AWDis reveals the secrets to getting the perfect print!
Printing is one of the best methods for applying your bright, detailed and eye-catching designs to custom apparel. Alongside embroidery, printing provides quality and accuracy, but what type of printing is best for clothing?
At AWDis, we know that producing the perfect print comes down to selecting the right combination of design method and fabric. Method is all-important for ensuring your design transfers to your garment just as intended, and having a compatible fabric guarantees a lasting design. Ready to learn how to achieve the perfect print? Let’s cover everything you need to know!
Printing to Perfection: Understanding DTG
Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is one of the best methods for printing on custom apparel, which is why so many garments across our ranges are designed to accommodate it.
Perfect for applying detailed, multi-colored logos, DTG sees a garment placed directly into a digital printer. Working from a digitally uploaded design, the printer uses water-based ink to apply intricate designs directly onto the fabric, without a medium.
Pre-treating and post-curing garments are essential stages of the DTG process, helping the fabric canvas to absorb and retain the ink so that the design lasts for a long time.
What Are the Benefits of DTG Printing?
DTG offers several advantages that make it one of the most reliable methods for achieving perfect prints. These include:
Eco-Conscious: Using water-based inks, DTG requires no toxic materials to produce great designs.
Intricate Detail: DTG can capture high-detail, colorful designs and print them to an incredibly high standard, ensuring custom garments look as intended.
Minimal Setup: Relying solely on a digital design upload, DTG is simple to set up, and the lack of screens or stencils makes the process more accessible.
Is DTG the Same as Screen Printing?
If you’ve done a bit of research into printing methods, you might be wondering whether DTG is the same as screen printing. To achieve the perfect print, it’s essential to consider every option at your disposal, so what is screen printing?
DTG and screen printing are similar but not identical processes. Rather than using a printer to transfer a digital design onto a garment, screen printing sees an ink design pressed into a fabric using a mesh and stencil. Ideal for imposing simple, vivid designs onto large orders of cotton t-shirts and hoodies, screen printing lacks some of the precision of DTG when it comes to achieving the perfect print.
Sophisticate Your Design: When to Consider Embroidery
When discussing the best methods for printing your custom designs, we at AWDis believe it’s always worth taking a step back and considering all the tools at your disposal. While searching for the perfect print, it’s also worth evaluating the power of embroidery and how it can enhance your design.
Embroidery involves stitching designs into fabric with thread. Combining color and accuracy with a tactile finish, it not only evokes quality and premium value but can also complement your prints, adding accents of texture and verticality to your fleece or hoodie garments.
Can You Embroider on Any Fabric?
Embroidery is the go-to design method for producing college crests, logos, and emblems, and the key to giving your designs a refined, sophisticated appearance is selecting the right fabric. Unlike printing, embroidery adds weight to your garment, so you need to select a fabric that is strong and durable enough to hold your design and retain its tight hold, wear after wear.
At AWDis, we recommend 100% ringspun cotton for your embroidery designs. Garments like our College Hoodie keep embroidered designs tight and eye-catching while also providing soft comfort that feels great to wear around campus.
Making the Right Fabric Choice for Printing: Our Essential Guide
Selecting the right design method is integral to achieving the perfect print, but so too is picking a compatible canvas to work on. How does fabric choice impact print quality? Well, your fabric choice not only affects how your design will look once printed, but also how it will look one week, one month, or one year from now.
If you go with DTG printing, we recommend choosing cotton garments like the AWDis T. Not only do these pieces guarantee printability, ensuring that the ink bonds well and creates vibrant prints, but our smooth 100% cotton fabrics also let you achieve highly detailed and intricate prints, making them a popular choice for college-themed garments.
In terms of longevity, our ringspun cotton garments—including our Signature Heavy Sweat and Sophomore ¼ Neck Sweat—are tightly knitted, achieving bold, even prints without overloading the garment with ink. Our cotton pieces also ensure vibrancy remains after countless washes, ideal for performance wear and casual attire.
Want to learn more about how to pick the best fabric for your printing?
Check out our full print guide.
Achieve Printing Perfection With AWDis
Determining what type of printing is best for clothing is an important step in every clothing customization journey. At AWDis, we’re here to help you find the garments you need to make your branding, logos and team colors look their best.
No matter what you’re looking for, we’ve got the customizable apparel you need at AWDis. Got questions? Contact us – our team is always here to help!
