I often travel to see customers, many that are quite successful and large. When conducting ink testing or trials at their facilities, I bring some of our print samples to show them how our inks look and feel on a regular shirt. Recently I’ve shown our photo-realistic print samples, and some have replied that they are not able to get the same detail or result. That’s when I observe and see how their facility is run.

The process for printing on T-shirts has fundamentally remained the same for decades because it mostly was done on 50/50 blended and 100% cotton T-shirts. But the introduction of performancewear and moisture-wicking garments has demanded some changes in the screen-print and heat-transfer decorating processes on polyester materials.

Flash curing is when you incorporate a heating source into the inline printing process. The heating source can either be an infrared heating element or quartz bulbs. Either way, it is a source of heat that is implemented after first printing down a white underbase on a dark garment.

The garment-decorating world has shifted in recent years and now is irreversibly headed in a digital direction. Long-run production methods such as screen printing still have a strong place in the industry’s future, but most companies will need business models that include a digital component to compete in this new world. This market change is customer driven. In the online, instant-gratification society in which we live, customers are demanding increasingly shorter runs and customization — and they want it today.

Most garment-decoration methods involve “dialing in” machines to produce orders without hiccups from beginning to end — with the last print being like the first. When using a direct-to-garment (DTG) printer, other variables throughout the process potentially can impact consistency and quality from garment to garment.

With most DTG printers, the first step upon startup is to shake or agitate the white ink. Next, print a nozzle check. If you see breaks in the image (clogged nozzles), perform head cleanings until the nozzle check is perfect.

Some printers allow only head cleaning of the clogged nozzles, saving ink cost. If, during production, you see banding (horizontal lines in the image area), do additional nozzle checks and head cleanings until clear.

When trying to maintain the pristine condition of a product or material during screen printing, off contact is an important skill to have under your belt. If an ink you are using penetrates or is absorbed by the surface you are printing on, it is very easy to smear and smudge a design.

Ink tack is the ratio of how much the ink likes to stick to itself over how much it likes to stick to something else. With rare exceptions, we all want a low-tack ink irrespective of type or color. To facilitate transfer of inks with a higher tack level, the fill-rate of the mesh should be maximized and the flexion of the blade should be optimized to fit the mesh and apply sufficient shear-stress to the ink. 

Ensuring sustainable practices throughout the entire supply chain is near impossible to do. The best way to proceed is to first start implementing sustainable practices in your own business. This is the environment that you can control.

By mastering the ever-expanding range of special effects that can be achieved on apparel today, you can take your relationship with clients to an entirely new level. 

For Mother’s Day prints think outside of the box and use specialty inks to create designs that shine. Moms love bling.