T-Shirt Printing - what are the options?

Used mostly for the application of logos, sports and business names, this cost-effective method involves the design or lettering being cut from vinyl and then heat-pressed directly onto the garment.  Vinyl comes in a wide range of colours however the fabric must be able to take a high heat - cottons and most polyesters are suitable.

With this method, ink is pushed through a mesh screen onto the garment.  The ink lays on top of the fabric rather than soaking into it.  Because a screen needs to be made up for each design, and is applied in layers for each colour, it is a good option for simple designs.  The thickness of the layers of ink and the type of ink itself determines how it will look and feel.  Specialised inks such as puff, metallic and glow in the dark are available.

With this method, an image/design is digitally printed onto a transfer which is then heat-pressed onto the garment.  It is good for one-off designs, images and photos.  It has a soft vinyl kind of feel to it.

This method uses a special printer to spray the ink directly into a garment.  It's great for small quantities because of the simple setup.  Because it is a digital process, you can use it for photos and images.  It has a soft-to-touch feel.

This is a process by which dyes are applied to polyester fabric using heat, resulting in bright, well-defined images.  Usually the fabric is dyed first, before being cut and made into the garment itself.

Embroidery is a great option when you are using a fabric that can't take heat and also for wool and polar fleece where application of ink or vinyl does not work well.

At Frame n Copy, we can offer Cut Vinyl, Printed Transfer and Embroidery options.