winkle

Can anyone tell me what the best fabric content for screen printing shirts is? I have always used 100% cotton. Sometimes I have shrinkage problems with those. Is a cotton/poly blend any better? Do the shirts print the same if they are not 100% cotton? Are there any types of fabrics to stay away from becuase they will not screen print well? Thanks for all the help! I'm new here...

 

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Solmu

100% cotton is easiest to print, 50/50 will shrink less. Printing on synthetics usually requires an ink additive.

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SunEmbroidery

Prints seem to last longer on 50/50's because there is less breakdown of the fabric with repeated washings.

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Jennifer
Custom Embroidery and Screen Printing In New Jersey

 

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winkle

In regards to the ink additive... I dont need that on a 50/50 shirt do I? Straying from cotton is starting to worry me!!

 

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Solmu

To be safe you'd want the additive on 50/50, but I don't think everyone uses it (I use waterbased inks which don't handle polyester as well as plastisol, so things are a bit different).

One of the issues with polyester is dye migration, which can happen even on 50/50s.

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Aquille

Quote: Originally Posted by Solmu 100% cotton is easiest to print, 50/50 will shrink less. Printing on synthetics usually requires an ink additive.

and if 100% cotton is preshrunk? will it still present this problem?

 

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