How digital printing has overtaken screen printing for t-shirts

At Everything Vibrant, we provide digital fabric printing and transfers and stickers for promotional events. We don’t actually use screen printing for t-shirts, because digital printing is faster and cheaper and the result is a fabulous photo finish image.

The history of screen printing is quite interesting however, and you can still find people who provide this service, due to the attraction of its handmade finish. 

Screen printing history from China to Europe

Screen printing in its original form was first seen in China during the Song Dynasty (about a thousand years ago) and then it slowly moved into Japan and across Asia. It was first noted in Europe during the late 1700’s, and was mainly used to print designs and colours onto paper and linens or other fine fabrics.

It slowly started to gain popularity with local European artists, as an effective form of artistic expression and was patented in 1907 by Samuel Simon. Although it was not until the 1930’s that any profitable use was found for screen printing.

Recent history of screen printing

The 1960’s created the right environment for free expression and screen printing came into its own during this time. There were masses of screen printed t-shirts and posters created during the 60’s and screen printing remained a popular method of fabric printing until fairly recently.

Its demise has come about mainly due to technology and the advent of digital fabric printing. It is so quick and easy to upload a design to a PC and then print off as many transfers as you need. You no longer have to create stencils and wait while each layer of colour dries, before applying the next layer.

So as with many outdated items or processes, technology has overtaken screen printing and it is no longer seen as a cost effective form of fabric printing; screen printing t-shirts is no longer the booming business it was a few years ago.

At Everything Vibrant we specialise in digital fabric printing and we create t-shirt transfers and stickers for local businesses. So if you are interested in using promotional t-shirts and stickers in your next marketing campaign, call us on 07 3386 0536 or complete our online enquiry form.

Why is digital fabric printing more popular than screen printing in Brisbane?

At Everything Vibrant, we are biased, because we only provide digital fabric printing, we don’t provide screen printing in Brisbane. There is a very good reason for this however, and that is because digital fabric printing is much more popular than screen printing in Brisbane.

Why is that? Well there are 3 good reasons why digital fabric printing has taken over from screen printing:

1. Digital printing is faster: This method involves uploading your design to a PC and then printing a digital transfer onto a t-shirt using a special printer. Once your design is uploaded, all it takes is the click of a few buttons and your t-shirt transfer is done. Screen printing, on the other hand, requires individual stencils for each colour element and is very time consuming.

2. More complex designs: It doesn’t matter how complex your designs are with digital printing, because once uploaded, you are good to go. Digital printing is fabulous for really intricate designs, whereas screen printing requires far more simple designs, as the design is created using stencils. Digital printers can also incorporate lots of different colours and have a photo quality finish to the transfer. Screen printing is limited to only 3 or 4 colours and has a more handmade finish to the design.

3. Cost savings: Because it is so fast, digital fabric printing is also much cheaper, particularly when you only want a few t-shirts printed. On the other hand, screen printing is very involved and time consuming, due to all the work involved in creating the different stencils and is just not cost effective for a small batch of orders.

The drawcard for screen printing is that it does have a handmade appearance, which for many people is part of the attraction. For businesses however, who are looking for a cost-effective way to promote their products or services in Brisbane, screen printing does not fit the bill.

So if you are looking for digital fabric printing in Brisbane, call us on 07 3386 0536 or complete our online enquiry form.

Why digital fabric printing has taken over from screen printing in Brisbane

Over the past few years, the rapid increase in digital fabric printing has meant that printing companies have tended to moved away from the more traditional printing methods, particularly in Brisbane. Screen printing is now less popular and it can be difficult to find a company that offers this method of printing.

So are there really any reasons to use the older methods, like screen printing, rather than the more modern digital fabric printing? Well here at Everything Vibrant, we only offer digital fabric printing, because our customers find that this is the best option for them.

There are however, some instances when screen printing might be the better option, so let’s take a look at how the two printing methods stack up against one another.

Screen printing: In this older method of printing, layers of different coloured inks are laid down on a specially created stencil that represents the design. You need a different stencil for each colour (so you are usually limited to 3 or 4 colours) and between creating the stencil and having to apply the colours one after the other (once each layer has dried), this is a long drawn out process. It does produce a lovely, handcrafted quality to the designs, but can also be costly because of the craftsmanship required in creating each stencil and the length of time it takes to complete the job.

Digital fabric printing: This newer method of printing simply involves uploading your design to a PC and printing the design onto the fabric, using a specialised printer. It is much faster than screen printing (as you can imagine) and creates photo quality images of complex designs, which can have as many colours as you like.

One problem with this method is that whilst the number of colours is infinite, the actual colours of the design depend on the type of pre-loaded colours in the printer. Also, the size of the design is limited by the size of the printer, whereas, within reason, with screen printing your design can be as large as you want.

So at Everything Vibrant in Brisbane, screen printing is not a method we use for our clients. We focus on producing high photo quality images, at low cost and fast. You are most welcome to call us on 07 3386 0536 to discuss your needs or visit our website.

How high visibility clothing improves safety

Did you know that high visibility clothing was first used in the United Kingdom in 1964? Apparently they were first issued to rail track workers in Scotland and were so successful that they were rolled out throughout the U.K. to all rail workers.

Now of course, high visibility clothing is essential for council workers and any situation where there is low light and poor visibility for workers. They are particularly essential when working around moving vehicles and we have all seen road workers wearing these high-vis vests, during both the day time and night time.

 So if you are a business owner, how do you know that your employees need to wear this type of safety gear? Well the Australian Standard AS/NZS4602.1 sets out the types of high visibility clothing and the situations when it must be worn. There are three different classifications:

• Class D: A high visibility garment for outdoor daytime use, which sets out the type of florescent colour that must be used in the material. It also states that at a minimum, the clothing must encircle the upper body.

• Class N: Designed for night time use only and must include retro reflective elements on a non-retro reflective background. The retro reflective elements can be easily seen by drivers in their headlights. The Standard sets out the size of the retro reflective strips that must be incorporated into the clothing and the style and location of these strips on this type of clothing; text or symbols must occupy additional space. The clothing must encircle the upper body down to the waist.

• Class D/N: These are a combination of the above garments and can be worn in both high and low visibility environments, in other words, during the daytime and night time. They must combine all elements from both Class D and Class N high visibility clothing.

If you believe that your employees need high visibility clothing then check the Australian Standards and then call us at Everything Vibrant in Brisbane. We can print high visibility reflective vinyl onto your work wear, which means that we can print the reflective strips and your company name and logo onto your safety wear.