Lake City had three variables to it. One was a sign (messaging) standing alone. The second mutation of the experiment had people holding the same sign. In the third go-round, those conducting the study held the sign, but they waved it back and forth. The second variation of the experiment yielded an increase of over 150% greater engagement by viewers. And the third part of the study earned 168% more engagement. The point is, adding a human element for your marketing campaign will fundamentally drive up the results you seek.
Depending on your budget, you can put promotional T-shirts into play to drive brand awareness in a number of ways. Among them, you can:
- give them out to supporters of your cause
- grant as a gift to a first-time customer
- present to regular patrons when a purchase milestone has been reached
- hand out as a promotional giveaway
- deliver when visiting potential clientele
Research shows that 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family members more than any other form of advertising. If you promote your brand via T-shirt printing giveaways, the word of mouth becomes free, organic advertising.
When it comes to the actual messaging on your promotional T-shirt, the salient point to ruminate is the brevity of the information you put on your shirt. As mentioned, those who will end up wearing your garment will be in motion. They’ll be mobile. Even a simple walk down a grocery store aisle does not accommodate someone walking in the opposite direction with much time to peruse you marketing campaign message. A logo, the name of your company or cause, and maybe a phone number or website. Those are the compelling and vital bits of information to be on the front of a custom printed t-shirt. On the back, there is room to play more. You can add a different or bigger graphic or logo with an informative or entertaining bulletin.
Options for Custom T-Shirts:
Going back to earlier in this article, we discussed how budget, quantity, and quality of shirts you want to purchase are factors to weigh. Your timeline is of the utmost importance when looking to order t-shirts to offer as part of a marketing campaign. Bulk orders and specialty colors extend the amount of time it takes to get your garment and shirt design delivered. For more information on wholesale shirts, you can contact us at 1-800-614-8040 or by email at goodguyssigns@gmail.com.
Now we tackle the somewhat difficult subject of shirt size and cut. You might be re-selling shirts to a massive office of 467 employees as part of a holiday promotional marketing strategy. Well, Employee #39 is a young, diminutive lady. She wants to wear a small shirt with a lean-cut that drapes her frame nicely. Employee #152 is a 46-year-old woman who leads a sedentary life. As such, she has not kept in shape very well. She might desire a large box-cut that will mask her flaws. Employee #381 is an adult male. He might have a wife and a couple children at home. He isn’t too concerned about making an impression. He doesn’t really care if the shirt runs a tad small or a touch too big. As mentioned, for wholesale shirt information, you can reach out to us at 800-614-8040 or via email at goodguyssigns@gmail.com.
This article ran the gamut on custom T-shirt printing. From the different printing methods for a custom shirt to design to shirt print marketing to bulk orders, and size and cut options to think through. As with traditional screen printing where multiple inks print onto a shirt, this may have been plenty to absorb. The thought process here is that there are a myriad of factors to think through. While we close out this article by suggesting there might be too much for you to endeavor, we want you to be prepared. We aim to lead you down a path of success. We have a talented staff of salespeople, designers, and production specialists who will guide you through the entire process. We are, in fact, in the T-shirt business. We are here and ready to help you pursue all you want to accomplish when it comes to t-shirt printing.
