MEET THE FAMILY OF PRINTS | PART 1

For hundreds of years, prints have been the key to expressing a great design on apparel for both personal and corporate use. However, in recent years, the industry has experienced a burst of new innovative techniques that have presented us with new approaches when printing on our apparel.

In this blog, I will focus more on the prints that we have been so accustomed to over the years when looking at screen printing technology in Malaysia.

Silkscreen Printing

Silkscreen printing is the most frequently used printing method right now in the market. It utilizes a stencil (Screen) and mesh, which is then covered with a layer of emulsion to block any unwanted ink going through the mesh during the printing of the design.                                                                

Silkscreen printing is ideal for printing high-quality and detailed designs on apparel. This printing method is great for companies looking for custom corporate shirts with near-perfect colour reproduction of their logos, provided that the correct Pantone (PMS) code is provided to your local printers. Furthermore, silkscreen printing is more economical and provides an impressive quality-price ratio for large print runs, especially those with 1-2 colours (100 pieces and above).

However, the turnaround time for Silkscreen printed jobs is longer than that for Heat Press or Embroidery because a new mesh and stencil are needed for each colour that is being printed. Not only that, if there are many colours in a design, the printing price will be very high (especially for quantities below 100 pieces). The best option to reduce cost in this occasion would be using CMYK printing, which is able to produce multiple coloured prints at a lower cost, but the colour accuracy will not be as spot on.

Techniques of Printing

Heat Press Printing

Another commonly used method of printing known as heat transfer is a two-step process that requires the design to be transferred to a paper (Check out how heat transfer paper is made and printed from 0.38)  and then heat-pressed onto the garment, which causes the adhesive ink to stick on the garment.

Heat Press is perfect for small quantity runs, allowing customers to get their orders quickly due to the easy process and at a much more affordable price when compared to silkscreen printing. On top of that, heat transfer can be done in a variety of colours as well as placements on the garment where silkscreen can’t replicate. (Eg: Shoulder, Close to Seam, Collar)

Heat press, unlike silk screen printing, is more costly when done in a large quantity and may take up more time due to each artwork needing to be heat-pressed individually. Also, It may not look or feel as professional as silkscreen Printed T-shirts due to the print being stiff, which causes the shirt to be firm and not as breathable.

Embroidery

For many years, embroidery has been considered one of the most durable methods when decorating apparel. The combination of Digitized artwork, Automated embroidery machines, and thread can create a detailed image in texture and depth.

In addition to that, most printed artworks have limited fabrics on which they can be printed, whereas, for embroidery, most fabrics are embroidery-friendly. On top of that, there is a large variety of coloured threads you can mix and match to create long-lasting, rich, vibrant colours for your design. Furthermore, unlike silkscreen printing, the number of colours within a logo or design does not add significant costs when using embroidery.

However, there are a few shortcomings when it comes to embroidery. One that has received the most complaints is the ability to produce a sharp, detailed image like silkscreen or heat transfer printing. It is also hard to recreate a gradient with embroidery due to the multiple coloured threads that are required in order to replicate the design.

These are a few of the most commonly used decorating methods and screen printing in Malaysia. Our next blog will feature some less-known, new advanced methods of screen printing technology that have gained traction in recent years in Malaysia.