ExpertShirt Blog

When screen printing t-shirts, a surprisingly important factor in determining price is the color of your textile. Choosing a white shirt will result in considerable savings in your printing costs. There are a number of reasons why this is the case, from initial shirt pricing to factors in the printing process.

T-shirts are usually priced in two categories, “Whites” and “Darks”. White t-shirts are always the least expensive shirt when compared to a colored t-shirt of the same brand and type. For no other reason than shirt price alone, whites contribute to a lower overall printing cost.

There are also price advantages in the printing process itself when using white tshirts instead of dark. When printing on dark shirts, many inks need to have more than one layer laid down in order to completely cover the shirt. In order to keep the layers from smearing, the first layer will be partially dried under a heating element in a process called “flashing”. Having to flash colors in a print run adds considerable time to how long a shirt is on the press and incurs an additional charge. Most colors on white shirts can go on in one layer and rarely have to be flashed.

A similar factor that affects price on a dark shirt is the requirement for a white underbase. Light hues and bright ink colors will not print well, if at all, on a dark shirt regardless of how many layers are put down. To overcome this, a white layer of ink in the same shape as the colored layer is printed first and then flashed to dry it. Then the final color of ink is laid down on top of the white. Not only does this have the flashing charge as described above, but also there is now an additional ink color, namely white, which further raises the price.

While beautiful and striking work can be done with screen printing images on dark shirts (as well as white), if economy is a major factor for your project, you would be better served to create a design geared for white shirts.

Your two main choices of shirt in screen printing are 50/50 cotton/polyester blend and 100% cotton. Which type you would choose depends on your own aesthetic preference and the particular needs for the job.

100% cotton t-shirts, such as Hanes Beefy T and Fruit of the Loom Lofteez, are a denser fabric and have a heavier feel. Ringspun 100% cotton t-shirts have a soft, almost fuzzy, feel. However that same texture can show through on an image, giving it a worn look. After washing, the fibers can break through the ink film, causing the image to look dull.

An area where 100% cotton shirts, non-ringspun, work well is 4-color process printing. A higher weight shirt (6 oz. or higher) provides a denser, tighter surface to hold the small, fine dots and continuous ink layer of a detailed 4-color process image.

50/50 cotton/poly blend shirts, such as Jerzees Heavyweight 50/50 and Fruit of the Loom Best, have the advantage in pricing and durability. They also have less shrinkage than 100% cotton, although new processes have made shrinkage much less of a problem for 100% cotton than it used to be. T-shirts that are going to worn and washed often will last longer when printed on 50/50 textiles. 50/50 shirts also have a lighter feel that some people prefer.

In the final analysis, the main consideration in choosing between 50/50 and 100% cotton, other than some technical considerations regarding printing, will be your own personal preference in the weight and feel of the material. For a lighter feel and a more durable shirt, choose 50/50 blend. For a heavier, more luxurious feel go with 100% cotton.

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