[aeneas01]

just received my hoodies, lane seven lst004, and am very happy with the hoodie quality, look, and screen printing job... that said, a friend of mine showed me a hoodie that he purchased from a brewery last year, that he absolutely loves, it's an independent trading co. ss4500zp, he wanted me to see the difference in printing job.

the printing job on his hoodie looks like it's almost part of the fabric, kind of like it's dyed into the fabric, whereas the screen printing on my hoodies looks more like paint laid on top of the fabric... i like both looks but if i had my choice i'd go with the printing style on his hoodie.

so is there a certain style of screen printing or printing that looks more like a dye than a paint? is the fabric resposible for the look? thanks!

 

[splathead]

Dye sublimation is a dye process but it does not work on cotton. It has zero hand.

Post pictures. There are all kinds of ways to get a soft print. On cotton it can be achieved using waterbased inks.

 

[NoXid]

I print on those ITC hoodies; they work well. That is a cotton faced hoodie, so it isn't a sublimation print.

The ITCs were probably printed with a water based ink. Yours probably with Plastisol ink. The latter sort of sits a bit more on top of the fabric, while the former soaks into it.

With a water based print, the ink contours to the ridges and valleys of the weave of the fabric. A Plastisol print more or less fills in the valleys, so it looks and feels a bit more like something stuck on top of the fabric.

ITC makes a heavier hoodie that is even nicer, but too heavy for many people in many climates.

 

[TABOB]

is there a certain style of screen printing or printing that looks more like a dye than a paint?

There are many variations in screen-printing.
If the hoodie is white, it could actually be dye. Otherwise it is probably discharge ink.

 

[GraphicDesignNY]

Hard to give an educated guess without even seeing the product. But, as mentioned, discharge ink is what first came to mind.

 

[SissysommerFeldt4]

It sounds like you are talking about two different printing methods – one is screen printing, and the other is sublimation printing. With screen printing, the ink is applied to the fabric's surface and then cured, so it has a bit of a raised appearance. Sublimation printing actually dyes the fabric itself, so it becomes part of the fabric and has a more natural look. I prefer the second one as encountered here at unspeakable-merch.com. As for which one you prefer, that is a matter of personal preference! Cheers!

 

[TABOB]

With screen printing, the ink is applied to the fabric's surface and then cured, so it has a bit of a raised appearance.

This is not correct.
Screen-printing is a very diverse printing method, and includes discharge, reactive dye, and even sublimation inks.