Silk Screen Printing & Embroidery

Silk Screen Printing

Traditional silk-screen printing is a very popular process. It involves “color separating” graphics and producing silk-screen stencils using the information from each color separation. Each color in the design will have its own designated screen. This means that a 1 color graphic would require just one screen for its single ink color, while a five color graphic would require five screens for each of the five colors being printed. These silk-screen stencils for each printed ink color are aligned with one another and the graphic is formed by depositing ink from all the individual screens onto the garment, one by one.

This process is known for its ability to produce vivid colors that “POP”. Other printing processes like dye-sublimation on blended fabrics or DTG digital printing fall short when it comes to generating bright, opaque colors. This makes it a popular choice for people who want their graphics to be as eye-catching as possible.

Another great feature of screen printing is that it allows you to apply special effects to a garment. Making your shirt glow in the dark, reflect light, or even change color in sunlight are all possible to do by means of screen printing.

Pricing for screen printed apparel is driven by several key factors:

  • Total quantity ordered
  • Number of colors in your print
  • Total number of print locations
  • Quality of the blank garment being printed on

ARTWORK

For optimal printing results, create and send your artwork at its “life-size” or actual printed dimensions in a vectorized format like ai, pdf, or eps with all fonts converted to outlines. If this is not possible and you need to send rasterized art, please send you graphic sized approximately as large as you’d like it to be printed and set at a resolution of 300 dpi. Rasterized files are acceptable in psd, pdf, tiff, or jpeg formats.

Adjusting the settings for your image size/canvas space to “life-size” dimensions and resolution to 300 dpi needs to be done BEFORE you begin designing. If you design your graphic on a small canvas and at a lower resolution, you can’t simply enlarge the design and change the resolution to 300 dpi and get a high detail file. Starting with the canvas space sized correctly and the resolution set at 300 dpi before you design will improve the quality of your print.

OTHER PRINTING COSTS

Color Changes
When we drop ink into the screens to print your graphic, this first color set up is free. If you would like to change a printed ink color on a portion of your order, there is a $15 color change fee for each color change. For example, if you wanted to print a one color image on both black and white tees you may consider printing half the order in black ink on white tees and then change this color to print in white ink on the black tees. The change from white ink to black ink on the last half of the order would result in a single color change fee of $15 (the first black ink color to start the run was free).

Complex Separations
When screen printing photographic images or designs with complex elements like gradations and fades, there is a one-time $200 charge for creating the set of complex color separations.

 

Embroidery

 

Embroidery is another popular service we offer and is known for its professional look and classic appeal. This makes it a great choice for corporate, high-end private label, or collegiate apparel. Common applications of this process include polos, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats, and bags.

The first step in the embroidery process involves converting your artwork into stitches. This is a process called “digitizing” and it involves a one-time (digitizing) fee based on the total number of stitches in your graphic. A higher total stitch count merits both a higher digitizing fee and a higher price per embroidered location, whereas a lower total stitch count would make for both a lower digitizing fee and a lower price per embroidered location.

When putting together your artwork to be stitched onto the apparel or accessory of your choice, there are a few points to consider before submitting your design for production.
For an optimal result with your embroidered graphic, follow these guidelines:

  • Use all solid colors
  • Avoid halftones, gradations, and fades
  • Enlarge areas of small detail for a more accurate embroidered result
  • If possible, provide specific (PMS) pantone values for each color (optional)
  • Do not attempt to embroider photographic images
  • Textures are generally not recommended. Hair, fur, or metal-looking surfaces, for instance, can deviate significantly from the originally intended result by appearing solid and not detailed.
  • You can only get so much detail with thread, so the bigger you make the graphic, the more probable it is that the end result will match what you wanted.

 

ARTWORK

Create and send you artwork in either a vectorized format (ai, pdf, or eps) or a rasterized format (psd, pdf, tiff, or jpeg) that is sized approximately as large as you’d like it to be imprinted and set at a resolution of 300 dpi before you start designing. If you design you graphic on a small canvas and at a lower resolution, you can’t simply change the resolution to 300 dpi and get a high detail file. Altering the settings for your image size/canvas space to life-size dimensions and resolution to 300 dpi needs to be done BEFORE you begin designing. Starting with the canvas space sized correctly and the resolution set at 300 dpi before you design will improve the quality of your imprint.