Have you thought recently about updating or creating your company logo? Company shirts and shop shirts continue to be a great way to brand your business. Do you want to commemorate an event like a reunion, a club party, or performance shirts for a race?
Printing T-shirts for these events can be a great souvenir and keepsake. Meant to endure hundreds of washings, whatever reasons you have in mind, the fundamentals of t-shirt printing remain the same. I have a closet full of printed t-shirts from every place I’ve traveled to in the past decade if you are like me. I also have company shirts that I wear proudly to meetings. Let’s not forget the fun run performance t-shirts that get washed and worn with every workout. The moments in our lives can be represented by what t-shirt you were wearing at the time.
Within this Ultimate Guide to T-shirt Design, I want to review each step to help guide you towards an action plan. This article will teach you t-shirt printing methods fast, from the inception of the idea to getting your shirts mass-produced. No matter the level of experience you have, this guide will give you an overview of what you’ll need to know.
Tips on fast t-shirt printing
Determine your goal for the printed shirts.
In the nearly 30 years I’ve been working with small businesses, the majority of the time, we focus on company Branding. Branding, in a nutshell, tells how a business is unique and different from other similar businesses. As well they should be, unique and different Branding are essential to a company’s success both short and long term.
I’ve observed that to be effective, there needs to be uniformity of color and style throughout all the Branding, from the website to the point of purchase display, printed t-shirts, embroidered dress shirts, hats, and jackets.
If you are using the t-shirts, you ought to print them for promotional purposes. If you are open-minded to the idea, let’s focus more on Branding. If you are going for a fashion niche, you have to weave consistent brand themes into your products.
However, if you are using it for personal use, such as commemorating an event, making sure that the t-shirt design communicates the message is paramount. Your local professional printer should be able to advise you when converting your Branding to screenprinting.
Suppose you do not have something in mind. This article will help you out. Write a list of key themes, styles, and traits you want your shirts to convey. Consider how you want the public to perceive your business? Conservative? Playful? Affordable? You name it, but you have to focus on a design tailored specifically for your Branding. The customers looking at it should know the message at face value and at a glance.
Define your budget and quantity for t-shirt printing fast
It is easy to get stuck when creating the actual t-shirt design. You might overthink what might go wrong with it. When you get creatively stuck with the t-shirt design, that is the moment to pick up the phone and consult with a professional printer. Your local print shop can be a great sounding board if you get creatively blocked or need to understand the scope of what is involved in a t-shirt order.
Let’s focus a moment on the cost details that go into creating the shirt design. Once you understand that the number of print colors and print locations drives the t-shirt design’s cost, you can begin to focus on a better plan. When I say better, you always want to focus on what makes sense for you and your budget.
For instance, your budget and quantity will determine how many colors you can use for the project. Also, remember that it is contingent upon the printing method; may it be screen printing or direct to garment printing. As a basic rule, if you want to save money, you’ll need to save money by conserving print colors and locations. Choosing to print on light-colored shirts can also save money. Blended poly-cotton shirts are economical, colorfast (they don’t fade as quickly as 100% cotton tees), and wrinkle-resistant. Consider using poly-cotton blended shirts for company shirts as your staff will show up looking uniform and unwrinkled.
The number of shirts that you need will also influence the method. Screen printing is ideal for printing in bulk. Experience shows that 48 shirts are the correct quantity for direct screen printing. The setup costs are averaged over 48 shirts and help keep the shirt’s price to around $10. This industry has had very stable pricing over the past 20 years because cotton and ink costs have stayed relatively unchanged. Because Screen printing is a cousin to the photographic process, the price of Silver and energy can affect pricing.
So before you start anything, you have to think of the budget and the quantity respectively. Typically, the more shirts you print, the less expensive each shirt will be.
And most importantly, call your local printer and discuss your project. Know your print options and how your choices are affecting the bottom line.
Let’s focus now on the two methods widely used by t-shirt printing companies worldwide to do fast delivery, namely Screen printing versus Direct to garment printing.
Below I’ve listed the primary decision drivers when choosing a print method.
Cost
Initial setup fees once overcome. Screen-printed t-shirts continue to be a very economical way of advertising and marketing 24/7.
Appearance
You set a casual or formal tone when you wear a printed t-shirt versus an embroidered dress shirt or jacket.
Time of production
The normal turnaround time for Screen printing is 1-2 weeks. You want to find a busy reputable printer.
Materials
There are three major types of garments, 100% cotton, 100% polyester, and lastly a cotton polyester blend. The performance of 100% polyester shirts has come on strong in the past decade. Consult your local printer for advice on which garment is best for your occasion and organization.
These are essential facets that you need to consider in t-shirt printing. The more you know about screen printing and the DTG method, the easier it will be to decide what is best for you.
Let us discuss the two methods.
Screen printing
Screen printing is what they call the “gold standard” for printing. As a business owner of a local print shop, I’ve always enjoyed and felt a part of an authentic lineage passed down from the pop movement that emerged after the second world war in the 1950s. Screenprinting straddles both worlds, modern art, and advertising. Born in 1963, I’m old enough to remember the dystopic feelings in and around the San Francisco Bay Area of California. By 1973 there was a feeling of discontent and the notion that dropping out was better than joining.
American artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, to name a few, made it their life’s mission to reject traditional historic-artistic subject matter instead of focusing on what they saw as the ills of contemporary society. Their focus was on the effect that mass-manufactured products and images were having upon society. These great visionary pop artists also worked in the screen printing medium, popularizing and globalizing it. It was like a black and white world became full of color. The beauty of their art was a salve for a wounded nation. Amidst the discontent, screenprinting emerged as a mainstream method of self-expression and affiliation. It was a way of saying, I’m with this group over here, and I’m rejecting what came before. More casual and relaxed, you could wear a t-shirt as a sign of both protest and solidarity.
Pros
- Screen printing is a reliable standard for printing.
- They are ideal for large orders of 48 or more.
- Reorders of the same print will look uniform from one image to the next. Color and content do not change over time.
- The durability of print is unmatched by any other method or printing. If done correctly, the image should outlast the shirt. I have printed t-shirts from 20 years ago in my closet, and they still look great.
Cons
- Films must be output, screens are burned and prepared for each color and location you want to print.
- The initial setup fees range from $40 for a one-color design to $200 for a five-color logo.
- Those colorful designs will end up being costly initially in setup fees. However, reorders of the same print will cost a fraction of that original setup fee when you reorder.
Direct to Garment Printing
A newer option for T-shirt printing companies, DTG printing uses the freedom of inkjet printing. DTG printing prints directly on fabric. Many of the latest e-commerce printing companies rely exclusively on this type of printing process.
Pros
- Highly customizable designs with full detail and extensive color choices DTG gives you photographic quality output.
- Because of space requirements, it usually costs less to get started.
- Similarly, you save time and money in pre-production because there are no films to produce, no screens to burn, no massive automated print machine that requires nearly 1000 square feet.
- The physical space these DTG machines occupy within the shop is a fraction needed for an automatic silk screen machine and its conveyer dryer.
- They are great for awards and keepsakes that will never actually be worn or washed.
- Speed of production, a printer can go right from the computer screen to printing on a shirt right away with very little prep time.
Cons
- Inks for these machines are expensive.
- A good production-ready DTG printer and dryer can cost north of $15-30k. They are used for small batches, limited runs of less than 48, or single samples. The more you’re printing, the less viable it becomes.
- Direct to garment printing doesn’t work well on dark-colored garments. A white under base is printed first and heat cured. The colors then are printed atop this white layer. The problem is that the white layer needs to block the color of the shirt from showing thru.
- In DTG printing, that opaque white print does not quite do the job. The durability of bright print colors remains an issue.
- Best results occur with 100% cotton garments. For t-shirts, this is okay. However, when you want to print on the fleece, most fleeces like hoodies and crewneck sweatshirts blend polyester and cotton.
- Any polyester content will reduce the durability of the print. The problem is that the dyes used in ink do not adhere to polyester fibers and wash out quickly.
Always brainstorm your design concept.
We come now to the enjoyable stuff. It would help if you started to figure out what is going on in your t-shirt. Your design could go in hundreds of different directions and creations. Make sure you brainstorm and choose the best strategy for your Branding. Call your local print shop and describe your project to them. They probably have cost-saving insights.
Conclusion
T-shirt Printing can be fast, easy, and affordable if you know the correct methods.
Printing T-shirts for events can turn into sentiment keepsakes. The fundamentals of t-shirt printing remain the same, and prices have stayed the same for nearly 20 years. I have a closet full of printed t-shirts from every place I’ve traveled to and every business you have worked for in the past decade if you are like me.
How to get your t-shirt printing done?
Printed t-shirts make a statement and also fulfill our creative desires. When used for marketing, they are a perpetual marketing machine working 24/7 to help brand your business and make a statement in your community. Call your local print shop to discuss your most recent print project. Would you be open-minded to the idea of consulting with a professional printer? Experience shows that an experienced printer can help you confirm your thoughts and the pricing and get your print project started.
Some important questions on fast t-shirt printing delivery
How do we have the ability to deliver such fast screen printing and embroidery services when other people take 2 weeks or more?
We have high-quality machines which handle printing from 10 to 10,000 per day. So once the design is ready, no matter the quantity of printing. With our 30+ experience in this industry, we can bring your idea to the table very quickly. Hence we can deliver your order quickly whereas other local print shops may take 2 weeks or more.
How fast can I get T-shirts printed?
Here the fast delivery is defined based on the printing method you choose. If you want durability and ok to wait at least 5 days screen printing is the best option. DTG printing is faster than screen printing. But you can choose it only when you want to have less quantity and don’t care about the durability of the print. At Merlin embroidery, we promise you in both methods we can deliver your order in a week.
How do you avoid copyright infringement with T-shirts?
A work is protected from the moment of its creation by copyright which means that any form of copying material without the owner’s permission is illegal. In order to ensure that you protect yourself from plagiarism or knock-offs, it’s crucial to register your copyright with a copyright department before publishing anything on the internet.
Can I sell a shirt with a copyrighted image?
Yes, you can sell a shirt with a copyrighted image, but it is illegal to do so. However, since this is not an attempt to make any huge profit, you may get away with it. It’s possible that the copyright owner won’t even care about you, but it is still illegal to use someone else’s copyrighted image without their permission. So it is better to get consent of the copyright owner before proceeding.
Do we handle fast t-shirt printing delivery in Los Angeles, NYC?
We are based in La Mesa (eastern San Diego close to San Diego State University), just blocks from Freeway 8, La Mesa Costco, and Kaiser. So we deal with the entire San Diego county.
What is our t-shirt printing fast turnaround?
For bigger quantities, we recommend the screen printing method.So if you choose screen printing we can deliver your order within a week regardless of quantity.
What are the fast t-shirt printing companies near me?
Merlin Embroidery is 30+ years of experienced company in this industry. You may reach out to us today at 619-884-9712.
Can we do cheap and fast t-shirt printing delivery?
In the business world, time is money. Getting a quick turnaround on a bulk order is a great way to save some time and money, especially if the job has to be done in a short space of time. So, it’s a great thing that we can deliver cheap and fast t-shirt printing. However, the quality of the product will be compromised if we do some cheap and fast t-shirt printing. It will affect our reputation. So we won’t entertain this here in Merlin embroidery.
