Personalized T-shirts are an item widely used to promote brands, for business, political and sporting events. And now they are also a trend for the final consumer, who wants to express his individuality with unique garments, personalized with family photos, soccer teams, characters from movies, series, musical groups, etc.

Who does not like to receive a unique gift, specially designed for us?
There are different techniques to print T-shirts and to select the best option in each case you must take into account the type of fabric, color, design, budget and even the use that will be given to the garment.

Here we tell you about the best techniques to personalize t-shirts:

EMBROIDERY

It is one of the oldest techniques. It consists of making designs on the garments using colored threads that are sewn together to form the design. The results of embroidery are undoubtedly the best quality, and it is the technique with greater durability in the garments.

Advantages

• Excellent quality designs that last forever.
• It does not deteriorate with use or washing.
• It is the technique that adds the most value to the garment.

What is needed?

An embroidery machine. There are several models of embroidery machines, depending on the type of garment, fabric and size of design you need.

Recommended for: Company logos, schools, institutions, uniforms and decoration of high quality garments.

SUBLIMATION

It is a digital printing technique, which consists of printing a design on paper (with printer and sublimation inks), which is then applied on the shirt and through pressure and heat of a heat press, the ink evaporates and is fixed permanently to the surface of the garment.

Advantages

• It is easy to learn.
• It has no color limits.
• It does not deteriorate or lose color with washing.
• The touch of the print on the T-shirt is soft and imperceptible.
• It does not require great investment (printer and thermal press).
• It can be done in small spaces.

Tips

Keep in mind that it can only be printed in light colors and the T-shirts must be 100% Polyester or have at least 80% in its composition for best results.

What do you need?

Printer with dye sublimation ink and paper and a heat press.

Recommended for: All kinds of uses, custom t-shirts in general, events, promotions, sports clubs, etc.

HEAT TRANSFER VINYL

The vinyl is a very thin PU film, which comes with an adhesive on the back that is activated by heat and adheres to the garment. The technique consists of cutting a design in this material and applying it to the garment by heat and pressure (with a heat press). It is a very simple technique with excellent results in terms of color, quality and resistance to washing.

Advantages

• It is one of the most used and popular techniques of the moment.
• It does not require great technical knowledge, only basic knowledge of a design program.
• Strong and vibrant colors that do not fade with time or washing.
• Great variety of printed, metallic, glitter, holographic, etc. textures.
• Can be applied on cotton or polyester fabrics, in light or dark colors.
• Excellent resistance to washing.
• Low initial investment (cutting plotter and heat press).

What is needed?

Heat press. The vinyl can be cut by hand, but to get the best out of it, it is recommended to use a cutting plotter.

Tips

When choosing this technique, keep in mind that it is suitable for solid and flat color designs. While there is no limit to the number of colors that can be applied, we suggest using not much more than 4 colors, to make it faster and more cost-effective.

Recommended for: All types of uses, custom t-shirts in general, events, promotions, sports clubs, uniforms, workwear, sportswear etc.

TRANSFER PAPER

This is one of the easiest techniques to print T-shirts. It consists of printing a design on paper and then transferring it to the garment with heat and pressure in a heat press. A great advantage is that there are transfers for different types of printers. Therefore, if you already have a printer, you can select the appropriate type and you will not need to invest in a new printer.

Textek is a professional dtf printer manufacturer, which can offer you full series DTF printer, from A3 size to large format size DTF printer. Besides this, we can also provide high quality DTF ink, DTF powder, pet film, poweder machine and heat press machine. One-stop service, help you improve your business.

Advantages

• It is very easy to use, and in a few steps you can customize a T-shirt.
• It is one of the most economical techniques.
• What do you need?
• Inkjet, Sublimation or Laser printer and Thermal press.

Tips

There are transfers for light or dark colors.

Recommended for: Promotional events, advertising, etc.

SUBLIMATABLE VINYLS

It is similar to the previous one, the difference is that it can be printed on a sublimation printer. It combines the two great advantages of both techniques in terms of color and durability. There are several types of textures: velvety, common vinyl type, fabric type, etc.

Advantages

• It is possible to print unlimited color designs, photographs and color gradient effects.
• Can be applied on cotton or polyester fabrics.
• Can be used on both light and dark backgrounds.
• Excellent durability and wash fastness.

Tips

Can be cut by hand, but for best results, it is recommended to use a cutting plotter. Designs without backgrounds or with open backgrounds work best.

What do you need?

Heat press. You can cut the vinyl by hand, but to get the best out of it, it is recommended to use a cutting plotter.

Recommended for: All types of uses, custom t-shirts in general, events, promotions, sports clubs, uniforms, workwear, sportswear etc.