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Hey, I run a clothing brand and I'm in need of some advice. For my latest line I have a couple of designs that are full color, and I did a lot of research on which method would be best for printing them. In the end I decided to go DTG. When I saw the photos of the samples (from a digital camera pic), I thought they looked fantastic and told her to go ahead with the entire order. I hastily made the decision instead of getting them shipped to me, because I was leaving for Japan that week.
When I finally received my order, they were not really what I had expected. The color reproduction was perfect, it handled all the colors, gradients, and details perfectly. However, the saturation was very low. It looked like a vintage shirt, or a shirt that you've washed once or twice. The print itself has no feel, which is usually good, but I kind of wanted a little thickness to my print as well. The blacks were just not quite black enough, and they lacked contrast. My brand is very bright and colorful, so I definitely was not going for that look. I mean, the prints aren't bad at all, besides the saturation, they nearly came out perfect, I'm just a little disappointed.
So for next time, I'll be changing up my printer, but I wanted to ask for your expertise. If I'm looking for a print that reproduces all the colors and gradients accurately, as well as having a nice feel to it, what should I look for? Is CMYK process printed silkscreening the way to go? Or are there other methods?
I've also considered very high-quality heat pressed prints. My knowledge of heat press is very limited, besides the really crappy ones, but are there really nice quality heat pressed prints that equal screen printing and also have the nice heavy feel to them?
My brand has a streetwear vibe to it, so I really want to get that thick print, so dye sub is probably out of the question.
Thanks in advance!
-Ray
When I finally received my order, they were not really what I had expected. The color reproduction was perfect, it handled all the colors, gradients, and details perfectly. However, the saturation was very low. It looked like a vintage shirt, or a shirt that you've washed once or twice. The print itself has no feel, which is usually good, but I kind of wanted a little thickness to my print as well. The blacks were just not quite black enough, and they lacked contrast. My brand is very bright and colorful, so I definitely was not going for that look. I mean, the prints aren't bad at all, besides the saturation, they nearly came out perfect, I'm just a little disappointed.
So for next time, I'll be changing up my printer, but I wanted to ask for your expertise. If I'm looking for a print that reproduces all the colors and gradients accurately, as well as having a nice feel to it, what should I look for? Is CMYK process printed silkscreening the way to go? Or are there other methods?
I've also considered very high-quality heat pressed prints. My knowledge of heat press is very limited, besides the really crappy ones, but are there really nice quality heat pressed prints that equal screen printing and also have the nice heavy feel to them?
My brand has a streetwear vibe to it, so I really want to get that thick print, so dye sub is probably out of the question.
Thanks in advance!
-Ray
