MassoudFan

Hi Folks, I'm looking into screen printing a color photograph of a person's face onto a t-shirt. The print could be anywhere between very small (2" x 2") and somewhat larger (5" x 5"), depending on the design(s) I go with.

Some questions:

How does screen printing do with color portraits; how accurate are the colors? Realistic or not?

Would the (small) size of the print affect the quality of the color and overall look?

Would a black and white portrait be the better way to go? That's the way I was planning to go originally anyhow...

Thanks for any help that you can give me.

 

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Jasonda

Black and white will look nicer and be cheaper to print as well.

Are you going to do "one of a kind" portrait t-shirts? If you are, screen printing is not the way to go.

 

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dann

You could screen print it in color, and it could look fantastic if you have a good enough printer doing them.

Black and white white would be so much cheaper that it would blow your mind.

If you're dead set on color, I would go with either a DTG printer, or a printed transfer.

If you're ok with black and white, screen printing would be you're cheapest option. Unless of course you only want one done.

 

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Solmu

Four colour process is very difficult, and therefore very expensive. The size of the image shouldn't really make a difference. The results will be impressive if the printer is talented, and woeful if they're not. Black & white is way easier, which means the chances of your printer doing a good job are higher, and it will be significantly cheaper.

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MassoudFan

Thanks Jasonda, Dann and Lewis, I'll try starting off with black and white (with an opening run of maybe 50) and then take it from there...

Am I correct to assume that a black and white print on a black t-shirt is no problem...?

Thanks very much for your help!

 

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out da box

No, it IS a problem. Well it can be, it depends. It's only black and white, but it can still be tricky to make the design look good. I've seen b/w pics done with 3 or 4 screens. 2 whites and 2 greys, or 2 whites,grey,and black. It all depends on how critical the design is to satisfy you.

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Solmu

Quote: Originally Posted by MassoudFan Am I correct to assume that a black and white print on a black t-shirt is no problem...?

It makes it harder, but still a lot easier than full colour.

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Jasonda

Quote: Originally Posted by MassoudFan Am I correct to assume that a black and white print on a black t-shirt is no problem...?

For an experienced printer it should not be a problem. Even if it takes 2 or 3 screens it would still be cheaper and easier than color.

 

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MassoudFan

Thanks Again, Everyone. I definitely want to go for the high quality image...

 

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MassoudFan

Out Da Box, you mentioned greys in a black and white print... That tends to make for a better quality, more realistic overall look?

 

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out da box

It can depending on the image and printing technique. The tonal range with screen printing is more limited than a computer monitor or printing on paper, the grey can be used to counter this. I have seen 1 color black and whites that are excellent. I have done some black ink on white tees which I thought were at best ok, others have turned out better. Being that the picture you want to do is so small, I think it'll , make it even harder to capture detail... less size=less pixels=less resolution= less dots= less detail.

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www.outdaboxconcepts.com

 

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MassoudFan

Thanks again for the info, Ridgely. Slowly but surely, I feel like I'm getting to where I need to be on this. Great forum... I wouldn't have a clue without it!

 

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