Apparel Decoration

Silk Screen Printing Apparel Decoration

Sometimes just referred to as Screen Printing, this is the most common way of decorating Apparel. An image is separated into a series of single-color plates or images with screen printing. A mesh screen is placed over the fabric, and one color of ink is placed down at a time. This process allows the ink to seep through onto the material. Each color gets a new screen. Screen printing can be a challenge for multicolor designs as all the screens have to line up at the right spot. How close the printer gets is the “registration.” Because each color requires a new plate and a “run,” the cost will increase substantially when many colors are involved. However, screen printing can be a cost-efficient method of decorating your garment for simple jobs. You can screen print on most clothes, as long as the Apparel is reasonably smooth. You can match exact PMS Colors with Screen printing. The best file format for your artwork is “vector .eps or .ai” See our FAQ for more information on artwork files.

Direct To Garment Apparel Decoration

Direct to Garment Printing, or DTG for short, is a printing technology that jets eco-friendly water-based inks onto the garment to create your image. The ink is bonded onto the garment by a pretreatment layer cured in a textile dryer. 

This method is different from traditional silk screening technology. Screen printing uses a plastisol ink pushed through a synthetic mesh screen by a squeegee to create your image. Since this is a digital process, the print is sharper and has a higher resolution, or DPI, than traditional printing methods such as screen printing. However, unlike screen printing, there is no lengthy setup or clean-up process, and DTG can print just a few shirts for one low price.

The final step is to cure the ink in a textile dryer, which bonds it to the shirt. You can use Direct To Garment Printing on almost all Apparel in our catalog. You will find out more on our Direct to Garment Apparel page. The best file format for your artwork is “vector .eps or .ai” See our FAQ for more information on artwork files.

Embroidery Apparel Decoration

Embroidery is a process that embellishes a fabric or garment in which colored threads are sewn onto the fabric to create a design. Embroidery may be done either by hand or machine. Embroidery is generally used within the promotional product industry on apparel, bags, or other cloth products.

Embroidery can be placed directly on your product, such as a cap or shirt.  You can also embroider a patch, and attach the patch to the garment. This is typically used in uniforms.

We begin by taking your logo, message, or name and “digitizing” the artwork. This is the specialized process of converting two-dimensional artwork into stitches or threads.

Unlike some other imprinting types, you can provide us with your artwork in just about any popular format (jpg, tiff, eps, bmp, etc.). We don’t actually “convert” your artwork; rather, we actually recreate the artwork using stitches. Once converted, the digitizer instructs the embroidery patch sewing machine to sew the design in the colors selected.

Because embroidery is three-dimensional, the results are far more exciting than traditional silkscreen or other imprinting methods. See more information on embroidery.