Posted: 29 Jun 2016 11:20 AM PDT
Branded
apparel is everywhere, and at some point in every organization, someone is
going to say, “Hey, we
should put that on a t-shirt/bag/hoodie/hat!” Which
of course is a great idea, the benefits of branding with
apparel are numerous and people love getting apparel from their
favorite brands.
So, how do you do it?
The options available for garment
printing today are numerous and can be confusing. Heat transfers, digital
direct to garment printing, dye-sublimation and screen printing are a few of
the options available. They all have their advantages and disadvantages, but
with versatility in imprint location, garment colors and fabrics options
nothing beats the quality and relative cost-effectiveness of screen printing.
Screen printing is the standard imprint method for most apparel. The process
consists of burning your design into a fine mesh screen for each color in your
design. The ink is than squeezed screen by screen through the mesh by squeegee
onto the garment and heated in a dryer to cure the ink.
The options on the where to purchase
imprinted apparel are just as numerous as printing methods. A quick web search
on “screen printing” will return an almost endless list of local and national
printers. Before you make that all important decision on who to use, here are
some tips to make sure you’re ready.
1. Quantity – Quantity
plays a direct role in how much you will be charged per shirt. Most printers
use tiered pricing in increments of 12 with costs decreasing as quantities
increase with an average minimum of 12 pieces. The “sweet” spot is typically 48
or 72 pieces for the best value.
2. Imprint Sizes – Standard
imprint sizes for apparel sizes vary, click the thumbnail to the right to view
the standard imprint locations.
3. Apparel Colors – When
choosing your apparel colors keep in mind that printing lighter colors onto
darker garments might require an extra white screen or a “puff” print to use as
a base increasing the printing cost.
4. Imprint Colors – Since
each color in your design will require a screen, the amount of colors in your
design directly affects the cost of printing. For designs with more than 4
colors or photographic images it might be more cost effective to use four color
process printing. This method uses four screens to combine cyan, magenta,
yellow and black inks to a full color spectrum. This process works best on
light or white garments.
5. Design – If you have a
graphic artist you use, now is the time to put them to work. Vector files
(.eps, .ai, .cdr) are the standard files needed for screen printing. If you are
unfamiliar with the term “Vector” then the artwork you are creating is not
going to be considered “good art”. If you do not have access to vector art most
printers offer this service at an additional cost.
6. Apparel Sizes – Choosing
how many of what size can be tricky. Click the thumbnail to the right to view
suggested sizes to purchase.
7. Charges – It’s not
unheard of with screen printing to think you have a great deal and then be hit
with a number of charges you didn’t expect. Based on the complexity of the
print options you have chosen for your apparel printing other charges may
apply. Here is a list of typical screen printing charges:
1. Run Charge – This is the
standard cost of screen printing your apparel
2. Screen Charge- This
charge covers the creation for each screen
3. Additional Location Run
Charge – If you use the same imprint on multiple locations on a garment there
will be charges for each location.
4. Change of Color Charge:
This charge incurs if you want multiple colors of the same imprint.
Looking for a way to make your
custom apparel process as simple as possible? Contact Sheri Breaux, a HALO Account Executive, 281-658-1392
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