- Oren is from USA
- Oren was born on Mar 27th, 1984
- Oren is a member since Jul, 2009
More articles by Oren.
More blogs by Oren.
T-shirt Printing Techniques
By Oren.
When it comes to getting designs printed on shirts, it’s all about making sure that the quality of designs turns out the right way. There are many options - a print quality where
the ink is felt on the shirt or a smooth print soaked deep into the shirt fabric? bright colors or dull colors? When thinking about this, an understanding of the different t-shirt printing processes is a must in order to see which one suits the feel that the designer wants. Knowing the technical aspects of printing is important. Here's some of the most common t-shirt print processes.
the ink is felt on the shirt or a smooth print soaked deep into the shirt fabric? bright colors or dull colors? When thinking about this, an understanding of the different t-shirt printing processes is a must in order to see which one suits the feel that the designer wants. Knowing the technical aspects of printing is important. Here's some of the most common t-shirt print processes. Screen Printing
A screen is made of a piece of finely woven fabric (or in other words a t-shirt) stretched over a frame of aluminum or wood. Some areas of the screen are covered with a non-permeable material to form a stencil, which is a negative of the image to be operator meaning that the open spaces are where the ink will actually show up. The operator begins with the fill bar at the end of the screen and behind a reservoir of ink. The printer then lifts the screen to prevent contact with the t-shirt and then using a downward force pulls the fill bar to the front of the screen. This effectively fills the mesh openings with ink and moves the ink reservoir to the front of the screen. The operator then uses a squeegee to move the mesh down to the t-shirt and pushes the squeegee to the rear of the screen. The ink that is in the mesh opening is transferred by capillary action to the t-shirt in a controlled way. As the squeegee moves toward the rear of the screen the tension of the mesh pulls the mesh up away from the t-shirt leaving the ink upon the t-shirt's surface.
A screen is made of a piece of finely woven fabric (or in other words a t-shirt) stretched over a frame of aluminum or wood. Some areas of the screen are covered with a non-permeable material to form a stencil, which is a negative of the image to be operator meaning that the open spaces are where the ink will actually show up. The operator begins with the fill bar at the end of the screen and behind a reservoir of ink. The printer then lifts the screen to prevent contact with the t-shirt and then using a downward force pulls the fill bar to the front of the screen. This effectively fills the mesh openings with ink and moves the ink reservoir to the front of the screen. The operator then uses a squeegee to move the mesh down to the t-shirt and pushes the squeegee to the rear of the screen. The ink that is in the mesh opening is transferred by capillary action to the t-shirt in a controlled way. As the squeegee moves toward the rear of the screen the tension of the mesh pulls the mesh up away from the t-shirt leaving the ink upon the t-shirt's surface.
Direct to Garment Printing (DTG)
DTG is a fabric printing method that prints an image directly onto the t-shirt through a modified version of a traditional injekt printer. Basically,instead of using a screen and a stencil to apply ink to the shirt, the ink is printed directly onto the garment. DTG offeres more flexibility than screen printing in terms of color variation and turn around time.
Heat Transfer Printing
With the heat transfer process, ink is transfered on a carrier paper to the t-shirt. When heat and pressure is applied to the carrier paper, the ink is transfered onto the t-shirt. A common way that this is done is by applying an iron to the carrier paper for a period of time until the ink appears on the shirt.
With the heat transfer process, ink is transfered on a carrier paper to the t-shirt. When heat and pressure is applied to the carrier paper, the ink is transfered onto the t-shirt. A common way that this is done is by applying an iron to the carrier paper for a period of time until the ink appears on the shirt.
These are the most popular techniques. Other techniques are still used by small to medium printers around the world.
