For t-shirt printing and other promotional garments and merchandise, screen printing is often employed using one of three different methods. ‘Spot Colour’ printing is widely used and works well with many types of graphics. Spot color printing is the appropriate procedure for graphic prints that aren’t photographic.
The colours of the inks to be used in the reproduction of the graphic images are usually Pantone specified colours chosen by a graphic designer. In order to isolate the hues of the ink in the image, Pantone coated or noncoated references are selected. The Pantone system is a global standard for colour matching where every colour is assigned a unique designation.
Spot colour printing is well suited to printing branded promotional garments or items in which colour identity and uniformity needs to stay the same throughout a varying range of items.
An additional method of t-shirt printing used is called 4 Colour Process. This is the best way to print photographs and illustrations which contain broad colour ranges, tones, and graduations. All magazines and books use this four-color printing process as well.
Reproducing the colours of the original image requires a mixing of translucent inks on a white background. This is rather more difficult process to achieve on a fabric than it is on paper. However, the actual method used is mostly the same.
This type of t shirt printing will of course only work on white garments and will not be suitable for coloured fabrics.
This type of printing is only right for use in print runs of one hundred or more. This is because it simply costs more to set it up. A process called “Simulated Process” is used in cases where t-shirt printers copy full colour pictures using coloured cloths. The artwork is separated into various colours and shades using a method similar to spot colour printing to achieve the overall look and feel of the original image.
For transferring heavy metal imagery and fantasy imagery from CD covers to black T-shirts for band merchandise, this popular method is used by printers everywhere. Colour separations and the number of colors necessary make this the most expensive printing option, and the higher set-up costs mean it is usually reserved for larger runs.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Print This Post