London UK: The short sleeve season is upon us once again and we are here to give you some t-shirt design tips for our favourite time of year. We print t-shirts all year round but summer is obviously a boom time for t-shirt printing with summer events and festivals needing merchandise or groups of lads getting hilariously customised clothing for their big summer trip to Zante. Deciding on the right design and printing technique will directly correlate to how cool you will look this summer and how fun your holiday or event will be. So pay heed to these 5 T-shirt design tips:
Put a filter on it
If you like your Instagram pictures to look like they were taken in the 70’s then you might like some t-shirt design tips that create the same look for your tees. No filters or hashtags needed here, just innovative t-shirt printing. There are two ways of achieving this look, which one is best for you, depends on the artwork you want to print. The first technique you can use is screen printing, but this will only work onto colour t-shirts with a one colour design without a base layer. The other way is to manipulate your design to look vintage and then print that onto whatever colour t-shirts take your fancy using direct to garment printing.
The costs and breakdowns for these techniques will differ depending on the quantity of t-shirts you want to print so it is best to consult a printing advisor before deciding exactly which one is best for you. We have a really good printing advisor who is also a DJ; you can ask him about vintage t-shirt printing or his favourite One Direction song on the live chat or on the phone.
Make it HD
If the vintage look isn’t really your style and what something that is going to make your t-shirt pop the designs like these from Coachella music then stand by for some bright, summery t-shirt design tips. Direct to garment printing is the best printing technique for complex images or designs with gradients or shades of colours and was the printing technique for these t-shirts.
Because of its ability to print gradients, direct to garment printing is also the best for any photographs that you would like to print. So if you would like to print a picture of my face on your t-shirt then this is the printing technique for you. These t-shirts from Eleven Paris that were popping up all over the place last year are printed with direct to garment and look pretty cool.
Keep it simple
Some of our favourite t-shirts are often the most simple. These designs that usually have a small number of colours and simple design are more often than not printed using screen printing. At the top of our t-shirt design tips, and something we advise all our clients to do is bear in mind the printing technique when creating your artwork. The lower number of colours involved the easier, and more cost effective your project will be. My advice to you is to spend time getting a really cool design, with some interesting typography or illustrations and keep things simple.
Screen printing is one of the most widely used techniques and perfect for bulk orders, which make it a great choice for event merchandising.
Keep it light
T-shirt design tips for summer go further than just the print. It also important to consider the weight and feel of the t-shirts you choose and we would recommend the Anvil Fashion Tee for summer projects. Ironically from t-shirt brand Anvil, this t-shirt is actually very light and popular for summer events. It is also a fitted t-shirts so that will keep all the hipsters and rugby players happy too.
However, if you want to avoid the t-shirt tan line all together then you shouldn’t rule out printing on vests. These sleeveless tees absolutely reek of summer fun and will mostly be seen at a music festivals (weather depending) and at the beach. I am a personal fan of the beer vests that you can get in Thailand and other parts of Asia.
Cut it up
Cutting up t-shirts into vests is an old school trick and can reinvent your old t-shirt as a vintage looking new addition to the wardrobe. Last weekend Kid Cudi reminded us all how cool cut up clothing can be by appearing on stage in a crop top. Yes thats right, the thing your sister used to wear in the nineties was on stage at Coachella last weekend and it made quite the splash on twitter. I am no fashion barometer but I can see one or two adventurous chaps copying this look on the beach this summer. You heard it here first.
There are plenty of helpful videos out there to show you exactly how to make the transition from t-shirt to vest as seamless as possible (pun) but I have chosen this one because of the MTV Cribs style music as she turns round.
Video on the original post on the Printsome blog
So there are some t-shirt design tips for this summer, but why just stop at t-shirts? The online custom clothing business is set up to cater for more than just t-shirts and in the summer months offers great deals on caps, bags and vests as well. The tote bags are a popular choice for event merchandising and can really cool with a vintage design printed on the side.
