There are many different ways to design and print your own t-shirts,such as preparing materials and kits at home or bringing the materials to a shop. Inkjet printing and silkscreen printing (silk printing) are the most popular printing methods for making your own T-shirts.When asked "What is the difference between inkjet printing and silkscreen printing?" many people might not have an answer.

Both of these printing methods are techniques for printing on fabric, but there are differences between them, such as the finished design printed on the T-shirt fabric and the price, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

In this blog post, we will thoroughly introduce inkjet printing and silkscreen printing, the process of each printing method, the equipment and inks used, prices, and the finished prints.

What is silk screen printing?

Silkscreen printing (or silk printing) is a technique in which ink is soaked into a mesh-like printing plate to print on T-shirts and other items.

In English it is called screen printing.The ink soaked into this silkscreen printing plate is transferred to the surface of the clothing fabric like a print, without the ink soaking into the fabric itself.When silkscreen printing, a separate printing plate must be created for each component of the design.After the plate is prepared, printing equipment is used to transfer the ink onto fabric or other clothing fabric, layering each color in turn.

As silkscreen printing takes time to prepare the equipment and plates themselves, it is usually used with printing methods such as offset printing, which involve large orders in large lots.The cost of printing the design is itself high, so it is not cost-effective if you want to print a small number of T-shirts.

Recommended colors and designs for silk screen printing

Silkscreen printing is best for single color, uncomplicated designs.Printing complex designs using mesh printing plates takes time and makes it difficult to reproduce fine details when printed.We recommend avoiding gradients and using simple typography, geometric designs, symbols and shapes in your designs.Also, because silkscreen printing is a method in which each plate is printed separately onto the fabric, it is most often used to print designs with a small number of colors.Printing companies often limit the number of colors that can be used, and the maximum number of colors that can be used is usually nine.

The Environmental Impact of Silk Screen Printing

When purchasing or selling apparel products, it is very important to consider the impact on the environment, and when it comes to printing methods, you should also consider whether they are sustainable .Large apparel companies often purchase and sell large quantities of products in advance, usually using silk screen printing, but this manufacturing method is plagued with problems of overproduction and excess inventory.For example, if a large number of T-shirts printed using silk screen printing are left unsold, environmental pollution can occur when the inventory is discarded or the fabric is incinerated.It's also important to remember that silkscreen printing uses a lot of water during the printing process and often uses inks that are not biodegradable.In line with the recent growing momentum towards environmentally conscious, sustainable fashion, these traditional purchasing methods are being rapidly reconsidered.

Silk screen printing is recommended for the following situations:

Silkscreen printing is best used for printing designs and graphics that are simple and use only a few colors at most.However, you will need to pay in advance for costs such as the cost of making the mesh plate for printing, and many printing companies have a minimum order quantity of 5 to 100 sheets.As mentioned earlier, each color requires a separate plate, so the final cost will depend on how many colors you use in your printed design and how many plates you need.For this reason, silk screen printing can be financially disadvantageous for people who are just starting to sell T-shirts or who just want to casually try out designs.When placing large orders, you will need storage space to keep your home from piling up with printed garment inventory.Because we have to order large quantities of each design, we are limited in the number of physical variations we can print and sell.

In addition, before you start selling t-shirts, it is important to print only the amount of product you need to avoid fabric waste and ensure profits.How much inventory you will need can be difficult to predict if you are just starting out in business and do not have a solid customer base.Additionally, custom t-shirt printing services that use silkscreen printing may require you to submit a separate layer of design data for each color.
Before printing, you will need to get a price estimate and make detailed arrangements such as which ink color number to use.Silkscreen printing is not recommended for those who want to submit their design once and let the rest be automated.

What is inkjet printing?

Inkjet printing involves spraying ink onto the fabric, allowing the ink to soak into the fabric and create a print.In English, it is also called DTG printing or Direct-to-garment printing.This printing method works in a similar way to printing on paper media that we commonly use in our daily lives.The first advantage of inkjet printing is that it does not require any prior preparation of equipment and can easily print products starting from just one piece.

In addition to small lot orders of just one sheet, inkjet printing can also be ordered in large quantities to accommodate the size of your business.Many inkjet printing services for personalized goods,  offer bulk discounts for large orders .

Recommended colors and designs for inkjet printing

Inkjet printers can combine multiple ink colors to produce a wide range of colors, just like printing on paper, so they have the advantage of being able to print designs such as photographs and detailed graphics with almost no limit to the number of colors they can use.For this reason, it is recommended for businesses and designers who want to try out various colors and designs.However, care must be taken with designs that include transparent elements when printing with inkjet.

If you are trying to print a semi-transparent design that is not 100% opaque (fully opaque) , inkjet printing will have a hard time properly representing it when printed.The reason for this is that the printers used in inkjet printing detect areas where color is lacking and spray ink onto those areas to bring out the color more fully.For this reason, we recommend using solid colors made from combinations of only primary colors, or using image editing software to create graphics that resemble semi-transparent elements called halftones.

As long as you keep this in mind, you can print designs with a variety of colors and attention to detail. To get the print results you want, we recommend using the sRGB color space, which matches the color expression of inkjet printers.

The Environmental Impact of Inkjet Printing

Compared to silkscreen printing, inkjet printing is a business model that is more suited to environmentally friendly , sustainable fashion .Because we order and manufacture products individually using a made-to-order production method, we are able to minimize excess inventory and waste of fabric.As things stand, 92 million tonnes of fabric are wasted across the fashion industry every year, making the "make as much as you need" business model an increasingly environmentally friendly option.As mentioned earlier, when using an inkjet printing service, products such as T-shirts are only printed when someone actually purchases them.Additionally, many inkjet printer (or DTG printer) manufacturers use advanced environmentally friendly technologies.

Inkjet printing is recommended for the following situations:

Inkjet printing is a simple way to print and sell original goods such as T-shirts and hoodies.Many original goods printing services allow you to order just one copy for products that use inkjet printing, meaning you don't have to worry about purchasing or managing inventory.The unique feature of this printing method is that it allows for on-demand sales according to demand.With inkjet printing, the entire design is printed at once, just like printing on regular paper.

Inkjet printing has no limit on the number of colors and does not require advance preparation of equipment or plates, so once the product design data is prepared , the product can be manufactured immediately after the design is submitted.The beauty of this printing method is that it allows you to test new products or designs with little risk, and if the trial product doesn't sell, you can simply remove it from your store.

Advantages and disadvantages of inkjet printing and silk screen printing

Inkjet printing and silkscreen printing are both high-quality printing techniques, but they differ in the printing methods and costs involved when printing.In inkjet printing, the printer sprays ink directly onto the fabric to create the design, while silkscreen printing is a method in which each design element is transferred layer by layer onto the fabric, much like a print.In addition, inkjet printing allows products to be produced on demand (made to order) with no initial investment, even for just a single item, whereas silkscreen printing is based on large batch orders.

Choose the printing method that's right for you

When it comes to printing custom goods, inkjet printing and silkscreen printing are both established printing techniques that can be used successfully depending on your needs.

Points to consider when deciding on a printing method

When deciding which printing method is best for you,

Brand Image:Is the design simple or complex?

Number of items required:Do you want to invest in inventory up front?

We recommend that you carefully consider these points before making your decision.

If you want an easy way to start and grow your business, inkjet printing is the way to go.This printing method allows you to test out designs and products easily and with low risk, and eliminates the need for you to manage your own inventory and shipping.Using a printing service that offers inkjet printing makes it easy to test market your products.Inkjet printing is also useful for developing sustainable products in response to the growing awareness of environmental concerns today.

On the other hand, silkscreen printing is best suited to companies or brands that are already established as a business and have a large enough customer base to accommodate large-scale orders.If you order products in bulk ahead of time and want to have stock on hand that can be shipped immediately, silkscreen printing is a convenient printing method.Choose the smart printing method that suits your business needs and measure the growth of your brand.

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