Plastisol print
Plastisol ink is the most common, popular ink to use in garment printing. There are many benefits to using plastisol such as it produces a highly vivid / opaque image. It can be easily colour matched to create exact colours using the pantone mixing system. It has a long lifespan, and more often than not when done right will outlast the garment. One of the main things to consider with plastisol is that the print builds up on top of the fabric more than other inks leaving more of a deposit on top of the fabric. This is something to be aware of when considering what ink to use.
Waterbased print
Waterbased inks are used to create a soft hand print. It allows the ink to be more imbedded into the fabric allowing a softer print feel. This method also gives the print more of a matte finish. Waterbased can be printed in many colours and onto many different substrates. The downside of waterbased inks is that matching colours can be imperfect.
Heat Transfer Vinyl
Heat transfer vinyl starts as a roll which then has your image digitally cut into it. The image is then heat pressed onto the garment. HTV is best used on jobs where low quantities are needed, this allows better pricing than screen printing as there is much less setup involved. It is also commonly used when a job requires multiple different names/ numbers, eg. a sports team. The best result is achieved with HTV when the design is simple, one colour. A couple of downsides to HTV is durability and look. Whereas a screen printed image will out last the garment, HTV doesn't last as a quality image as long. The look of HTV isn't for everyone, as opposed to the screen printed look where the image appears to be apart of the shirt, HTV looks more like a sticker placed on top of the garment.
Screen Printed Transfers
This is a process where we screen print the mirrored image onto special paper in a reverse order. Before the transfer is cured a powdered glue is added to the ink. Then when you want to apply the image to your desired print face you simply heat press it on. Screen printed transfers are used in multiple applications usually when it would be difficult to print the image traditionally because it is awkwardly shaped. The most common use for these transfers is onto hats. It allows us to print a highly detailed image onto a hat, and in our opinion provides a better looking finished product than embroidery (although not as durable).
Fountain print
Fountain print is created when multiple colour inks are placed in one screen. This allows the inks to mix together and create a rainbow effect. One thing to consider when chosing this method is that no two prints will be the same as the inks mix/ blend together more, the more you print. This method is more expensive than the regular spot process printing as there is ink wastage as the screen needs to be constantly cleaned and ink readded.
Spot process print
This process allows us to print extremely complicated, multi colour design with ease. It uses halftone dots to give one colour of ink the appearance of many different colours. For example the image you see here is created using only 4 colours; white, red, gold and turquoise printed onto a black shirt.
"Faded" print
This is a process which we have started doing recently whereby we are able to create a printed image which appears faded/ aged. It works best on neutral coloured garments that aren't too bright or too dark, grey for example. We print the garment using a special clear ink which creates an image that is just slightly darker than the colour of the garment. We have managed to create some great results with this new method which the customers are loving .
Vintage signs
This is another alternative form of screen printing that we have done a few of. We really enjoy doing jobs like this because it adds a new set of skills to our arsenal. The few times we have done signage like this we created everything from scratch. We created the base sign from some old cedar and then painted it using some special techniques to achieve the weathered/ aged look. We then screen printed the logo onto the sign using waterbased inks.
Bar mirrors
This is something that we don't see many other companies around doing. We had the idea one day to create a custom bar mirror as a gift and had some fun creating it along the way. The end result turned out far better than we ever imagined. This is something that we love doing and are hoping to do more of in the future so get in touch if you are interested and we'll make you something amazing.
Stickers
Stickers are something that we do more and more of. It is one of the only services that we offer that we don't do in house. However the company we work with to get our stickers made is someone who we have worked with closely for a while and who holds their level of quality up to the highest standard. Our stickers are digitally printed and then cut to shape using a vinyl cutter. They are available in two different finishes; matte or gloss.
Graphic Design
All of our graphic design (shirt mock up, logo design, etc) is done in house. Our design style caters to the oldschool feel, taking inspiration from years past. Have a hand drawn design that you would like digitised? We can do that too.