We’re here to help you create a better shirt without over-tapping your resources and time. We’ve compiled a list of things you should avoid in order to help your shirts look amazing!
Printing over seams, pockets, or zippers
In order to get the best quality print when screen printing, a flat surface is needed between the pallet (the board your garment lays on) and the screen (that holds your design). When you print over a seam, pocket, or zipper there is an inconsistency due to the thickness of those portions of the garment compared to area around it. This creates a gap in the print where the screen does not touch the garment due to the ridge caused by the seam. We do our best to give you the best print possible, but we cannot accept responsibility for any gaps or cracks in the ink caused by going over a seam.
What doesn’t work well with oversized prints
We find that a lot of our customers want the biggest prints possible on their t-shirts. With most garments this is not a problem, but for some garments this can cause defects in the printing. Please keep these things in mind if you’re thinking about doing an order with a jumbo/oversized screen! A simple way to avoid some of the issues below is to pay for a regular sized screen along with the oversized screen, or changing your garment
Small/Medium/Large shirts (depending on brand): Oversized pallets may be wider than smaller t-shirt sizes depending on the brand. To get these garments on the pallets, these shirts must be stretched. Several issues may arise from this such as a distorted image due to the stretching of the shirt, loss of shirt form from stretching past normal means, design being cut off the bottom and/or sides, and possible ripped garments
V-Necks: Depending on the design, the low neckline may cut into the design and cause the print to go over the seam(see section above). Keep this in mind when you are designing your shirt!
Tank Tops: Most tanks have a low neckline and sleeves which may cause the print to go over the seams. Please keep this in mind when designing!
Women’s cut shirts: Oversized pallets are typically wider than most women’s cut t-shirts. This may cause the same issues listed for “Small/Medium/Large” shirts.
Why you shouldn’t print on ribbed garments
When ribbed garments are laid onto the press they are not stretched out, because of this the ink only prints on top of the ribs. Due to the stretchy nature of ribbed garments, when it is worn the ink pulls apart and cracks, exposing the gaps the ink did not reach. For this reason, we strongly suggest against printing on ribbed garments
Garments that don’t show detail well
Some garments are not constructed with smooth fabrics like standard t-shirts, because of this they will not work well with detail. Here is a list of garments you should avoid using if your design requires great detail:
- Ribbed Garments
- Canvas Materia (Aprons, Bags, etc.)
- Burnout Tees
- Pique Polos