T-Shirt Printing and Decoration
Every decoration method has a break-even quantity set by setup cost. Pick the method from the order size.
How to choose a decoration method without overpaying: the break-even quantities, the artwork rules each method imposes, and the finishes worth the extra step.
- Three routes cover all 21 articles in this cluster
- Four decisions separate a print that sells from one that fails in the wash
- Every route ends in a specification you can send with the artwork
Three routes, and you only need one of them
Start from the quantity, from the artwork, or from how the print has to wear.
Choose the method by order size
Screen printing carries a per-colour setup that has to be amortised, so it wins as the run grows and loses badly on small runs. DTG and transfer printing invert that: almost no setup, higher cost per piece. Embroidery is not really a volume decision — it is a placement decision, and it suits small logos where a printed patch would look cheap. Match the method to the quantity you will actually order this year, not …
Screen printing economics are a colour-count decision
Underbase, flash time, mesh count and placement all move the unit price, and the largest single lever is how many colours the artwork uses. Reduce the design to three colours or fewer and the setup cost, the failure rate and the proofing time fall at once. Specify placement with a measurement rather than a description: a print 7.5 cm below the collar and 10 cm wide is a specification, and a chest print is not.
Embroidery punishes bad digitising
An embroidered logo on lightweight jersey needs a cut-away backing and a stitch count the fabric can carry: too few stitches looks thin, too many pulls the shirt out of shape. Ask for the digitised file and a sample sew-out on the actual fabric before approving. Small text is the usual failure, and below about 5 mm cap height the letters close up regardless of what the file says.
The fabric has to accept the decoration
A method that works on a 180 GSM jersey can fail on a lightweight or a garment-dyed base.
Specialty finishes add texture, not durability
Puff print adds height that flattens over time; flock gives a velvet hand that pills; discharge removes dye rather than adding ink, so it ages into the garment instead of sitting on top of it. Each one adds a production step and a quality risk, which means it should be specified only where the design depends on the texture. If a finish is central to the product, test it on a production sample and wash it five times first.
Match colour across batches, not just within one
Substrate shade and ink batch both drift, and the drift is invisible until two orders sit side by side on a shelf. Approve the print against a sealed reference piece under a fixed light, record the ink formula, and ask for the same substrate dye-lot discipline on repeats. If the shirt is garment-dyed, the print has to be specified after the wash, because the wash moves the base colour underneath it.
Four decisions decide a decoration programme
The rest of this page follows from these.
Order size picks the method
Setup cost decides it. Screen printing carries a per-colour setup; DTG and transfer carry almost none.
Colour count sets the risk
Every extra screen adds setup, a registration risk and a place for the print to drift between batches.
Placement written in centimetres
A print 7.5 cm below the collar and 10 cm wide is a specification. A chest print is not.
Wash performance specified
Puff flattens, flock pills, discharge ages into the garment. Choose the finish for how it looks after thirty washes.
Printing and decoration questions
What is the cheapest way to print 50 t-shirts?
How many colours can screen printing handle?
Does embroidery last longer than print?
Can I print on a seamless garment?
What should a print specification include?
Send us your artwork
Send the design file, the order quantity per size and colour, and where the print sits on the garment. We will come back with the method, the setup cost and a sew-out before bulk.
Request a print quote