Screen Printing: Get ready to beat anyone with Custom Sportswear

WHAT IS SCREEN PRINTING?

Screen printing is a great process for larger order of printed t-shirts (10+) and larger designs. Screen-printed t-shirts wash well and can maintain the print quality for some time. Most printing you see in the High Street shops will have been printed this way. although digital printing has become popular for photographs on shirts recently.

This process should not be confused with heat transfer printing (or thermal prints). Transfer prints do not last as well and are not as good in terms of print quality.

When screen printing, one colour at a time is applied and therefore the cost will increase with each additional colour applied. For each separate colour an additional screen is required, so a design with 4 colours in it will need 4 screens, this can make screen printing in many colours uneconomical if only a small run of clothing is required and digital printing might be a cheaper option.

At the other end of the number scale the cost of 4 screens spread over a large number of garments doesn’t add a lot extra to the cost per shirt. We have price breaks at 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and at 500. If you want more than 500 then we will produce a bespoke quote for you. You can combine garments to get to the next price bracket as long as the print remains the same. If the print size is changed then this counts as a separate print run.

If you would like to see how we make our screens then check out our screen making video that is on our social media pages

man holding silk screen printing equipment
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Screen Printing is best for:

Screen Printing T-shirts

T-shirts

Screen Printing Hoodies

Hoodies

Screen Printing Sportswear

SportWear

ScreenPrint ScreenPrintingWorkWearIcon

WorkWear

Request a free quote
Request a free quote

TYPES OF SCREEN-PRINTING INK

Plastisol inks

  • The standard ‘go to’ inks for most screen printing jobs.
  • Oil based inks formulated into PVC molecules and pigment, suspended in a plasticizing emulsion
  • Tend to sit on top of the t-shirt fibres creating a raised and textured feel
  • Dark garments require a heavier deposit than light garments and this exacerbates the ‘raised’ feeling.
  • If the ink is used straight out of the container, it is very opaque and this means your prints achieve a brightness and vibrancy that is superior to all other types of inks.
  • Plastisol inks are also very versatile with special effects
  • You can create interesting textures with ‘puff additives’, glitter, suede effects, cracked effects, metallic and pearlescent effects.
  • Plastisols will work on almost any standard fabric used in garment production and this is why they also remain the firm favourite

Waterbased inks

  • For ethical reasons, The Soil Association has approved waterbased inks on the basis that they offer a better, healthier alternative over oils/pvc products.
  • They are softer to the feel than plastisols.
  • When printing onto white shirts they will give an almost ‘invisible to the touch’ effect as the pigment soaks into the fibres of the garment while the water dries or evaporates during the curing process.
  • They are trickier to work with from a technical standpoint and for tonally variable work, we may suggest to use plastisols.
  • They work best on 100% cotton garments and work with limited effect on cotton/poly mixtures.
  • For a more detailed look at when water based inks are best check out our blog “When can water based inks work and when do they fail”
  • When printing onto dark shirts, water-based inks need a magic trick to make them work.

Discharge printing

  • A bleaching agent is added to water-based inks, which removes the colour from the garment precisely where the ink sits so that the pigment settles onto a neutral colour. This happens in the dryer when the ink reaches the required temperature.
  • The results can be excellent with ‘thin’ ink deposits and fairly vibrant colours. This contrasts with the thick deposit required with plastisols to achieve the required brightness.
  • Plastisols will always win on brightness but many designs were created to look ‘vintage’ and this is where discharge printing can become relevant.

Screen printing UK, the best value for your money! Screen printing has come to be the most popular technique for the majority of the customised garments out there. It can be used on almost any type of garment and it is the perfect fit for orders in bulk. Wondering where to get screen printed T-shirts? PrintReloaded is an online t-shirt printing UK Company based in London. We don’t work as a regular printer, our agency model allows us to assign an expert to each client to take care of their needs in a personalised way. Although we are based in London, we deliver screen printing T-shirts all across the UK. Screen Printing it’s popular among event organisers and marketing agencies as it is cost effective when ordering bulk T-shirt printing. In addition, custom screen printing has a high quality finished so it is highly recommended for T-shirts but also for hoodies! There are lots of companies offering screen printing services UK, but we can say that it is always easier to go with PrintReloaded. Wonder why? With us, you will always receive advice from our team of expert printing advisors. They are all kind and friendly people always willing to go the best way with your project to successfully proceed with your order. That’s how we make the difference from our competitors, giving an excellent customer experience. We’ll always have in mind your budget and needs. Screen printing is a versatile technique that can be used by individuals as well as an automated process. It is practised professionally by designers, artists, and manufacturers who personalise their own clothing. But on the other side, also high-quality printing machines can do it. What is important here is that in both cases, the process is always the same, the human factor being the only difference. So what are the advantages of automated screen printing UK? Well off course it cuts down production time significantly thanks to larger screens, drying systems and rotatory screens for continued production. One tip from the experts on screen printed T-shirts: The less colourful your design are, then the cheaper the price will be. The explanation for this is that this technique doesn’t allow for more than one colour to be applied at the same time using the same screen. If you want to print using this technique there are some benefits you should know. First, screen printed designs can withstand far more stress than others due to the thickness of the ink. Second, it is big order friendly. Third, it has a great finish and produces vibrant colours and details exactly as you want them. And last but not less important, it can be done on almost any surface and type of garment. On that note, at PrintReloaded we also enjoy being honest, so let’s also talk about the disadvantages of screen printing UK: It is expensive when you have a design full of colours. It’s not environmentally friendly because it wastes a lot of water when mixing inks and cleaning the screens. It could also at times be more complicated than others because it requires more steps in its process. Now let’s talk about the delivery options we offer. Are you in a hurry? Then, lucky you because, as it so happens, we offer express T-shirt printing delivery in all of our orders which means you can receive your T-shirts within 2-4 days. If you can wait a bit more, we also offer Standard Delivery which takes about 5-10 days. Don’t worry if you have any doubts or concerns. We can help you save time, money and solve your concerns in the process. Thanks to companies like PrintReloaded, T-shirt printing is becoming easier due to advances in delivery across the UK from Telford to London to Glasgow and Liverpool to Belfast. What are you waiting for? Get a quote and we will get back to you within the hour!