When it comes to how t-shirts or apparel in general are printed, it has been our experience that the average person does not quite grasp what the difference is between the many different ways a blank shirt can have something put on to it. We get people all the time that find this awesome shirt on the internet and automatically think that they can just walk in or send us a picture and we can reproduce it. So let’s try to shed a little light on the subject and see if we can’t explain the different ways you can get something put on a shirt and which of these ways is the best way for what you are looking for.
First let’s list some of the most common options a person has to get something put onto a shirt.
a.) Airbrush
b.) Heat Transfer
c.) Silk Screen(or screen printing)
d.) DTG or Direct to garment
As an example, here are 3 recent pictures sent to us by customers who assumed that either these shirts were airbrushed or they assumed it is easy for an airbrush artist to just reproduce it.
The most common printing methods that the general public sees on a fairly regular basis is either heat transfers or Airbrush. These are the two methods that you see being done in almost every “tourist trap”, amusement park, and in malls, and it figures that these two(especially Airbrush) are what most people think of when they wake up one morning and decide they want to get a shirt made with something on it. The problem is that most people do not know the difference in how both of these methods, as well as the other two methods mentioned above actually work and therefore have no clue on which one they need to get what they are looking for.
Example #1, #2, #3 above are NOT airbrushed. They are shirts that have been completed by one of the OTHER methods.
#1 was either screen printed or Vinyl printed
#2 was DTG printed
#3 Could be either screen printed, transfer or DTG
Of the 4 methods mentioned above , B, C, D are the three that can generally have the same “look” to them”. The only one that has a completely different “look” and is ALSO completely hand painted(not printed by a machine) is “Airbrushing”
Also, airbrushing is the ONLY one of these methods that a person can completely make something up on the spot and it can be made right in front of them… like…“I want a picture of a T-Rex with I’m the Big Brother in blue and green” An airbrush artist can actually make your idea right in front of you, right on the spot(if they have no customers ahead of you). You can’t just walk into a place that does ANY of the other 3 methods and have ANY idea you want put on a shirt on the spot. ALL the other methods require time, preparation or some kind of machine to do the work. Where as an airbrush artist only uses themselves their talent and their brush.
Therefore when the average person wakes up and decides they want “A picture of a T-Rex with I’m the Big Brother in blue and green”, the first place they think of to have it done is an airbrush artist. Simply because they have seen airbrush artists in public painting things just like what they are looking for.
But what about just words, or team shirts with names and numbers and a team logo… or… what about company shirts? This is where the confusion comes into play. While an airbrush artist can do ALL of these things, airbrushing is not the right printing process for these types of designs. The reason is: cost, efficiency/time and the final look of the shirt.
Airbrushing is all hand painted(with an airbrush) and NOT done by a computer or created using a computer. Therefore, when creating multiple shirts with the same thing on it, they will all look slightly different because they are all individually hand painted. This is NOT what you want for “team shirts” or “Company shirts”….you want them all to look the same.
Image 3
As far as cost and time, for an airbrush artist to make a shirt that looks like the typical “jersey” for your kids soccer team,(see image 3) … there is a lot of work that would have to go into trying to “Airbrush” a shirt that looks screen printed or digitally printed.
An airbrush artist would have to manually(or even with a plotter) cut stencils for each name and number for each shirt. Then individually attach each name and number stencil to each shirt and then airbrush it, then peel off the stencil. This would take hours to do….and therefore since time is money, each shirt could run you $50-$200 depending on the amount of detail.
Where as the other methods of screen printing, digitally printing and even transfers, you can print the entire team in the time it would take for an artist to “Airbrush” one shirt that “looks” like it was done by the other methods, and you can do it at a cost of $8.00-$10.00 per shirt.
However since the average person sees an airbrush artist create a shirt with a “ picture of a T-Rex with I’m the Big Brother in blue and green” on the spot, right in front of them, they automatically think…wow…if he/she is that talented and can do that, they can easily put my company logo on a shirt, or print our shirts for our kids soccer team. They think we(airbrush artists) do shirts that look just like the shirts in the examples above.
So let’s give a quick explanation of the difference between the other 3 methods and airbrushing along with what types of things are generally printed using each of these methods.
As already explained, Airbrushing is all completely hand painted….no computers or machines used. Where as the other 3 methods ALL use computers or machines to create the artwork and/or print the shirt.
Heat Transfers:
Transfers are pictures or words created on a computer and then screen printed or digital printed onto a special paper which is then put onto a heat press and all the ink from that piece of paper is then “pressed” onto the shirt. This is the most common type of printing you see at all the “tourist trap” stores in vacation destinations. These shops have hundreds of different designs and all you have to do is pick which one you want and they “press” it onto a shirt for you. Most of these places have dozens of transfers for each design. The transfers themselves have either been printed or screen printed on special paper that allows ONLY the ink to transfer to the shirt when put under a heat press. Unlike Screen Printing and DTG printing there are restrictions to transfers …especially when doing colored shirts. So be prepared to to accept that the design you want may not be able to be done as a transfer.
Another variation of the Heat Transfers are the Vinyl heat transfer shirts. A lot of people are creating these on their home cutting machines like “Cricut” and “Silhouette” machines. They are generally just 1 or 2 colors with possibly a simple graphic. Vinyl transfers are also more popular now for team shirts with different names and numbers on the back because it is easier to cut these out and press them on a shirt than having to “print” each shirt separately.
DTG or Direct to garment:
Like the heat transfers above, the pictures or words you want printed onto the garment are created on a computer. That image is then sent to the DTG printer filled with a special ink for fabric(picture a really big ink jet printer just like most common household printers). Instead of sending a piece of paper through it, you send a t-shirt. It then proceeds to print whatever you sent over to it onto the shirt just like an ink jet printer does to a piece of paper. As little as even 10 years ago most “mass produced” shirts were screen printed. Since then DTG has become the most common way that the highly detailed, fully printed(front back, sleeves,) shirts are produced these days.
Screen Printing:
Screen printing uses a computer to separate all the different colors in the artwork you want on the shirt…..even if its just words that you want in different colors. They then take each of those areas of color and create a “screen”…(almost like your window screen except with holes that are a lot finer). Using a special light and special film/chemical that eats away the film when exposed to this light and exposes only the area(color) that they want to print. They do this for every area of every different color in the design and then they put each screen onto the press and then “Squeegee” paint through the screen onto the shirt and that area comes out in the color you squeegee. They do this with ALL the screens of each different color and when done your shirt comes out looking like the artwork you originally requested. So for example, if you take the #1 example above “Black fathers matter”…there would be one screen for all the area in the design that is white, one screen for all the areas that are green, one for red and one for the yellow. Each of these screens would be lined up on the press and each color printed until it comes out looking like the finished example above.
These days most places that screen print have elaborate machines that hold the screens and does all the squeegeeing for you. In most cases all an actual person is doing is putting the shirts on the machines and taking them off and making sure each screen has paint in it to print. The shirts are pretty much printed by the machine. This is the most commonly used method for team shirts, company shirts etc…that have just 1-3 colors and need to be produced in bulk.
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As I am sure you have noticed by now, the above 3 methods use computers or machines. The actual printing of the shirt is all done by a non-human(except partially for screen printing). Where as airbrushing is completely done by a human from beginning to end. Hence the reason why airbrushing may ,in a lot of cases, be more expensive than the other methods. As with everything else in life, If you are trying to create something that requires a specialized talent or skill then it will probably cost more. Asking an airbrush artist to create something that can be done much better, quicker and at a lower cost by a different method, even though it’s “possible” for them to do, then obviously it’s going to cost more.
So next time you wake up with this truly unique idea and want to put it on a shirt, take a few moments to think about exactly how you need to have it done or at least be open to having it done in a manner other than what you THINK it should be done in. For example in example #1 above….do you actually want that shirt?…or do you just want a shirt that says…”Black Fathers Matter” with the colors red, green, yellow”?….there is a huge difference in an airbrush artist creating their own version of that shirt using those words verses actually “Copying” that shirt as is…..Think about it.
Hope this helps clear up any confusion about the many different ways you can get something put onto a shirt.