FAQ
What are the parameters that decide the quality of a t-shirt?
The quality of a t-shirt depends upon the following:
a. Good quality of yarn: There are many varieties of yarn like carded, combed, semi combed etc depending upon the cost. Combed cotton is superior to semi or carded. Combed yarn will give a smooth fabric whereas the carded yarn will give a coarse fabric. Cotton balls start surfacing after a few washes if the yarn is a semi combed or carded.
b. Knitting where yarn is converted into fabric: There are Indian and imported knitting machines and fabric will be fine when knitting is done in high quality imported knitting machines.
c. Dyeing/Bleaching: This is a very important process and when dyeing or bleaching is done by a soft flow dyeing process using azo-free dyes, the result will be good quality fabric with color fastness and good finish and feel.
d. Compacting: This is the process whereby the fabric is converted into ‘pre shrunk fabric’. Doing this process with an imported, American or German machine will give a better result than doing with a local machine.
e. Printing/Embroidery: Printing should be done in a multi head machine with quality dyes by skilled and experienced persons, followed by another process called fusing, for a perfect finish, bright look and long life. If we use inferior and cheaper printing dyes, the printing will not last long and will go away after each wash. Embroidery in Japanese machines will be very good whereas done in a Chinese/Korean machines will only be averageIn what colors I can get t-shirts?
We offer the standard colors normally available are white, Black, Navy Blue, Red, Grey Melange, Hunter Green, Aqua Blue, Royal Blue, Lemon Yellow, Maroon, Ivory, Orange, Lime Green.
Will t-shirts shrink?
Made of cotton t-shirt always shrinks on wash. However, the shrinkage is reduced by a process of compacting the fabric whereby the shrinkage is less than 5% (internationally accepted norm) Shrinkage is lees than 1% made synthetic fabric like Acrylic, Poly Spun, polyester, super poly etc
What is GSM? Will higher GSM t-shirts (thicker garments) good quality?
This is false. There is no relation between GSM and QUALITY. Quality of t-shirt is assured only by quality of raw materials and processes, stitching and not by GSM.GSM is the short form of “ Gram Square Meter”. This is normally confused with gms ( weight of the garment). It is not possible for a non industry person to determine the gsm. Of a garment unless a lab test is done to determine the same. It is very unfortunate that a non industry person normally while comparing the price of a garment of various manufacturers use G.S.M.as a bench mark. Higher the gsm better the quality is an absolute myth. GSM for t-shirts is decided depending upon the actual purpose of the t-shirt, season, climate, country, individual’s preference etc. For example, during summer the GSM may be less and for winter orders it will be higher. For uniforms it may be higher and for casual wear it can be less.
Will the T Shirts bleed colour?
T Shirts are guaranteed for colour fastness. The T Shirts will not bleed or soil other clothes washed along with it. Colour Bleeding normally occurs when poor quality of dyes are used to save on cost of manufacture.
What are the types of printing available?
If you choose to do printing, we can recommend you the best type of printing based on your purpose, style and fabric. A few of the popular printing options are given below:
1. Pigment Printing: This is the oldest type of traditional printing and is a water based method .It is possible only on white or light color garments. Printing can be ironed upon.
2. White Opaque Water Based Printing (locally called as ‘Khadi’ Printing.) – This was the age old method used to print on dark garments. It has a poor opacity. Printing can be ironed upon.
3. Plastic/Plastisol Printing: Ideal to print on light/dark garments and it has good opacity. In these, fine letterings and alignments are easy to attain. This is the most popular technique of printing the world over. Printing cannot be ironed upon.
4. Transfer sticker printing: Ideal to print halftone designs like photographs and sceneries and works very economical in large scale production. For small quantities, the development cost may constitute to a significant amount of the cost per piece of printing. Nevertheless the printing cannot be ironed upon. The edges may start fraying after a few washes. A thin film is formed on the garment.
5. Sublimation Printing: Printing is possible only on 100% Polyester garment. Excellent vibrancy of colors. Printing of small quantities is also possible. Unlike transfer printing there is no development cost. The layer of ink cannot be felt.
6. Direct to garment printing: Also known as DTG printing, digital garment printing and inkjet to garment printing, is a process of printing on textiles and garments using specialized or modified inkjet technology. This technology is still at a very primary stage and is evolving. Printing lacks vibrancy.
7. High Density printing: High density printing is done through a process of adding layers of ink on top of one another to create depth and 3D graphics.
8. Foil printing: Foil applications are a great way to add shine to your custom garments. Makes your t-shirt stands out with this special effect technique. Types of foil possible are gold, silver and brass. The foil may peel off after a few washes.
9. Discharge printing: It is also called Extract Printing. This method involves printing a ‘color destroying’ agent such as chlorine or hydrosulphite to bleach out a white or light pattern on the darker colored ground. In color discharge printing, a dye impervious to the bleaching agent is combined with it, producing a colored design instead of white on the dyed ground. In this type, it is difficult to give exact print color matching.
10. Rotary printing: Images to be printed are curved around a cylinder. Large volumes of the same repeat printing such as the camouflage printing is attained through rotary printing.
11. Flock printing: It gives a velvet kind of a feel to print. After printing a layer of gum onto the garment, flock powder (available in multi colors) is sprinkled over the printed gum.
Can any design/matter be embroidered on the t-shirts?
Like printing, we can embroider all designs and matters on the t-shirts in any size and at all places. But shades of colors or halftone images or photographs etc. Cannot be embroidered. Only cut color images can be embroidered
How much does it cost to have some t-shirts printed?
This depends on several factors. If I may ask you a few questions I will be able to give you a quote for your custom print job. As Screen Printers we should know all the factors that go into producing a custom t-shirt job and know that without getting all the details necessary you cannot give your customer an accurate quote.
Is the print going to stay on the t-shirt?
We guarantee that the print will stay on your shirts. If a screen printed image doesn't stay on the garment it is because the printer fails to properly monitor the final product as it rolled of out the dryer. A printed image must get to a temperature of 350 degrees all the through the image. If you have a thicker ink deposit on the t-shirt the t-shirt will require a longer time in the dryer. When a print cracks and peels on a t-shirt it is because the screen print was not allowed to be fully cured. Each job has to be monitored separately to have the highest quality image possible.
How can we decide the sizes of the t-shirts for our bulk orders?
It is always preferable to know the sizes of the users and order accordingly. Various brands follow their own size specifications. Therefore, to avoid disappointment to the receiver due to misfit, their shirt size should be taken into account. Irrespective of the brand, shirt sizes are almost standard and then the same should be converted into t-shirts sizes as per the table below. It is also advisable to check the measurement chart given for each category
In what format should I give the design to you for printing or embroidery?
For printing, if the design is a simple one like a slogan or sentence etc. without many colors and intricate designs, a JPEG image would be enough. But if the design has many colors, detailed designs or company logos which have to be reproduced exactly, we need a CDR (Corel draw) or AI (Adobe illustrator) or EPS file with text converted to curves to get a perfect output in printing. For embroidery a good quality JPG file will suffice. In either case a physical printout is very much necessary to match the colors. This is because the color on the monitor may vary from computer to computer and output may differ from your expectation and therefore a signed printout is necessary.
Can I get a sample for checking quality?
You can get paid samples from our ready stock of plain t-shirts if you wish to see or show the t-shirts to your colleagues or higher authorities for quality approval.
Sample as per the order:
If you need sample of your exact requirement of t-shirt in the design, style, color, size of your choice with printing/embroidery, you have to pay the sampling costs which will include designing, screen making and printing charges along with t-shirt making expenses which will vary depending upon the t-shirt design. These sampling charges may be adjusted in the order value when the order for that particular t-shirt is placed with us.
Sample Development & Delivery:
2 - 3 weeks depends on styles.
Order Delivery:
3 - 4 weeks from the date of sample approval.
Payment:
55% advance with order, remaining balance after finishing the order / before shipping the goods.