Before you start trying to design your T-shirt, you’ll first want to start with what type of fabric you’ll want to use. There are 3 basic types of fabric we use at the Print Bar.
100% cotton: Cotton is the most widely used natural fiber used in clothing production. As a fully breathable fabric, it is a great choice for hot temperatures. For most screen printers, the 100% cotton t-shirt because it is so easy to work with. Cotton can be used with almost any ink and printing method, and they hold ink longer than other fabrics.
Polyester/Cotton Blends: The 50/50 cotton/polyester blend is a mixed blend with both types of fibers. This blend takes advantage of the best qualities of each. A 50/50 blend is both tear-resistant and breathable. It is less expensive than 100% cotton and offers comparable comfort. The 50/50 blend prevents the fabric from shrinking, no matter how many times you wash it. The only major issue with this blend is that colors tend to bleed through white colored shirts. So most often this blend won’t come in white.
Triblends (cotton/polyester/rayon): Tri-blend, is made of three different fabrics. While a regular t-shirt is 100% cotton, tri-blend tees are 50% polyester, 25% cotton, and 25% Rayon which makes them softer. Kind of like a fancy t-shirt that runs a little bit smaller and have more stretch to them. When it comes to printing on tri-blend, you might notice a slight color difference when compared to our other blends. But rest assured, Triblends holds color quite well and, in our opinion, look a lot better than other blends.
