Which is better for clothing embroidery or printing? 

When it comes to decorating a garment this is probably the most common question.

The answer is in understanding the process.

How does embroidery put logos, images and text onto clothing?

Embroidery is the process of using a sophisticated sewing machine to create your logo or design with stitches. Embroidery is priced by the number of stitches in a design. This means it is used mostly for small designs....like pocket size logos, web addresses etc where the area of fabric covered is small. The best thing about embroidery is its quality, 3 dimensional look. It never wears off , is color fast and will last the lifetime of the garment. 

Great for club, school or company designs to be seen within a few feet...when you are talking to people.

Once you have paid for the initial design to be made you can re color or re size often at no cost or minimal cost. The logo can be applied to hats, jackets, shirts, aprons, bags, towels or almost any fabric product in quantities from 1 to 1000. All at a reasonable price.

What are all the different ways to print onto clothing?

Print on garments is divided into digital printing, screen printing, transfer printing and sublimation printing.

How does screen printing work?

This process is best for large runs of large graphics on basic garments like T shirts for a club or tourist market. Also used in business where you want to identify people from a distance. i.e. on a building site, at an agricultural show or sports event.

Screen printing is great for large numbers of large graphics.
Mostly used for short life event garments or where the garment life or use is limited. Can fade and wear off.

The setup cost depends on the number of colors used. This process uses printing technology to create the design. This means the graphics must be made to print quality in high resolution. A full color design requires a set of 4 screens to be made, one for each color, which when mixed gives full color. Screens cost $60 each so the setup for a color job is a minimum of $240. Once made the size and color of a design cannot be changed without remaking the screens. Most screen print jobs are only one color to keep costs low. 

Printing costs are based on the number of shirts printed. Minimum economic runs are 20 units or more.

Why use Transfer printing?

This is screen printing onto transfer paper. Same process as above but the print is made onto paper rather than the garment. When required the design is " Transferred" from the paper to the garment with a heat press. Ideal for doing "as required" garments. The ink is heat sensitive so all you end up with is ink on the garment.

How do you use digital printing on clothing?

This process uses a digital printer to print any color onto a vinyl backing which is then welded or heatset onto garments. Suits many applications where high resolution graphics are required and the vinyl backing can be tolerated. The "labels" can be produced economically in a long run and held till required when they can be quickly applied to garments on an "as required" basis.

Good gfor clubs or schools who dont want to carry stock of garments. Just order as required.

What is sublimation printing good for?

This process is used for high quality long run garments where sophisticated graphics are required. Like rugby jerseys and cycling shirts with many sponsors and "fashion designed" panelling. The fabric is printed from the roll with an inkjet styled printer. Then the garments are cut out and sewn into a jersey. Expensive because they are NZ made and costing based on local labour rates and overheads. But used extensively where high quality, highly decorated garments are required.

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Phone 09 276 0462
P O Box 13 552, Onehunga
Auckland, 1643 New Zealand

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