Screenprinting 101: How to Get T-Shirts Made for Your Brand

Discover the basics of screen printing and how to turn digital designs into wearable art. Learn about stencils, burning screens, plastisol ink, and transferring artwork from vector graphics to T-shirts.

Learn the two basic art types, vector and raster, and why vector art is essential for screen printing by outlining your design and collaborating with a graphic designer.

Discover the five keys to your first batch of screen printed merch: art and colors, sizing and quantity, blank garment, and locations.

Learn to distinguish vector art from raster art and see how vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator remain crystal clear at any zoom, enabling color separation for screen printing.

Define the length, width, and height of your artwork to fit standard sizing on shirts; placement matters and printing cost stays the same regardless of size.

Explore traditional and specialty print locations for t-shirt designs, from front chest and back prints to sleeves and pockets, and learn how placement affects costs and setup with screen printers.

Explore ink colors in screen printing, from stock colors to Pantone matching, including per-color costs and guidance on selecting exact shades with your printer.

Discover the pros of screen printing: affordable in high-volume batches, capable of printing large areas and photographs, with durable ink and vibrant colors for professional t-shirts.

Screen printing provides the lowest unit costs at large volumes, but upfront setup plus per-color and per-location charges raise prices for small runs; consider DTG for 50 shirts or fewer.

Learn how under bases create bright, bold prints on dark garments by applying a white ink layer before color, reducing color bleed and boosting contrast.

Explore the garment finishing steps from cotton to market-ready t-shirt, including cutting, sewing, dyeing, and final touches like hang tags, woven labels, and poly bags.

Explore advanced print options for screenprinting, including spot color separation, four colors CNY K for white garments, simulated process for dark tees, and volume-based cost considerations.

Compare retail printers who charge high prices for small runs with contract wholesale printers that handle large volumes using automated presses, emphasizing efficiency, pricing, and quality.

Explore screen printing fabrics like combed cotton and organic cotton, consider pigment dyed options, compare brands like Bella+Canvas, Next Level, American Apparel, and source blanks from S.A. and RG Riley.

Explore ink types for screen printing, including traditional ink, soft hand (vintage look), water-based ink, puff, and natural discharging, and compare feel, durability, garment compatibility, and cost considerations.

Understand screen printing pricing, including print and garment costs and setup fees, and learn to cut costs by reducing colors, using vector files, and choosing stock colors.