Screen printing services are great because they can help any business or group look like a million bucks—without actually needing that kind of budget. Want to make your Greek life group look great in preparation for pledging? Design your own logo and have t-shirts printed for everyone. Or, do you need to help volunteers stand out from the crowd at a charity walk/run? Screen printing services can help you create designated volunteer shirts that will serve as a fun memento once the event is over. Whatever your custom apparel need is, screen printing can help you make it happen. But, in order to get the most from it, try these tips to make your custom print job work for you.
Size
Bigger may be better in Texas, but when it comes to screen printing custom designs, well, there’s no easy answer. If your design has a lot of details or small text, be sure it’ll be printed large enough to be legible, or you may want to rethink your design. After all, most of us don’t want someone getting nose-to-navel to read the small print of a custom shirt’s design. If you’re mocking up your design digitally, use an online design studio to see how your design will appear on a shirt, then step back from your screen a bit. This will help you view the design the way someone else might.
Placement
Do you want your design to cover the entire back of a t-shirt, or would you prefer it to be a small logo on the front? Centered or off to one side? Choose what you think looks best, but be careful to avoid any potentially awkward placement. Unless, of course, that purposefully awkward placement is all part of the design. Just know that the placement of your design will affect people’s decisions to wear it or not, so you may want to put a bit of thought into where your design goes.
Think 3D
Remember that, no matter how amazing your design looks on paper or on your computer screen, the human body isn’t two-dimensional. Be sure to consider the design’s size and placement carefully, of course, but also think about how the design will look when wrapping around someone’s torso. Some digital design studios allow you to preview your design on the image of someone wearing a shirt, tank top, or sweater—whichever garment you’ll print your designs on. This way, you can see if your design might be cut off when someone is wearing it.
Color
Getting into color theory would take too much for one little blog, so we’ll keep this to the point: color matters. When talking about color and design specifically, it’s all about balance. If your design has a lot of detail, consider whether multiple colors help those details pop, or if it makes them all get lost in the riot. It may be helpful to simplify your colors if your design is very detailed, or it may be better to simplify your design as a whole. Save multiple versions so you can play around with things and see what looks best. Remember to step back and view the image as a whole, not just in up-close segments.
Intended Use
The other big thing that should be considered for any custom shirt’s design is who will wear it. If your design will be worn by kids as well as adults, keep it appropriate and remember that the design will be a lot smaller on a custom infant onesie than it will be on an adult’s shirt. Keep your designs appropriate for the occasion and the organization as a whole; after all, those custom screen print shirts are doing a lot of advertising for you. Are they conveying the message you want?
Designing custom shirts and other apparel can be tough, especially if you aren’t an experienced designer. Here at Impress Ink, we don’t think you should need a designer on staff in order to get personalized shirts. Our screen printing services can be customized to your needs, which include design help, if you need it. Explore our design ideas to get you started, or contact us to learn how the Impress Ink team can help!
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