| So you want to design a custom shirt but don't want | | | | more than printing on light colored shirts. The |
| to pay too much for your order. Don't worry, this | | | | reasoning behind this is that to display ink colors in |
| guide has all the information you need to design a | | | | their full vibrance on dark garments, a ink underlay is |
| custom shirt that won't cost you very much. | | | | required. The ink underlay is put on, and then your |
| If you haven't already, you might want to read my | | | | design's true colors are put on over it. Many screen |
| guide about the economics of printing. Basically, it tells | | | | printers call this process "flash", and it adds a small |
| you what screen printing and digital printing is, and | | | | cost to each print. |
| the costs associated with both. It will help you have | | | | If your design requires a digital print, it is normally not |
| a deeper understanding about the following content | | | | even possible to digitally print on a dark shirt. This |
| Color Matters, A lot | | | | means that if you're design uses many colors (5 and |
| If you plan on ordering a decent sized order (lets say | | | | up), print it on a light colored shirt. If you want to |
| 12 or more custom shirts), then having less colors in | | | | print it on a dark shirt, it will require screen printing |
| your design will help make your order come out | | | | and the huge setup fee will probably cause the |
| cheaper. This is because when orders are big, it | | | | overall price to be much higher than if you were to |
| allows you the option of putting your design on your | | | | print it on a light shirt with digital printing. |
| shirt through screen printing. | | | | In general, printing your design on light colored shirts |
| Screen printing has cheap printing costs, but a large | | | | is cheaper than dark colored shirts (as a sidenote, |
| setup cost that depends on how many colors go into | | | | light colored shirts are normally cheaper than dark |
| your design. If you only have 1 color, the setup cost | | | | colored shirts as well). |
| is small and your shirt prints will not cost you very | | | | The Number of Prints matters as well |
| much. If you have many colors, the setup cost will | | | | If you only have one design that goes on the front, |
| be expensive and will end up hurting your wallet way | | | | then your shirt will only require one print. If you have |
| more than a single solid color print would. | | | | another design that you want to place on the back, |
| Usually if you have many colors in your design (lets | | | | your shirt will require two prints. If you have yet |
| say 5 or more), the screen print setup cost is | | | | another one that you wish to place on the sleeve, |
| normally very high and printers will opt to digitally | | | | the shirt will need three prints. |
| print your design. A digital print has no setup cost and | | | | Each print that your shirt requires costs money, so |
| allows for unlimited colors on your design, but the | | | | limit how many places you plan on printing on. Usually |
| cost of each print is considerably higher than the cost | | | | shirt printers can fit prints within a 12' by 18' |
| of a screen print. | | | | rectangle, so keep your custom shirt design within |
| So in general, if you plan on ordering about 12 or | | | | those proportions to avoid paying more. |
| more custom shirts, make sure your design only uses | | | | If you have any other questions, usually custom shirt |
| 1 or 2 solid colors to save money on the printing | | | | companies have representatives who are willing to |
| cost. If you are just making a small order (less than | | | | help you make your design as high-quality and |
| 12) shirts, feel free to go wild and have as many | | | | affordable as possible. |
| gradients and colors as you want on your design, | | | | Remember, to save money, make sure your design |
| because chances are it will be digital printed custom | | | | uses as few colors as possible and print it on light |
| t-shirt. To learn more about colors, check out my | | | | colored shirts. I hope this guide helped you |
| guide on color advice. | | | | understand the relationship between your custom |
| The Shirt Color Matters too | | | | t-shirt design, and the cost associated with it. |
| Screen printing on dark colored shirts usually costs | | | | |