You’ve likely heard of screen printing when it comes to producing t-shirts. It’s unquestionably a highly effective method…depending on what your needs are. However, there is another t-shirt printing technique that also yields high benefits. It’s digital printing, and based upon your quantity, amount of colors, and budget, this is a premier garment printing way to go.
T-Shirt Numbers:
Traditional screen printing for t-shirts is the absolute right decision if you want or need to purchase a dozen to 1,000 shirts with one to a few colors. Digital printing is the route to take for short-run, low-quantity orders. If you’re looking to buy just one, a few, or t-shirts with pictures, the digital process works better for you. The big reason is the impact on your wallet.
For Good Guys Signs to print a single shirt via screen printing, the mesh screen required alone costs us $15. That doesn’t include labor, fabric, ink, or shipping. What that equates to for you as the consumer is a price tag of around $50 for one shirt, depending upon the number of colors you desire on the image you order.
The reason screen printing is great for bulk orders is that once the screen is prepared, we can simply crank out as many as needed without having to do any changes to the screen or ink. So, the process becomes fundamentally like an assembly line. Additionally, the larger number of t-shirts ordered, the price to you goes down per unit. It simply doesn’t bode well for your checkbook to order a low volume with this technique. This is how, by the numbers, digital printing is the avenue we can best help ease the cost for you.
The Look of Digital Printing:
Digital printing is done, yes…digitally. In the age we live in, digital anything delivers a very high-resolution image. Yes, with screen printing, the colors produced are certainly vibrant. DPI, or Dots Per Inch, is how resolution in images is calculated in the digital world of the t-shirt business. Digital printing of t-shirts turns out around 600 DPI. What it means—there are 600 dots of color per inch of fabric for digital.
Screen printing would equate to 150 DPI. The size of what are known as halftone dots is the limiting factor via the screen technique. Halftones are a bit bigger when screen printing versus almost imperceptible digital print halftones because the dots are smaller and closer together.
Visualize how four times as many bits of color produce a much sharper image, as it does with digital printing. And there you have it. A single shirt with a photo-realistic image goes for pennies on the dollar with the digital printing method compared to what you get with a screen print.
Again, there is plenty to rave about with screen printing. It’s the longest-standing form of print, and it continues going strong today. But if you’re looking for the biggest bang for your buck on a lower number of t-shirts, we strongly recommend going digital.
