The Different Clothing Decoration Methods Offered By A4 Apparel

07/04/2015

Just like there are 2 sides of a coin, there are pros and cons in each decoration method. If you are willing to invest money in a personalised t-shirt print, it would be best to know where and what you should be spending your money on is. So, here are some of the pros and cons of the different methods of t-shirt decoration we are able to offer you right now! In this article we cover Screen Printing, Vinyl Transfer and Embroidery.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is a method used to personalise t-shirts in which creating screens are pressed against the t-shirt until the design is visible. Here at A4 Apparel we have both automatic and manual screen printing machines and can handle a maximum of 8 colours in a design ( although technically its 9 if printing onto a white fabric ).

Pros: The best thing about this method is that not only is screen printing is cost effective; it also gives a professional and high quality look to the design and to the fabric itself as well. The durability of the personalised T-shirt print is definitely worth the investment, given that it is already light on your pocket.

Cons: Although there are many pros with screen printing, there are a few cons which come with it as well. Each colour present in the design requires a different screen, which means there is a lot of work going in to each t-shirt making it time consuming, messy, and only 1 t-shirt can be attended to by a single person at a time.

Machine Embroidery

Machine Embroidery uses a sewing machine to create designs and patterns on textile fabrics. Once an image has been digitised into a standard embroidery file format it is handed to the Embroidery Machine which in turn stitches the required design into the cloth.

Pros: This method returns the most professional and expensive look. The design can also be given depth with advanced stitching techniques and there is usually a lower minimum order because the design is saved electronically for later reuse.

Cons: Larger designs can quickly become very expensive and not all materials are suitable for embroidery, perhaps due to waterproof coatings or the fabric being too thin to support the stitch. The more complex a design, the more expensive it will be to produce. If a design contains text which is too small it may be illegible when embroidery is used – these are important factors to consider.

Heat/VinylTransfer

This printing method requires a printer which prints the required design on to a special paper which is used. It is best suited to items which are harder to print such as personalised bags and custom caps – it is cheaper than embroidery.

Pros: The best part about this method is that you can get multiple colours and even very complex designs just as the customer requires through this method. The colours do not have to be applied on the fabric differently one by one; they can be taken care of all at the same time. It is best for small orders and for different customisation prints.

Cons: Although there are many pros to this t-shirt printing method, there are also some cons associated to it as well. The method is not appropriate for bigger bulk runs; the cloth is actually the brightest addition to the design and it works its magic best only on white shirts. It fades away much quicker on darker fabric and does not look as good on darker t-shirts. The designs also tend to crack a small amount after a few washes.

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