Several people have a dream of launching their own business one day. But the process is not that simple. It is quite tough to select the products, the strategy to promote, and the ways to handle everything is not as easy as pie. It requires hard work and dedication to start a new thing.
And when it comes to starting a custom t-shirt printing business in California, you have to cover a number of aspects. You need to stand out in terms of quality, quantity, size and looks. Also, t-shirt printing customization is not the same for all the fabrics. This varies according to the fabric of t-shirts.
In this guide, you’ll get to know about the fabrics in detail and the best printing technique for a particular type of fabric. Fabric holds a very crucial role when selecting the design and the ink to be used. A wrong choice of fabric can ruin the design and affect the production of the whole lot. It has a direct impact on the sale as well. But in order to have an in-depth understanding of this business, you should have proper knowledge about the fabric.
What Are The Types Of Fabric?
Fabric is categorized into two parts i.e. natural and synthetic fabric.
Natural fabrics are extracted from natural resources like plants and animals. Bamboo, cotton, and abaca are some of the popular plants to extract natural fabric. And the animals to get this fabric are silkworms, sheep, etc.
The fabric that is obtained synthetically is popular for elasticity and impermeability. These are perfect to make clothes for sports activities. Some examples of synthetic fabric are nylon, polyester, etc.
However, when it comes to choosing the fabric for screen printing in California, its classification depends on the way it is produced. Cotton-based and polyester-based garments are the best choice for t-shirt printing customization. Now let’s understand things deeply.
Which Fabric Type is Best For Printing Customization?
Cotton-Based
Cotton is obtained naturally from the seeds of cotton plants and has a soft & fluffy texture. The method of processing creates the difference in the persistence and fabric. There are four main subtypes of cotton and which are cotton, ring spun cotton, combed cotton, and organic cotton These are further combined to make different types and quality fabrics.
Blended
This is a unique fabric which is created by mixing more than two types of fibers. Some common combinations are obtained by hybriding natural and synthetic fibers.
Polycotton
This is obtained by combining cotton and polyester fibers. The fabric does not shrink, is durable, and breathable.
Tri Blend
This is made by adding another fiber named rayon in a polycotton blend. The fabric produced by this blend is much softer.
Polyester-Spandex
This is made by combining two synthetic fibers i.e. polyester and spandex. The material obtained is highly durable and stretchable and is great for sportswear.
Now let’s have a look at some organic fabrics which are purely obtained naturally.
Bamboo
This is obtained from a bamboo tree and the fabric is highly breathable. The texture of this cloth is soft.
Recycled, Recycled cotton & Recycled polyester
Scientists and textiles produced fabrics experiments and made a technique to reuse the used fabrics. By shredding and separating the colored fibres, and then by adding required material make a new recycled and eco-friendly fabric.
Relationship between printing and textiles
Natural fabrics are preferred more than synthetic fabrics while choosing the fabric for printing. The reason behind this is that they are good at absorbing liquids. The synthetic fabric is made from oils and hence repels water. This is why there are special printing methods designed for screen printing on synthetic fabrics.
Various Printing Techniques For Different Fabrics
Well, everyday a new technique comes up in the industry. Some of the most popular ones are:
- Screen Printing
In this technique, the ink penetrates through permeable regions and is applied via a silk screen on the fabric. Water-based inks are mostly used and thus the suitable fabric is cotton.
- Transfer printing
Well, transfers are of many types which include CAD-cut vinyl. In this type, a design is cut from self-adhesive vinyl with the use of a computer and using heat it is transferred to the garment using a special paper. But mostly these transfers are essentially plastic, synthetic clothes work well.
- Direct To Garment (DTG) Printing
This method works similar to a digital printer but here the major role plays the fabric. This procedure is best for complex designs that include color variations. It only works on water-based inks and thus the preferable fabric is pure cotton.
- Pigment Printing
This is the most popular custom t-shirt printing technique in California to be used on natural fabrics such as cellulose. It is also used on synthetic fabrics as well. It is a cost-effective approach and there is no use of high-end machineries.
- Reactive Printing
This is one other method that uses heat to print designs on the fabrics. In this approach, a reactive dye or wax is used and with the help of steam it prints the design on the garment permanently. The dyes are printed with the use of an inkjet on pre-coated fabric.
If you’re interested to know more about screen printing in California, you should start from a very low level and use the simplest printing technique.
