As this article is written there are currently three different professional ways to print a t-shirt.  The most popular and widely used is screen printing formerly known as silk screen printing.  Secondly, there is the heat press method which can be done with transfers printed directly from a ink jet printer or die cut vinyls.  And lastly, the newest technology, DTG or Direct To Garment printing.  DTG printing is basically a large ink jet printer that prints directly onto t-shirts and then is heat sealed to achieve the proper cure.

Screen Printing

The screen printing method has been around a long time.  In fact, it’s believed that it first appeared somewhere in China between 960-1270 AD, but it was really popularized in the US in the 1960’s.

The process starts with the development of a frame that is stretched with polyester.  The polyester mesh is coated with a photo-sensitive emulsion then dried to the touch in a cool dark area.  The artwork is then separated into each color and printed out in positives.  The positives are placed under the dried screen in what is called an exposure unit for a specified amount of time.  The black of the positive blocks the uv light from penetrating the photo-sensitive emulsion and when the time is up the screen is removed and then sprayed with water.  The design will then wash away creating a stencil where only the ink will go through.  The screens are then setup and registered onto the screen press.  Since the setup times can be a bit lengthy it makes sense to run large quantities of t-shirts or garments.

Heat Press

Many people know this method as printing out a design from their computer printer onto a special transfer paper and then ironing it onto a t-shirt.  Well…you’re partially right except it’s done with a industrial heat press that applies greater pressure and higher heat.  The ink jet method isn’t very good since the image won’t last very long and the inks in your printer weren’t made to be washed on clothing.

Heat applied vinyl can be cut into logos or even more popular….the numbers on the back of your soccer jersey when you were a kid.  Vinyl works very well for small customizations like custom names and numbers on each garment.

Dye sublimation has also become very popular.  This is a special ink that prints from your printer but during the heat process the ink actually dyes the threads of the garment instead of sitting on top like the other method.  The only draw backs are that it works much better on polyester or polyester blends and white and light colored garments.  Other products that can be sublimated are coffee mugs, mouse pads, picture frames, buttons and much more.

DTG or Direct To Garment

DTG printing is the newest technology on the market.  You can load a t-shirt into the printer and print a full color design in a matter of minutes.  This method works great for those who only need a few shirts, but require a high color print.  Since their release there have been many problems with these units, especially printing on black or dark shirts.  In order to print a dark shirt they must be under based with white ink and the white ink has a tendency to dry up in the lines when not being used.  The fix to this problem is to continually run the white ink at given time increments even when not printing a customers shirt.

In conclusion, if you need quantities of 24 and higher then screen printing is probably the way to go.  If your order requires custom names or numbers or maybe just 1 or 2 shirts with a one color logo then a heat pressed vinyl will work well.  And if you just need a few tees that have full color designs then definitely go with DTG.