Apparel
Screen Printing
The industry standard for custom apparel. Vibrant, durable prints for orders of 24 and up.
Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen directly onto the fabric, one color layer at a time. Each color requires a separate screen, which creates a fixed setup cost per color. At 24 or more pieces that cost spreads out, and screen printing becomes the most cost-efficient decoration method available. The result is a print that is crisp, colorfast, and holds up through years of washing.
Best for
- •Orders of 24 or more pieces
- •1 to 6 solid spot colors
- •Tees, hoodies, and flat-fabric garments
- •Bold, high-contrast designs where color accuracy matters
Not ideal for
- •Runs under 24 pieces (per-color setup fees make unit cost high)
- •Photographic or gradient-heavy artwork (requires halftone conversion)
- •Dark prints on dark fabric (underbase layer adds cost and weight)
Screen printing on custom apparel: what you need to know
Screen printing is the decoration method behind most of the branded apparel in the world, and for good reason. At volume, no other process matches its combination of print quality, color vibrancy, and cost efficiency. A well-executed screen print sits cleanly on the fabric, holds its color after repeated washing, and looks intentional rather than promotional.
The setup cost structure is what defines when screen printing makes sense. Each color in the design requires a separate screen to be made and registered. That's a fixed cost regardless of whether you're printing 24 units or 240. Below 24 pieces, screen printing is rarely the most efficient choice. Above that threshold, it's almost always the right one.
Artwork preparation matters more for screen printing than any other method. Designs with gradients or photographic detail require halftone conversion, which changes how the artwork reads in print. The cleaner and more graphic the design, the better it translates. Logos with 1 to 4 solid colors consistently produce the best results.
Most of the tees, hoodies, and bags in our catalog are decorated using screen printing. It's the default method for apparel orders at standard minimums, and the one we recommend when you want a print that looks as good after 50 washes as it did on day one.
Artwork requirements
File Format
Vector (AI, EPS, PDF) preferred. High-res PNG accepted for spot colors.
Color Mode
Spot colors. Pantone references preferred. Each color on a separate layer.
Resolution
Vector is resolution-independent. Raster files: 300 dpi minimum at final print size.
Notes
Gradients require halftone conversion. Provide a separate layer per color to avoid setup errors.
Questions about screen printing for your order?
We will help you confirm the right method for your artwork and quantity. Reach out and we will give you a straight answer.
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