Types of Printing

People throw around a lot of lingo when discussing custom t-shirt printing. This article describes what the differences are and how we decide which one to use.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is an old, well-practiced form of custom printing. Ink from a blocking stencil is pressed through woven mesh onto the shirt. Building the the stencil is the most expensive part of the process, so if you're ordering a large number of shirts of one design, this method is the cheapest. Fewer colors in your design also means a lower price. We usually will use it on orders of seven or more shirts.

Digital Printing

Digital Printing is new to the custom-printing scene. Digital printers are somewhat like computer printers, but significantly larger and more complex. They press the ink into your shirt so that it comes across more like part of the fabric. The number of colors in your design does not affect the price of a digital print (unlike in screen printing. If you're getting digital prints, select "Full Color." We use this process on small orders or on orders that feature full color images/photos.

Four-Color Process

Four-color process is a type of screen printing where yellow, magenta, cyan and black are blended with each other to create almost any color shade imaginable. The effect is like that of a full-color photo. We only offer this option on light colored (preferably white) shirts and involves a $100 set-up fee.

We try to always choose the option that will keep your price the lowest.