Which printing methods we should choose for business

1. Screen printing

T-shirt printing businesses love it. If printing T-shirt, Screen printing is always prioritized because no method could be better than screen printing in excellent print quality and detail; most t-shirts you see on the high street are screen printed. This process should not be confused with heat transfer printing (or thermal prints). Transfer prints do not last as well and are not as good in terms of print quality. With screen printing, one color will be applied one time so the cost will increase if there are more colors need to be printed.

Pros: Giving professional long lasting print quality and very suitable for printing at high volume

Cons: Not suitable for orders less than 10 pieces with more than 4 colors because the cost will be high for set up the print run

2. Digital Printing

This is the ideal choice if your business focus on producing low volume personalized garments with complex colors. Digital printing can produce much higher resolution prints, making it great for replicating detailed images onto your t-shirt. The quality of the t-shirt has a direct effect on the quality of the prints that can be achieved and every t-shirt will print in a different way.

Pros: Can print multi color without large set up

Cons: The money saved is not significant even when you print large amount

3. Vinyl Cut printing

We usually use it for the logo, letter or number cut out and then heat applied on clothes. Generally, people apply it for single color product but we can overlay different colors of vinyl to produce some clever effects. Vinyl can use for different formats such as metallic, fluorescent, flock and reflective colors.

Pros: Suitable for producing individual names and numbers

Cons: Only suitable for small quantities and limited details.

4. Color copier transfer

Color image and each image transfers onto a large image transfer belt and then onto the page, which is transported from the pickup area past the transfer belt, where the image is transferred to the page, to the fuser unit where the toner is melted onto the page using heated pressure rollers.

Pros: Suitable for one-off photographs

Cons: Limited washability and leave area around printing area

Further reading

• PRINTING United Alliance
• Statista printing industry research