Most everything you need to know before placing your order......

The art of silkscreen printing (screenprinting) has been around for a lot longer than you and I.  Though there have been many advances in the equipment involved, the process has not changed a lot.  Here is how it works.  An image is etched onto a screen made of silk, the screen is placed above the textile product to be printed on, ink is forced through the web of the screen with a squeegee.  The ink is then cured by either air curing, or heat curing, depending on the type of ink used.  Sounds simple right?  There is a little more to it.  Here are some things you need to know in order to make informed decisions regarding your purchase.  I will refer to shirts here, other textiles are similar.

Let's start with the bottom line....what goes into the cost of screenprinted garments?  The two major considerations are, how many colors are used in the design, and what shirt you are printing on.  For each color of ink required to complete the design, there needs to be a separate screen, thus more cost.  Darker shirts may require a basecoat of white which needs to be flash-cured before the other colors can be added.  By utilizing the shirt color for one of the colors of the design you may be able to reduce the cost of your finished product.  

Next is the artwork.  For each screen, a film positive needs to be created.  If screen-ready art is provided to your screenprinter they won't have to do much work however, if you hand us a sketch that we need to convert to screen-ready art, it is going to cost you more in the form of "art fees". 

Screen charges - Some companies charge you for the labor and materials required to prepare the screen that will be used in the printing process.  This charge can be anywhere between $10-$40 depending on the printer.  Some printers add this into the cost of the shirts so you don't really see it as a line item.  Be sure to ask if there is a screen charge. 

Location, Location, Location - So you want a small logo on the front of your shirts and a large print on the back.  Since the shirt can only be printed on one side at a time and the ink on the first side must be cured before printing on the second side, the shirt must be handled twice.  More cost.  Same goes for sleeves etc.

Get ready, get set-up, go - Set-up fees may be charged to cover the labor required to get the screens lined up for multi-colored designs.  One color prints take just a couple of minutes to get set-up.  Multi colored prints require precise placement of each screen in order to get the colors in the correct location.  More labor...more cost.

Does size really matter?  So you say to your printer...it is only a small logo, so that won't cost as much right?  Wrong.  Regardless of the size of the print, a screen must still be created and the process of printing is still the same.  There may be cases where the printer must create two screens for the same color if the image is too large.

Take one for the team!  So you want everyone to have their name and number on the back, it's gonna cost ya Sam.  Each name requires it's own place on a screen, meaning an individual set-up for each garment.  Same with numbers.  There are alternatives, we can discuss those later.

Don't go changin' - OK, Dick and Jane can't agree on the shirt and ink color, so they both get their way and order the same design with a different color ink.  Now the printer has to change the ink color on the screen.  More labor....more cost.  Usually color changes are around $10-$15.

The more the Merrier! - Simple economics.....the more you buy the less it is going to cost per shirt....just ask any printer.  I wish I could convince my local gas station to buy into that philosophy!!

That nearly covers it.  Anyhow, I encourage you to get a couple quotes before spending your money.  Hopefully, you have learned enough here to help yourself safe a few bucks on your purchase.  Get in touch with us if you have more questions.

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