Screen Print

Ink pushed through a mesh screen, one colour at a time. The oldest method here and still the cheapest per piece once the screens are made, which is why the maths only works from twelve pieces up.

Minimum order: 12 pieces
Colour ceiling: 6 max
Maximum size: 12 x 16 in
Laundering: High

Configure with Screen Print Quantity bands

Macro detail. The printed shape is an original abstract mark, not a customer design.

What it costs

Per piece, one position, one colour: $2.40
Each additional colour or layer: $0.70
Each additional position: $1.80
Setup: $25.00

Setup is charged per screen, per colour, per position. It is a one-off, so a repeat run of the same artwork does not pay it again within twelve months. All prices in United States Dollars, before the quantity band discount.

Laundering test

Held colour through 50 home laundry cycles at 40°C, tumble dried low, in accordance with AATCC 61 2A accelerated laundering. Results on your garment depend on how you wash it.

This describes an accelerated laboratory procedure on a test sample. It is a measured result under stated conditions, not a guarantee about a particular garment. Wash temperature, drying method, detergent and how often the garment is worn all change the outcome.

On press

Production window: 5 business days
Runs on: 32 of 38 blanks

Production starts after your artwork is approved by a reviewer, which adds one business day, and after pre-press, which adds two. Runs of 100 and above add two more days; runs of 250 and above add four.

What this method cannot do

Twelve pieces is the floor. Below that the screen charge costs more than the shirts.
Spot colours only. A photograph cannot be screen printed without being separated into flat colours first, which changes how it looks.
Six colours maximum per position. Each colour is a separate screen and a separate pass.
Not available on caps, beanies or bonded softshell.
Halftones below 15% will drop out on textured fabric.

What it is the right answer for

Runs of 24 and up where the same artwork repeats
Flat, bold artwork with a small number of solid colours
Jobs where per-piece cost matters more than setup cost

Colour on any method is an approximation. Screens emit light and ink reflects it, so a colour on your monitor and the same colour on a garment will not match exactly. We can work to a nominated reference colour and we will get close, but we do not promise a visual match. How we handle colour

Fabrics this method runs on

Availability of Screen Print across every fabric class in the catalogue
Fabric class	Blanks	Availability	Rule
Cotton knit	11	Available	No restriction.
Cotton-rich blend knit	9	Available	No restriction.
Tri-blend knit	1	With a caveat	The polyester in a tri-blend can migrate into light ink at cure temperature. We print an underbase to hold it back, which softens fine detail slightly.
Polyester knit	5	With a caveat	Polyester needs low-bleed ink and a longer cure. This adds one working day to production.
Woven shirting	3	With a caveat	Woven shirting has no stretch, so registration is tight, but the placket limits you to a small field.
Cotton canvas	3	Available	No restriction.
Structured cap twill	4	Not available	A cap crown is curved and fused stiff. A flat screen frame cannot make contact across it, so the image would print only where the mesh touches.
Acrylic rib knit	1	Not available	Ribbed acrylic stretches under the squeegee and springs back afterwards. The image distorts, and the flash cure runs hotter than acrylic tolerates.
Bonded softshell	1	Not available	Screen ink cures at around 160°C. The bonded membrane inside a softshell delaminates well below that, which ruins the jacket.