METHOD SCREEN PRINTING
Feel free to take advantage of our free resources to further your knowledge about screen printing shirts. If you have any questions that are not addressed here please feel free to contact us.
Resources
ARTWORK
PRINT-READY ARTWORK
DIGITAL ART • RASTER ART • VECTOR ART • PANTONE MIXING • STANDARD PANTONE LIST • SIZE AND PLACEMENT • MOCKUPS • CLIP ART • RELABEL
What is print-ready artwork? If you are not a graphic designer, you may not be familiar with what is considered print ready art work. In this section, we’ll cover a few basic to help you better understand what makes the condition of the art so important when it comes to your final product.
DIGITAL ARTWORK
There are two types of digital graphics files – vector and raster. Vector images are made of hundreds of thousands of tiny lines and curves (or paths) to create an image. Raster images are composed of pixels. When it comes to screen printing, we recommend providing a vector image when possible. Vector art will produce the cleanest lines in screen printing and the artwork can be scaled to any size without losing any quality. Raster files run the risk of pixelating, which can transfer to print, when it is enlarged beyond it’s original size.
RASTER : FILE FORMATS
We recommend providing your design in the file format generated by the program used to create it. Raster art’s size and dpi will heavily effect the quality of the print. You should build your art to scale for print and set your dpi to 300 when possible. Raster images take more time and effort to process so art fees may apply. Adobe Photoshop is the most popular program used to create raster art.
RASTER ART FILE FORMATS : .psd, .tff, .png, .jpg, .pdf
VECTOR : FILE FORMATS
We recommend providing your design in the file format generated by the program used to create it. Vector art work is ideal for screen printing and embroidery, since those files works so well they don’t usually incur artwork fees. Adobe Illustrator is the most popular program used to create vector art.
VECTOR ART FILE FORMATS : .ai, .eps, .svg, .pdf (Editable PDF File)
PANTONE INK MATCHING
We stock a large selection of inks, but we will Pantone match when requested. Branding has become essential to the success of a business, so we understand the importance of a branding guide. We mix our inks based on Pantone Solid Coated. If you’re building art for screen printing, it is recommended you design using Pantone Solid Coated as it is the industry standard. Please note that an official Pantone book is the most accurate way to reference Pantone colors, as colors vary from screen to screen, but if you do not have a Pantone book feel free to download the digital version here:
STANDARD PANTONE LIST
Requesting a custom mixed Pantone may result in additional fees for your project. You can always substitute the colors in your design with a color off of our standard Pantone list to avoid additional fees. Please note that an official Pantone book is the most accurate way to reference Pantone colors, as colors vary from screen to screen. View Method’s standard Pantone list here:
EMBROIDERY THREAD COLOR OPTIONS
We offer a large selection of thread options for embroidery. These thread options are provided by Madeira, a thread company since 1919. If you’re building art for embroidery, it is recommended you design using Madeira thread colors as it is a number one provider in the industry. Please note that an official Madeira Thread Book is the best representation of the thread colors but if you do not have access to a physical thread book feel free to download the digital version here:
DESIGN SCALE AND PLACEMENT
More often than not, the decoration scale does not change in production. The maximum size and placement of a design vary garment to garment. We have to make sure we size your design so that it properly fits on the smallest garment chosen. Things like construction, seams, and even collars also need to be taken into consideration. You can view our guide lines for some basic decoration areas here:
CREATING A MOCKUP
There are a variety of different ways to mockup your design. The easiest is finding an image of a blank shirt online and placing your design on top of the image. It can be hard to scale a garment 100% accuarately, but it can be very helpful to have a visual reference when it’s done correctly. Here are some pre-set mockups for you to use for reference. (They are photoshop .psd files) :
DESIGN RESOURCES
If you’re looking for fonts and clipart to help you with a design, there are plenty options out there. We recommend hiring a professional graphic designer if you’re an established business or brand, however if you are just starting off or have a small project, we understand that may not be an option. There are free and affordable tools available to you. View some of the sites for more information:
CLIP ART : vectorizee.com, freepik.com
FONTS : dafont.com, fontsquirrel.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS : dribbble.com, instagram.com
CREATE A CUSTOM RELABEL
If you want to rebrand your custom printed apparel with screen printed labels, we have you covered! Follow the simple instructions included in this template file. You can find care instructions icons and descriptions here as well. If you have any questions please contact us at : [email protected]
APPAREL
LEARN YOUR APPAREL OPTIONS
PRODUCT CATALOGS • POPULAR PRODUCTS
There a hundreds of styles of apparel available to print on. Certain print methods require a specific fiber content, so keep that in mind when selecting your garments.
CATALOGS BY BRAND
Here, we’ve put together various catalogs from a variety of popular brands for you to reference. You can also go to our products page and see popular products by style or brand.
VIEW POPULAR PRODUCTS
If you’re just starting out and are unsure of the garments to use for your project, a good start would be viewing our popular products page to see what other customers have used for their projects. There are also catalogs to show a brand’s full selection of products.
PRINTING
PRINT METHODS
MESH COUNTS • UNDER BASES • SHOPWORN & DISTRESS
By now, I’m sure you know there are a lot of print methods available to you, but how do you get the result your looking for? That’s where we come in! We have a ton of resources and knowledge at our disposal. Take a look a few pointers we’ve laid out for you.
HOW MESH COUNTS AFFECT YOUR PRINT
The mesh count of a screen varies and different mesh counts are used for different printing methods. If you want a lot of detail in a print, you’ll need a higher mesh count to hold smaller halftones and lines. A Lower mesh will result in more ink flow to create an opaque print. There’s no “better” mesh count, it really depends on your design and the level of detail present in the artwork.
VIEW THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT MESH COUNTS (Coming Soon!)
UNDER BASING YOUR PRINT
An underbase is used when you want an opaque print using light colored ink going on dark colored garments. A white surface is printed under colors that need a bright surface to pop off of dark garments. If you don’t underbase lighter inks, they will not print their true color on darker garments, which is never ideal. When this is necessary, we will add the underbase to your artwork.
SHOPWORN AND DISTRESSED PRINTS
A Shopworn print is a design printed with a low deposit of ink to create a vintage-looking print that is soft to the touch. Shopworn prints often look best on heather shirts. A distressed print is when a distress mask is added to a design to create a broken and cracked print.
VIEW EXAMPLES OF SHOPWORN AND DISTRESSED PRINTS (Coming Soon!)