There are many variables that can affect a print’s quality. From the squeegee to the correct cure temperature, every piece of screen-printing equipment used can affect a job’s outcome. Think of the equipment as tools,: when used correctly, the outcome will be positive.

Before you open a shop, it's important to create a business plan that sets you apart from the rest. Ask yourself who your key customers are, how you are different from the others, and what the budget may be. There's nothing more importantant than clear communication with your team and your customers. You have to take the time to decide what the ultimate goals are. There are many things to consider before starting a screen-printing business. You have to balance financial budgets with business goals and provide numerous supporting skills to be functional. Hard work, dedication, and perserverance are all a must. Like any business, this one will not become successful overnight. 

I’ve been creating artwork for the garment-decorating industry since 1986 and I’ve earned every one of my gray hairs because of it. Artwork lies at the heart of all decorating processes in our industry. Without it, we’d be selling blanks. If you want to learn about artwork and how to create it for the various decorating processes, you first should know about certain trends and other aspects of our industry, and why you should pay attention to them.

It’s also important to realize how each decorating method requires you to think differently about the artwork you will design so that embellishing products is an easier task.

Nazdar SourceOne promotes Rob Coleman to vice president of the company’s textile business unit. As vice president, Coleman provides leadership to the unit’s sales team in the United States and Mexico.

Tri-Blend.  Have you noticed that this style is dominating t-shirt sales lately?
Once upon a time in the decorated apparel industry, there used to be a name for those types of gray shirts. 
Heathers. 
Back in the day, there were really two choices for a heather gray shirt.
A lighter version, called Ash and the traditional gym class gray usually called Sport Gray, Oxford, Light Steel, or some other variation.
These days Tri-Blends come in a crazy multi-colored, heathered rainbow of colors. 
Like a bowl of t-shirt Skittles.  You can get just about any color you want.
The fabric, as the name suggests, comes in percentages of three sourced materials. Cotton and Polyester usually make up the largest portion, but there can also be Rayon or Modal to make up the third. 
And, for the sustainability-minded, fabric materials can be recycled or organic too.
But, we are not just talking about t-shirts either. There are hoodies, v-necks, raglans, henleys, pullovers, tanks, scoop-necks, wide-necks, color-blocked, and jersey shirts. 
It’s a big line-up.

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.