Businesses often look for gift ideas for their employees, especially as the holiday season approaches. Merchandise such as shirts, t-shirts, sweaters, bags, hoodies, etc., along with a combination of different customised prints on fabrics, come in handy.
There are quite a few types of fabric and clothes printing in Auckland. Each type of clothes yields different results depending on quality and durability. The fabric and pattern desired for these products also contribute significantly to the end result.
Here, we will explore different types of printing on fabric and their advantages and disadvantages. This can help you decide the printing technique that suits your organisation’s style and brand positioning.
1. Screen Printing for Clothes and Fabric
This list must start with screen printing, a technique gaining immense popularity in the fashion industry. In textite printing, screen printing can be of three types. Flat screen printing, which is best suited for shirts and bags; hand-screen printing, which suits shirts and homemade constructions and rotary screen printing, which is ideal for fabric rolls.
Screen printing entails a procedure to be executed carefully. It is rather challenging as getting a two or three-colour gradient requires a smooth tonal transition. For screen printing, you need to create a stencil or screen to apply thick layers to a surface. Ink is directly applied through the mesh screen with its small opening. Leaving the mesh open where the logo is, a photosensitive layer is brought to the UV light. After this, the screen is placed on a board and ink is pressed through a squeegee on the item. The process ends with drying, and it should be remembered to use separate colours for each stencil.
Advantages:
- Prints last longer than other methods
- Cost-effective and suitable for high-volume printing
- Excellent for solid colours
- Good quality and soft touch
Disadvantages:
- Requires a lot of space
- Necessitates skilled workers
- Not-so-detailed printing on rough surfaces
2. Indirect Screen Printing
The next method on the list is indirect screen printing, which uses plastisol ink. First, a plastisol sheet with ink needs to be properly dried to remove the peelable graphic film. The rest of the process involves squeezing the film with wet wire to peel it off the base. This is followed by blow-drying, which holds the screen print longer.
Indirect screen printing can drastically lower the costs if you can collaborate with fabric printing houses that engage in mass production. The plastisol ink works best on fabrics that combine polyester and cotton in 50-50 proportions.
Advantages:
- It’s not as messy as screen printing
- Good quality, durable designs
- Suited for small orders
- Faster compared to regular screen printing
Disadvantages:
- Plastisol application is tricky
- The plastisol transfer sheet is expensive
- Incorrect procedure can crack the design up
3. Screen Transfer Printing
Screen Transfer Printing is another common technique. In this, a screen is prepared like a regular screen print. Transfer printing involves printing the design on a transfer paper and using heat and pressure to transfer it onto the desired surface. Once all the colours are printed, a layer of glue in the same shape as the logo is printed, followed by the application of a special powder.
Advantages:
- Wide choice of colours
- An exact colour match is possible because of the white base
- Colour brightness is high
- Ideal for small and detailed prints
Disadvantages:
- More expensive than regular screen printing
- Long production times
- Printing surface must always be flat
4. Digital Printing
In digital printing, pressure and heat are used to transfer the design from a special transfer sheet onto the desired surface. A cutter is first used to shape the design and then applied to the item with a heat press much like in standard transfer printing. The logo is imprinted on a special paper with a white base and glue, pre-applied on it. Finally, like in regular transfer printing, the cutter shapes the design, followed by a heat press transferring it to the desired item.
Advantages:
- Applicable in a wide variety of colours
- Equally wide variety of shapes
- Bright and vibrant colours
- Cost-effective for small-volume printing with zero setup costs
Disadvantages:
- The 4-colour print process restricts the Pantone colours
- Expensive for large orders
- Suitable for ‘single cut forms’ only
5. Embroidery
A popular and widely used process, embroidery is a technique that requires redrawing of a digital logo. This enables determining the necessary stitch count. Following logo redrawing, a ring is placed on the two sides that are to be embroidered. The item is put under a heavy sewing machine with heads that can hold up to 15 needles.
Advantages:
- Offers fifteen colour options
- Long-lasting results
- Rich and luxurious appearance
Disadvantages:
- Quite expensive, with costs being calculated per cm2
- Not ideal for intricate details
- Pantone colour matching is not possible
Closing Thoughts
Apart from these, there are several other options for clothes printing, and each comes with distinct processes and their share of pros and cons. It really depends on the budget, the colours and fabrics to be used, and the complexity of the design to decide which one suits you the best. Most of these techniques are versatile and promise satisfactory results.