Preferred Methods of Fabric Printing

By Richard Parrott


Printing on fabric has changed into a fast and easy task these days, with advanced printing technology allowing you to choose your own design and print it on a spread of materials. You can buy slogan T shirts or get your favorite photograph imprinted on it. But many garment manufacturing firms, no matter what the size, use totally different methods of printing those engaging designs onto your own clothing. Here are some of the most typical printing systems used.

Screen printing

The most commonly used methodology in printing on fabric is screen printing, or as it is sometimes known, display printing. This method is still utilized in most printing companies as it requires minimum resources to print on fabric. Here, a woven mesh is employed and the design, in the shape of a stencil, is placed on top of the mesh, looking rather like a screen. The mesh screen, together with the design, is placed on a section of fabric and is pressed down on it by a rubber roller. This pressing action forces ink in different colours through the screen, thereby printing the specified design onto the fabric.

Heat transfer

Heat transfer is another common method of printing on fabric. This method is generally shown to provide sharper prints than screen printing and is way more complex, requiring a rather more accurate mixture of printer, paper and ink. Using this process, the design is initially put onto the fabric and a heat press is applied to transfer the ink onto the design. The heat from the press ensures the ink dries swiftly and doesn't come off.

DTG printing

This is a fairly new technique of printing on fabric is direct to garment printing or DTG as its known. This way of printing is digitally possible with designs created through sophisticated computer software and modern inkjet printers which print the design onto the fabric. DTG printers are well setup to handle all kinds of prints. The fulfillment time for DTG printing is very quick, making it an attractive option when the need for slogan T shirts or promotional wear in large quantities is critical.




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