Apparel

Fabric is the basis for apparel and textiles. Weave, knit, or crochet different materials together to create fabric. Examples of materials used to make fabric include natural fibers, synthetic fibers, or a blend of both. These fibers affect the type of fabric, including texture, appearance, durability, and how to care for the material. We will talk about garment printing inks, printing equipment, and supplies.

Art, science, and technology of apparel printing.

Over the centuries, apparel printing has evolved from a simple printing technique to a sophisticated art form that combines art, science, and technology. This evolution, which has become an important part of the industry, has enabled the apparel industry to offer endless personalization possibilities.

Apparel Printing technologies.

In apparel printing, there are three popular printing methods that directly apply ink to the garment. These printing methods are screen printing, pad printing, and direct-to-garment (DTG) printing. Each of these printing methods excels, depending on the apparel printing application.

Pad printing

Apparel manufacturers use pad printing to apply care instruction labels to t-shirts, innerwear, and many other apparel items. Tagless printing is a printing process that prints tags and labels on apparel. This printing process requires a pad printing machine. Additionally, there are several critical pad printing supplies required, such as pad printing ink, pad printing pads, plates (cliches), and solvents. To successfully run without interruptions, we recommend having extra ink cup rings and spare cups. Learn more about tagless printing.

Pad printing a neck label has several advantages, such as being quick, simple to use, and cost-effective. Lastly, it is adaptable to both large and small garment manufacturers. Check out the Natron® ST Series inks for tagless printing.

Screen printing

The screen printing process is a popular printing technique that uses a mesh and a squeegee to push screen printing ink onto the fabric. Screen printing is effective in producing vibrant prints on both light and dark apparel. Many t-shirt printing companies use this printing process to print large and small graphics on t-shirts.

Typically, screen-printing inks are thicker than inks used in other printing processes. Examples of these inks include plastisol inks and silicone inks. Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc. is the largest manufacturer and supplier of silicone screen printing inks. Learn more about the SilTex HD silicone inks for t-shirt printing.

Direct to film printing (DTF)

Direct-to-film printing (DTF) is a new printing technique that involves transferring designs from PET film to t-shirts. This printing process uses inkjet ink, PET film, adhesive powder, and heat. Learn more about Natron® UV inkjet inks. This printing method works on various fabrics, including cotton, polyester, and polyblends.