Screen Printing on T-Shirt [Textile Machinery and Equipment]

t-shirt screen printing machine Last week we told you about DTG printing. No big deal, it just allows us to act like super ninjas who can print any design you desire on a t-shirt in under an hour. What’s that? You think we’re wizards? Well maybe we are. Maybe we are. Because that’s not all we do. You’re thinking to yourself right now, “that’s impossible, t-shirts in an hour are already extremely admirable, what else can they do?” How about a little thing called Screen Printing? Hell yeah, we do that too.

What is Screen Printing?

Screen Printing, which is also known as Silk Screening, is a badass method of printing graphics on a t-shirt using thick inks that lay on top of the shirt rather than soaking into the shirt. Screen Printing is what most companies use and, back in the day, was the only major way to create bulk amounts of custom t-shirts. OneHourTees offers Screen Printing, along with one hour DTG printing, because in some cases, it’s better to use Screen Printing over DTG.

With thicker inks, screen printing is better for graphics with only one or two ink colors being used. Rather than DTG the screen printing will make these colors pop out at you like jack in the box. The thick ink will have a soft feeling if touched and can make for a really amazing look. If you’re in no rush and have minimal colors for a t-shirt, we recommend Screen Printing. It looks great and is often more affordable for larger quantities.

How Does it Work?

So how does Screen Printing work? Well, it’s not like DTG that’s for sure. Instead, a thin mesh is stretched tightly over a frame (originally the screen was made from silk, however, mostly made from polyester today). A negative of the design is printed onto the screen to be placed against the shirt. Once set correctly, ink is rolled over the screen, only the areas where the design has been printed allows ink to slip through. The ink then sets on the t-shirt and is put aside to dry.

We’ll be honest with you, it’s a lot more complicated than that. There’s a lot of separate chemicals, inks, and techniques that go into making your shirts, but that’s the jist. While it may not be as quick as DTG printing, it can result in a thick and bold design.

We recommend Screen Printing for simple company logos, team names, and t-shirts with text. As well, screen printing works very well with both light and dark t-shirts. Often, DTG has a tougher time with dark shirts, but screen printing, as long as the right inks are used, will stand out compared to any other technique for t-shirt customization.

Excuse me, but what the hell are you waiting for? We just told you what screen printing is all about, so get on our quotes page and request us to set up a consolation. We’ll walk through the process with you in more detail and even help you with a design if you need one. With the best t-shirt designers and options to offer, you’ll be happy you came to OneHourTees.com