Thou Shalt: The 5 Commandments of Screen Printing

By Dean Schwartz: In our blog, we love to talk about the SOBO SWAG difference – about how to turn also-ran promotional products into SWAG with Style. With that said, creating superior SWAG has a lot to do with what we don’t do, just as much as what we do do. (Don’t laugh)

This week, we’ve got our 5 ‘thou shalt’ commandments of screen printing…

1. Thou Shalt Not Print Over Seems, Pockets or Zippers: In order to get a perfect screen print, your surfaces need to be flat, which is why screens look best on the front or back of a shirt, for instance. If you print over a seam, or a pocket, for example, your screen print will be inconsistent or worse, leave gaps in the print.
2. Thou Shalt Use the Right Colors: Go figure – some types of ink don’t print well on certain shirt colors. Those colors? Purple, teal and turquoise, royal blue, kelly green and red, along with a few shades of each. If you’re printing on those colors, we’ll need to help you plan accordingly by avoiding discharge ink, for example.
3. Thou Shalt Jumbo Print With Care: A lot of SWAG-seekers think that the bigger the screen-print, the better. And hey, all you need to do is look at the size of automobile logos over the past 10 years to see that larger is a trend of the times. With that said, you’ll want to avoid jumbo prints on certain items to avoid misprints, and those items include tank tops, v-necks and girls tees.
4. Thou Shalt Only Use Detailed Prints on Appropriate Fabrics: Because of the way that certain products are naturally textured, extra-detailed prints won’t look too good on: pique polos, canvas materials, and ribbed garments
5. Thou Shalt SWAG Properly: At the end of the day, it’s your money. Yes, this is our business, but we want – no, we’re adamant – that you SWAG properly. You can go to your neighborhood screen printer but most of the time, these guys will just print whatever you give them, with little regard to the end result. We’re here to make sure you don’t screw up and that you’re proud of how your garment looks.

And we’re here to take your call, too. These are the 5 commandments of screen printing. We’d love to help you keep these commandments. Give us a call today at 888.752.0432.