Dri fit shirts are 100% polyester and printing on these performance fabrics requires the printer to have a special set of knowledge, skills and experience that many screen printers don’t have.
Printing black ink on a white cotton shirt is the easiest form of screen printing there is. It is very forgiving and a lot of mistakes can be “blended out”. However, like with anything, as you progress to different types of garments, inks and techniques, the level of skill required to put out a good quality product increases.
It’s important to go with a company who understands this specialized process and also has the experience to put out the best quality products. If you notice any of the following 4 things with your custom performance clothing, it’s probably long overdue for you to fire your printer.
Graphic becomes distorted when stretched
Like with any other custom garment, you want your shirt to look good. These types of garments are geared towards the active individual performing sports, yoga, etc. This means the shirt will get its fair share of twist and turns.
The graphic on the garment should not become distorted when the shirt are stretched out. On a well-printed shirt, the graphic will stretch along with the fabric.
The graphic just doesn’t look right
It’s one thing if the graphic becomes distorted only when stretched, but if your graphic looks distorted just sitting on the table, then this unveils some serious issues with the printer.
Distortion in graphics is caused by overheating during the printing process and a bad logo or graphic can instantly portray your company, organization or event in a negative way.
The shirts are scorched
As we eluded to earlier, most screen printers are only used to printing on cotton shirts. When switching to polyester, or polyester/Lycra blended garments, a different type of ink must be used and it’s a completely different ball game.
They forget that polyester (or other blends of synthetic material) cannot reach a certain temperature or the shirt itself will scorch. And, with a lot of heating elements used to dry the shirts, it’s very easy to overlook how hot the shirt is getting.
Your shirts are too small
Have you gotten your shirt, tried it on and it was a little too snug for comfort? No, you’re not gaining weight. The reason why your shirt is small is because of the exposure to heat while the shirt was being printed.
Because these types of shirts are used as athletic apparel, having something that is smaller than desired can inhibit your performance.
The company either didn’t realize what they were doing or simply weren’t paying attention. Either way, stop wasting your time and money on companies who don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to this type of printing.
Stop Losing Money
The sad fact is custom apparel companies, like any other business, hate turning away business, even if they know they’re way over their heads with what’s being asked of them by the customer. The worst part about that is the only person who loses is you. You’re out the money for a botched product, not to mention all the time wasted.
Printing on custom dri fit shirts is a specialized form of printing that not every screen printer can do quickly, correctly and with consistency. We do specialize in performance fabric printing as well as sublimation for all your custom athletic and dri fit apparel needs.
