1. Let the Screen Printer Do the Heavy Lifting: Refer to the experts, particularly when printing custom shirts. While it may seem easier to upload a design and leave it at that, giving a screen printer a call generally saves time, money and gets you a better custom print shirt all around. Printers, like Real Thread, have dedicated themselves to mastering the craft of printing custom shirts. Call your screen printer, give them a full rundown of what you are looking for and let them build the best custom shirt for you.
2. Have an Example to Share: Do you have a favorite soft shirt that you can reference? Bring that up to your printer. Remember the feel of the fabric, the fit of the shirt and the brilliance of the print are all important in printing custom shirts. Examples are helpful because they allow the printer to match up the fabric and shirt fit to get you the best option for your organization.
3. Know the Difference between “Water Based” and “Plastisol”: There are two inks that are used in printing custom shirts, plastisol inks and water based inks. Plastisol inks are made with plastic and coat the garment with a thick plastic layer. Printing custom shirts with plastisol ink is cheaper and easier for screen printers to use. Water based inks dye your garment directly and make for a light, beautiful print that lasts as long as the garment does. Water based screen printing is more of an art process and takes a great deal of skill to do.
In print a soft custom shirt, water based inks are going to provide you with the best results. Real Thread does exclusively water based printing and are masters at the craft.
4. Finish Like a Champ: You have an enormous amount of options in how you can finish your custom print shirt. From retail-ready bagged shirts to hem tags, finishing options can fit any of your need. See a listing of some great finishing options here.
5. Double Check In Hands Dates:For all the great things your soft custom shirt is going to be, it isn’t worth much if it doesn’t arrive on time. At Real Thread we have a 10 business day turnaround on standard orders. Be clear on any in-hands dates and plan ahead for the items to arrive a few days before the event. Feel free to follow up with your printer to check on the process of your custom print shirt.
Let’s make something incredible together. Start building your shirt today.
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