What Are The Different Types of Printing On A T-Shirt?

T-shirt printing is a worldwide craze and a lucrative business opportunity for the printing services. It offers multiple options to the customers now. Different innovations in printing of T-shirts, has risen the quality bar through ease in printing and access to modern machines. The customers now have many aesthetic designs and customized options in T Shirt Printing.

The different types of printing on T-shirt include traditional Screen-printing, Direct to Garment, Sublimation Printing, and Cad cut vinyl. 

Screen-Printing: This type of T-shirt printing option is traditionally on for centuries, beginning in China since the 3rd century. This began with a silk cloth, hence named ‘Silkscreen Printing’ also.

All you need is a nylon mesh tightened on a wooden frame, and a design stencil in direct contact with the mesh. The negative area, which you do not want to print, applied with a waterproof material. Now color applied on the screen and spread by squeegee in an up & down movement. Squeegee is the tool used to spread ink. The color thus pushed through the mesh on to the stencil then prints attached T-shirt. At one time, only one color is functional in this method, for other colors the process repeated with different screens.

Direct to Garments: This technique is relatively new and launched in 1996 with a DTG printer. Later, a modern version of machine introduced in 2004 with excellence in printing and faster turnaround time. This process cuts down all the tedious time-taking exercises of screen-printing.

Direct to Garment (DTG) works like a paper-printing machine. One needs to create and upload a design on the computer. Then T-shirt printing done, on a command to the printer. In this method, there is a design freedom, which attracts the customers for its uniqueness. The customized design facility contributes to its acceptance in a huge way. Unlike screen-printing, it shows printing smoothness. One feels the softness in printing area in comparison to screen-printing.

Sublimation Printing: This technique of T-shirt printing uses heat to transfer ink on the T-shirt fabric. It is a digital printing technology with full-range of artwork used along with the polyester and polymer-coated substrates. The sublimation process works on heat and pressure technology, when applied to a solid, turns it to a gas, bypassing the liquid phase. The unique sublimation dyes, through liquid gel ink transfers on a paper. The gel ink accumulates at the inkjet papers. This sheet receives design, and then transferred through the heating process to the substrate and T-shirt fabric. This may sound complex but the machine performs it all and offers excellent T-Shirt Printing.

CAD-CUT VINYL- This T-shirt printing type involves a ‘state of the art’ computerized machine that cuts a vinyl paper into the design shape. This machine with the help of a paper, prints design on the T-shirt. It has an ease of design location, it can print on any area of the t-shirt such as arms, neck, torso, or back. This type of printing offers high-quality outputs for T-shirts.