When considering how to personalize t-shirts, many doubts arise about which technique to use. Screen printing, sublimation, transfer paper, textile vinyl, DTG or DTF?
They are all suitable, but you have to ask yourself several questions before choosing: budget? necessary material? Composition and color of the t-shirt? Designs with many colors and details or simpler ones? durability?
In this post we offer you a comparative guide with advantages and disadvantages so that you know which technique to choose to professionally print t-shirts silk screen printing.
Serigraphy
The Screen printing is a printing technique that requires some learning. It is economical if medium and long runs of articles with the same design are made, since it requires an initial fixed cost with the preparation of the screen. Once all the startup settings are made, production is relatively simple.
With screen printing, you can print everything from simple designs to images with many colors and details. Its touch is soft, although a thin film is perceived on the fabric.
Another advantage is that it can be customized on fabrics of almost any composition and color, even on dark garments. In addition, it has great durability and resistance to washing.
The negative part of this technique is that the equipment investment can be somewhat high. Likewise, production start times are long due to the screen preparation phase.
If you want to try this technique, there are very cheap starter packs. When you need to print different colors or have greater productivity, you can expand the investment by purchasing manual machines.
Sublimation
Sublimation is a customization technique with a low initial investment. Its production is simple: an image is printed on paper and transferred to a polyester fabric garment with a transfer iron.
You will need an inkjet printer, intended exclusively for sublimation as it will be equipped with sublimation inks and paper, and a transfer plate. The good thing is that in addition to clothing you can also customize other items, so you can recover your investment quickly.
Another of its advantages is that it offers excellent graphic quality and durability when washed. It is one of the ideal techniques to reproduce photographic images. It has a very soft touch called “zero touch”, since the inks penetrate the fiber of the fabric.
The only limitation is that only white or light-colored polyester fabrics can be sublimated, ideally it would be 100% of this fabric. Remember that sublimation is only printed on polyester, so the higher the percentage, the better sublimated the garment will be. A minimum of 60% polyester is recommended. If you want to customize on cotton or dark colors, we offer you some alternative systems that solve these limitations.
transfer paper
Transfer Paper is one of the cheapest and easiest techniques to use. It requires paper that is printed with a laser or inkjet printer and applied to the garment by ironing.
You should know that there are CMYK laser printers and CMYK + white laser printers, the most recommended. With the white toner printer, you can print dark t-shirts of any fabric and other products such as mugs or plastic sheets.
For best results, we recommend cutting the design with scissors or a cutting plotter. If you already have a home laser or inkjet printer, you only have to buy a vertical transfer plate and suitable transfer paper: inkjet, laser or white toner transfer paper.
One of its advantages is that some papers can be applied with a household iron. In addition, it can be applied to any fabric that is not water-repellent.
As a disadvantage, t-shirts printed with transfer paper have low durability when washing, and progressively lose color. You have to wash them inside out and with warm water. On the other hand, although its touch is soft, you can perceive a sheet adhered to the shirt.
There are special transfer papers that we should mention: No cut papers (light or dark backgrounds) or Flex-Soft for laser printers. This type of paper does not need a cutting plotter because it “self-cuts”. It is a two-step technique and offers great results with white toner laser printers.
The good thing about this option is that prints can be made from a single unit, so stock costs are minimized. In addition, with Flex-Soft type paper you can create complex patterns that would be impossible with vinyl.
The downside, on some types of paper, requires a bit of learning to properly control the application.
We give you the opportunity to try all the types of transfer papers available with this starter pack for laser transfer paper on textile . In this video, we explain what it includes and its different applications:
Printable or cutting textile vinyl
Textile vinyls can be of two types: the so-called printable ones (which can be printable or sublimable ) and the “cut ” ones. Despite the name, both are cut with a plotter and fixed to the garment using a transfer iron . The difference is that the printable is customized on a printing plotter. While cutting vinyl, you just have to cut it with a plotter.
Note that printable vinyl offers high quality and definition, making it perfect for capturing photographs. The advantage of cutting vinyl is its wide variety of colors and textures, making it possible to make very attractive combinations.
The virtues of this technique are several. It is an economical technique with good durability and resistance to washing, although the printables lose color. Another of its advantages is its application on any fabric composition, as long as it does not have a water-repellent finish.
The downside is that you need a cutting plotter and the peeling process can be tedious depending on the design. Furthermore, as in most techniques, a plasticized sheet is perceived. The good news? Vinyls are increasingly thinner and integrate better into the garment.
DTG or Direct Print
How to personalize t-shirts with the DTG or direct printing technique? As the name suggests, it is printed directly on the garment and then ironed to cure the inks. It is the ideal solution for customizing t-shirts from one unit and the cost per print is economical.
All types of products can be customized such as: sweatshirts, bags, backpacks, cushions, towels, jeans, sneakers, baby clothes, sportswear, socks… Another of its advantages is the possibility of printing on dark colored fabrics by applying a simple pretreatment before.
The final result is a high-quality print, even being able to capture photographs with many details. Its feel is also one of its strengths thanks to the integration of the inks with the garment. And therefore, it has great durability and resistance to washing.
On a negative note, its high initial investment. The printer costs about €12,000, to which you have to add the cost of a transfer plate.
Conclusions
What do I need to know to customize t-shirts?
Before choosing you have to ask yourself several questions: budget? necessary material? Composition and color of the t-shirt? Designs with many colors and details or simpler ones? durability? In this post we offer you an initial guide on how to print t-shirts professionally with the different techniques available.
What techniques are there to personalize t-shirts?
Depending on your interests, you can personalize t-shirts with screen printing, sublimation, transfer paper, textile vinyl, DTG or DTF.
How to customize t-shirts according to their composition?
With screen printing, transfer paper, textile vinyl, as well as DTG or DTF, you can customize fabrics of almost any composition and color. The sublimation technique is the only one that can only be applied to 100% white or light-colored polyester fabrics. If you want to customize on cotton or dark colors, we offer you some alternative systems that solve these limitations.