Screen printing, Vernon California

The method that survives the laundry

Ink cured into the fabric rather than sitting on top of it, which is why a screen print outlasts a transfer on anything that gets washed every week. It is also the only route to 3M reflective, puff and metallic.

From 12 pieces per design

Plastisol or water-based

3M reflective available

Max print 15 × 18 in

How it works

How a screen-print run goes

From the first file to the boxed order, here is what happens and in what order.

Send the file

Send the artwork with the garment and the quantity. Vector (AI, EPS, PDF) separates cleanly; raster works at 300 DPI at final size on a transparent background. We will say straight away if a file will not hold up at print size.

Garments, decoration and freight priced separately

Approve the mockup

You get a digital mockup with the print size and the placement marked on it. Nothing goes to press until you approve it, and the approved settings go on file so the reorder matches.

Nothing runs until you approve it

We print and ship

The run goes through press and cure and is checked piece by piece; anything off-register or short-cured is pulled and re-run rather than shipped. Then it is folded, poly-bagged or boxed as a size run, your call.

Standard is 2 to 3 weeks, including shipping

Start a quote

Free shipping over $250

Fabric and ink

The fabric decides the ink

Screen printing is not one process. What the garment is made of changes which ink goes on it, and getting that wrong is the single most common way a uniform print fails.

Cotton

Plastisol or water-based

The straightforward case. Takes fine detail, holds color through the wash, and either ink family works — plastisol for opacity, water-based for a softer hand.

Polyester

Low-cure ink or a blocker

Polyester dye migrates under heat, so a white print laid straight onto it turns pink or grey weeks later. It needs a low-cure ink or a blocker underbase. This is why performance garments are quoted differently.

Poly-cotton blends

Depends on the split

Anything much above 30% polyester carries the same migration risk as full polyester. Send the style number and we will tell you which side of that line it falls on before you order.

Canvas, drill and fleece

Heavier deposit

A textured or brushed surface needs a heavier ink deposit to sit on the pile rather than sink into it. Coveralls, work shirts and hooded fleece all sit here.

Reading the spec

GSM is weight, not quality. A lighter garment with a smoother face holds a finer halftone than a heavier one with a coarse yarn, so weight on its own does not tell you how a print will land.

Fiber split matters more than weight. Anything above roughly 30% polyester needs a blocker or a low-cure ink, or the dye bleeds into your white. That is a quoting question, not a production surprise.

Not sure? Send the style number and we will tell you.

Inks you can ask for by name

Four we keep on hand. Ask for any of them on the quote — they change the price, so it is worth deciding before the mockup rather than after.

Plastisol

A squeegee pulling ink across a silkscreen on a press

The default, and the one to pick for a uniform. Cured under heat so it bonds into the fibers and flexes with the fabric. Opaque on dark garments, and the most forgiving across a mixed size run.

Water-based

A decoration workshop floor with presses and machines

Softer to the touch because the ink sinks into the fabric rather than sitting on it. Best on light cotton, and worth asking about when the garment is worn against the skin all day. Less opaque on dark colors.

3M reflective

Reflective banding on a dark garment lit by a single beam

Glass-bead ink that throws light back toward its source, so a logo on a back panel reads under a headlamp or a headlight. Screen print only — no digital method can lay it down. This is the honest version of high-visibility branding.

Puff and specialty

Macro of raised puff ink standing proud of dark fabric

Puff rises off the surface when it cures, and metallic and high-density give a mark you can feel. Screen print only; a digital method can print a picture of texture but cannot make one. Quoted per job.

Garments that take screen print

424 of the 493 garments in the catalog can be screen printed. This is a live slice of them, straight out of the catalog.

FAQ

Questions we get asked

What is the minimum for screen printing?

12 pieces per design. Below that, embroidery, DTF and DTG all carry no minimum, so a short run is still perfectly possible — it just goes on a different machine.

Can you print 3M reflective?

Yes, and screen print is the only way to get it — no digital method can lay down a glass-bead ink. Ask for it by name on the quote. It suits a back panel or a jacket, where it has room to be seen.

Why did my white print turn pink?

Dye migration. Polyester dye moves under heat and keeps moving for weeks afterwards, so a white print laid straight onto a poly garment discolors long after it left the shop. It is prevented at quoting stage with a low-cure ink or a blocker underbase, which is why we ask what the garment is made of.

What file format do you need?

Vector (AI, EPS, PDF) separates cleanest. Raster is fine at 300 DPI at final print size on a transparent background. Standard print sizes run 3 to 12 inches depending on placement, up to 15 × 18 inches by request.

Can I supply my own garments?

Yes. Send a spec sheet first so we can confirm the fabric takes our inks, and include 2–3% spoilage. We do not cover replacement cost on customer-supplied garments.

Get it priced

Send the garment, the quantity, the artwork and the ink you want. Garments, decoration and freight come back priced as separate lines.

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