cheeno23

i've just screen printed my first run of shirts and i'd like to know if its necessary to wash them prior to putting them up for retail. Is this a common procedure that people in the industry follow? Any help is appreciated.

 

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etctees

Under very few circumstances should you wash shirts prior to sale. Even when residue from DTG printing is present, washing is very rarely done prior to sale.

The one time I *did* wash a shirt before retailing it was very early on in my home-based backyard guerilla steciling, when I accidently tipped over a pallette of ink that I wanted to wash out of the shirt. I only sold the shirt to a work colleague, so it didn't matter

So the short answer: No, don't wash them.

 

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snarley

The main reason you would wash a shirt it to test it to see that the plastisol ink is fully cured. The ink must reach it's fusion temperature around 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Curing your ink is one of the most important aspects of screen printing. Most screen printers don't wash shirts before distribution.

Bill M

 

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cheeno23

thank you guys for the feedback.

 

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highstyleinc

As a manufacturer, the main reason we wash shirts is for shrinkage. But, if you are buying blanks and printing yourself, then that's not an issue beacuse the blanks should already be pre washed. The only reason we would wash a shirt after a print is for special treatments to soften the print.

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http://www.highstyleproductions.com
custom apparel manufacturing for small companies

 

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cheeno23

maybe if i clarified my situation a little it would help. i printed with both plastisol ink and discharge ink. for my case, should i wash the shirts prior to sale?

 

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Jasonda

Quote: Originally Posted by cheeno23 maybe if i clarified my situation a little it would help. i printed with both plastisol ink and discharge ink. for my case, should i wash the shirts prior to sale?

As the other posters have stated, the standard practice is to sell shirts in an unwashed state. The fabric used to make the blank shirts you buy have already been "pre-washed" by the garment factory. Additionally, there is nothing dangerous (as far as I know) about wearing a printed shirt as long as your ink has been properly cured.

Aside from sticking to the status quo, two good reasons I can think of for not washing shirts are:

1) Shirts don't look new after you wash them.

2) Many people are allergic to the dyes and perfumes used in common laundry detergents. Better not to irritate your customers!

 

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