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mosphet · April 20th, 2007

Hi! Great forum. Thanks for the help. I have what may be a dumb question but I think many people may be asking. My main question is, what type of t-shirt printing to skateboard brands use for their t-shirts, i.e. dcshoes, quicksilver, hurly, etc.

There are so many different types of print, I think I know what i want, but i don't know the difference between them. There is:
screen printing
silk screening
heat transfer
plastisol transfers

Am i getting confused by these? I am intersested in the print that comes out sort of "thick" not necessarily sticking out, but thick paint-like printing. Any help? thanks a lot!!

jon

renwick · April 20th, 2007

many companies use plastisol screen printing,also heat transfer.
to get that look i`d plastisol screen print.But make sure you cure usins a dryer.

mosphet · April 20th, 2007

oh ok thanks. So i would tell the print company to do a plastisol screen print for me?

jon

Solmu · April 20th, 2007

Silk screening is just an obsolete term for screen printing, they're the same thing.

The companies you name use screenprinting. Plastisol is a type of ink, specifically it's the standard ink used in commercial printing. You shouldn't really need to specify the ink type as it's the default (specification would come in more if you wanted to use waterbased or discharge, etc. - which you don't).

The style of printing you're looking for is sometimes referred to as bulletproof printing.

Basically you want to go to a screenprinter and talk to them about what you're after. Tell them you want a thick print, and they should be able to take care of you. If you have an example of a print you like, bring it with you so you can make sure you're both on the same page.