If you are needing custom t-shirt printing for personal use of events or promotional purposes, you need to have some basic knowledge about t-shirt printing for ensuring quality and reducing cost. In this article, we are going to share a customized t-shirt printing guide for beginners. After all, it’s not about a matter of selecting a design and reaching out to the printing shop. You will see dozens of top-level companies emphasise brand awareness through their customised t-shirts. They do follow some rules of thumb to succeed. 

 

This t-shirt printing guide can help you to print your t-shirt successfully as your plan. It is a great plus that people from all walks of life have a demand for printed tee shirts. You are hopefully determined to meet their demands. 

 

Then let us spend a few minutes developing an understanding of t-shirt printing. Today we will be discussing the alignment of purpose, the placement and resolution of the design elements, tactics to reduce printing cost, how to decide on the quality, quantity, printing method, and so on. 

 

Here we go! 

 

7 Steps of T-shirt Printing Guide for the Best Results

 

You would be glad to know that this post is going to feed you end-to-end. Just follow this step-by-step t-shirt printing guide to get the best t-shirt printing solution. 

 

1. Align with your purpose 

 

People have different types of purposes. Assumably you also have your own. So the first job is to set the purpose so that you can act thereby. Now think whether you are looking to raise brand awareness or produce many tee-shirts for batch-mates or just for yourself. 

 

However, you see, whatever the purpose is- it’s all about branding. There might be a cause of social awareness like how to increase public awareness of Covid-19 Vaccination or adverse effects of climate change. And whatever the purpose is- you have a message to spread around, agree? Civilised people not only wear, but they also have a saying of their own. 

 

2. Decide on quality, quantity & budget

 

Do you have any idea how much T-shirt printing costs? On average, a single-piece T-shirt costs between £5 to £10. But printing in bulk would be more cost-effective. It generally costs between £1 to £4. Now depending on your requirements i.e., design quality, production quantity, and printing method, you will have to set the deal. 

  • To secure the desired T-shirt production, follow the steps below- 
  • Fix the budget and the amount of required production 
  • Fix the number of colours 
  • Set the size of your desired T-shirt 
  • Maximise the quantity as much as possible to have a cost-effective solution

 

3. Choose a suitable method from different t-shirt printing methods

 

Having a minimum knowledge of most types of t-shirt printing methods will benefit you. It will help you contrast and decide better. So go through the points below and consider using all the necessary t-shirt printing equipment! 

 

I. Screen Printing

 

For large orders, go for the screen printing method. This is the most common and most popular way of printing T-shirts. This system uses screens to apply ink to the t-shirts. 

 

Reasons to prefer 

 

  • It is advantageous for one colour per screen 
  • This durable solution reduces the cost of printing 
  • Doable either by hand or by machine 

 

Things to compromise 

 

  • It costs very high for multi-colour designs if it’s a small run i.e., for every new colour or design, you will need a new screen. 

 

II. Direct-to-Garment (DTG)

 

You can successfully apply various colour combinations here. This method is so customising-friendly that experts termed it as an on-demand t-shirt printing method. 

 

Reasons to prefer 

 

  • Suitable for small orders 
  • Can cover complex design 
  • Workable with more than 6 colours 
  • A method for putting pictures 

 

Things to compromise 

 

  • Not applicable for bulk printing

 

III. Vinyl Graphics

 

It works through transfer printing. It is adorable for a dynamic look and texture. People who look for t-shirt printing online embrace this.

 

Reasons to prefer 

 

  • More dependable than ink 
  • Ideal for bright colour designs 
  • Flawless printing 

 

Things to compromise 

 

  • Colour adding is costly 
  • Not suitable for large orders 
  • Not dependable for complex designs 

 

IV. Heat Press Printing

 

It is also called digital transfer printing. It requires a logo or design to print on transfer paper. Then by applying heat and pressure, you have to transfer the ink thermally from the paper to your fabric. 

 

Reasons to prefer 

 

  • Ideal for complex designs 
  • Best for online t-shirt printing 
  • Money-savvy method  
  • CMYK Full-colour photo print facility 
  • Welcomes various colours and placements 

 

Things to compromise 

 

  • Costly and time consuming for mass production 
  • Often makes the fabric too firm 
  • Suitable for light and dark colour design 

 

4. Develop your design 

 

You hear people searching like ‘what is the custom t-shirt printing near me’ and try to please them. Remember, pleasure comes when the design works. It would help if you strived hard to come up with an outstanding design. And here comes the necessity of a professional designer or a designing shop who treats designing as worship. 

 

The major 5 types of T-shirt design are as follows- 

 

  • Typography designs 
  • Photography designs 
  • Graphic designs 
  • Branded designs 
  • Halftone designs

 

In this regard, you should determine if the shirt type will be crew neck, tank top, v-neck shirt, or snoop one. The fixing of size, style, and theme is also important. Remember, artistic and slightly informal go well with a sports team or a creative platform, while a corporate tee-shirt should look homogeneous and professional. If you are new to custom t-shirts designing, here are some pro tips for designing t shirts.

 

5. Decide on colours and fabric 

 

As a design element, colour is highly significant no matter in custom t-shirt printing or the other. It translates to your style and personality. Here are two things you should consider - the T-shirt colour and the colour of the print. Choose a combination that rocks! 

 

On the other hand, the selection of fabric should depend on the printing method. For example, you can prefer cotton for screen and direct-to-garment printing, polyester for transfer, and sublimation printing. 

 

6. Get the best logistic solution 

 

Now it is time to choose your t-shirt printing machine. Having the best t-shirt design website won’t suffice at all. Depending on a 12-years printing and design experience, as one of the most reliable t-shirt printing service providers in London, we at Print Britannia are here to suggest the best t-shirt printing machines. 

 

  • Sportsman 10 colour / 12 station Automatic Textile Press
  • Brother GTX Pro DTG Direct-to-Garment Printer
  • Epson Sublimation Printer
  • Flatbed Screen Printing Machine

 

Each of them is a boss printer! Besides, it would be best if you mastered the upgraded t-shirt printing software like- 

 

  • Adobe Photoshop 
  • Autodesk Sketchbook 
  • Adobe Illustrator 
  • Adobe InDesign
  • CorelDraw Graphics Suite 

 

A proper logistic solution shall take your business to the next level by providing offline and online t-shirt printing services. 

 

7. On proper placement and resolution 


 The placement of the design is very crucial. Let us mention the placing points of a t-shirt design. These are- 

 

  • Large and centred 
  • Across the chest 
  • Across the back 
  • Entire back 
  • Yoke 

 

Now depending on your customers’ desire for customized t-shirt, you will have to go for any. We recommend maximum resolution for most productions, but avoid a resolution that you can’t convert to CMYK. And depending on the shirt type applying a flexible design is wise. Else, the use of effects should be in tune with the printing method. The best workable effects are- 

 

  • Glow in the dark effect 
  • Fading Glow 
  • Opacity 
  • Deep shadow 
  • Halftone

 

Tactics to reduce printing cost 

 

  • Use ink-saving fonts like Ryman Eco, Century Gothic, Brush Script, Ecofont Sans, and Courie 
  • Prioritizing PDF instead of paper 
  • Printing two pages into one-sheet 
  • Rigid proofing for the sake of unmistaken output 
  • Putting the printer at rest to be energy-saving 
  • Applying a Managed Print Service (MPS) solution 

 

You may be the cheapest t-shirt printing service provider. Nonetheless, it would help if you didn’t avoid such tactics for a better profit margin. You might also consider different types of stitching on your t-shirts or cloth.

 

Wrapping Up

The advantages of t-shirt printing are numerous for both individuals and businesses alike. Whether you need a cheap t-shirt printing solution or the opposite, Print Britannia is always beside you. Whatever you need printing services in Canary Wharf or anywhere in central London we will be always there by your side. We not only sell our skills and expertise or rely on the best t-shirt printing methods; instead, we want you to take a knowledge-based decision. That’s why to be happy with the t-shirt printing guide you should follow this way.