- Sarah Lindsey for Advantage Embroidery
Which Decoration Technique is Right For Me?
Company clothing is great for many reasons! Custom company clothing is a great employee and client appreciation gift and is the perfect way to showcase your brand while on the go (did you know that a custom polo shirt has the potential to generate over 2,000 impressions in its lifetime?). When it comes to choosing the right promotional clothing and decoration technique the number of options can seem intimidating, but this blog post is designed as a guide to help you find the right technique for your brand (for a guide on selecting clothing click here).
When you think of a branded company shirt or uniform an image of an embroidered t-shirt may come to mind. Embroidered clothing is a classic for a reason! Embroidery works and looks great on a wide range of clothing items, from thick jackets and bags to polos and even denim, embroidery looks good and will last for long amounts of time. Plus, embroidery can now be added to shirts in a wider variety of colors. The con of choosing embroidery is risking the loss of fine details that would be more apparent in other application techniques. If you want a durable, classic look for your custom clothing embroidery is the way to go.
Screenprints are created by using different stencils to apply different colors and designs to the product. Screen printing is a great choice for designs that have vibrant colors and that need to be durable (a well-made screen printed product can last for the lifetime of the product). When it comes to screen printing there are a few cons: consistency, detail, and comfort. Due to the manual labor associated with screen printing, there is the possibility that no two designs will look the same; this could happen for a wide variety of reasons (placement, machine angle, ink smudges) but no two designs will look exactly the same. When it comes to screen printing there is just some detail that can’t be captured quite as well as in other techniques (digital printing) some fine lines will disappear in the design. When it comes to comfort screen printing can have a rough texture that can cause a heavy, weighed-down feeling. Overall, screen printing is still an excellent choice because it can be applied to many different product styles while still bringing bright colors to the product.
Heat transfers are our best-seller here at Advantage Embroidery. Heat transfers are versatile, durable, and offer superior opacity on any color apparel. Heat transfers are created by applying a design to a paper that applies to the fabric when heated. Heat transfers are great for adding design and additional features (Reflective, distressed, or even glow-in-the-dark).
Digital heat transfers are the go-to technique if you’re looking to create a detailed and complex logo. Digital prints are created by using a computer-processed design that is directly applied to the garment. Digital prints bring all the color capability of a screen print while offering up the fine lines of a detailed image that are difficult to find in any other application technique. Digital printing works best on lighter colored items because the design and color will be more apparent, something else to keep in mind with digital prints is that over time (and machine washes) the design will, eventually, begin to fade. Digital prints are great for smaller quantity orders as setup and processing time is a lot less than other techniques.
Patches are all the rage right now. Custom company patches are perfecting for adding on to any design. Patches and appliques are created separately and then added to the product of your choice. These patches are amazing because of the detailed design capacities and for how well they flex when applied to the product. Patches offer the same options as embroidery with the added advantage of being able to be cut out from something like an old uniform and added to a new uniform.
When it comes to choosing the right technique for you, it’s best to begin by deciding how many pieces are in your order, what the logo/ design looks like, and what kind of color you want to achieve with your design. Once you’ve decided these things you can go through the above options and see what you feel fits your idea best. If you have an idea and want to see if it’s a possibility feel free to contact us here.
*This blog post was inspired by articles from The Studio, Underground Printing, and Rush Order Tees. To check out their respective articles click on the links.