| There are endless varieties of textiles appropriate for | | | | a ring-spun process. The result is a soft, smooth |
| screen printing, but only a few that make much | | | | textile, highly wearable and versatile in comfort and |
| sense when it comes to wear ability and cost. The | | | | elegance. "Ring-spun" refers to the process by which |
| most popular choice for modern t-shirts is cotton, but | | | | the carded and combed cotton is then turned into |
| your choice does not end at picking the natural | | | | thread with electric spinning frames. |
| cotton plant over synthetic polyester or a | | | | The cotton is separated into a set number of "hanks" |
| poly-cotton blend for your t shirt. Combed cotton or | | | | and then twisted, or spun, around each other. The |
| semi-combed cotton, ring-spun cotton and an | | | | number of hanks spun into a thread is called "ply", |
| enzyme wash are some of the distinctions that make | | | | with two hanks being 2-ply, three hanks being 4-ply, |
| the difference between a screen printed t-shirt and a | | | | etc. Some common alternatives to ring-spun cotton |
| favorite screen printed t-shirt. | | | | include open end spun fibers, often found in terry |
| Combed Cotton | | | | cloth items like towels and bathrobes and less often |
| Combed cotton is a great t-shirt choice for screen | | | | in t-shirts. The texture of open end spun fiber does |
| printing. Soft, and strong, it has all the makings of a | | | | not lend itself to screen printing or t-shirt quality. |
| favorite t-shirt! | | | | Other varieties include air jet spun, compact ring |
| The fibers in combed cotton have been thoroughly | | | | spun, friction spun, and siro spun fibers. |
| carded and then combed to lie in the same direction. | | | | For your t-shirt screen printing needs, we |
| The combing process removes dirt, impurities, and | | | | recommend sticking with ring spun combed cotton! |
| shorter fibers resulting in fewer extraneous fibers | | | | Enzyme washed |
| protruding from the thread. This means a t-shirt | | | | Enzymes have a number of uses when it comes to |
| made from combed cotton is softer against your skin | | | | textiles, including cleaning, finishing and texturing |
| and less likely to fray and rip. This is a great t-shirt | | | | effects. Enzyme washed t-shirts are the ones that |
| for printing onto because the smooth fibers readily | | | | seem perfectly worn right off the shelf. An enzyme |
| accept the screen printing ink. However, the extra | | | | wash is used to loosen the dye in fabric and create a |
| processing that goes into spinning combed cotton | | | | faded look as well as a softer feel, without |
| thread results in a more expensive textile. | | | | compromising strength. The great thing about |
| In terms of care, a t-shirt made from this material | | | | enzymes is that since they are produced by living |
| can be washed and dried normally, but dyed combed | | | | organisms, they are an environmentally friendly and |
| cotton may bleed at high heat. | | | | economical alternative to traditional industrial textile |
| Semi-Combed Cotton | | | | treatments. |
| T-shirts made of Semi-Combed Cotton have many | | | | Enzymes are applied to the garment, usually after a t |
| of the qualities of its superior sister, combed cotton, | | | | shirt is manufactured but before it is screen printed, |
| often at a lower cost. However, it is not as soft or | | | | and effectively breaks the dye into smaller molecules |
| as strong because it goes through a shorter combing | | | | that then are washed out. This means that instead |
| processes, leaving more short fibers in the thread for | | | | of adding another chemical substance to the material, |
| a rougher feel and less durability. | | | | it pulls the dye away resulting in greater softness, |
| Ring-spun Cotton | | | | less of that weird factory smell, and greater ink |
| These days, most combed cotton found in high | | | | binding power for screen printing. |
| quality t-shirt and linen materials is usually made with | | | | |