Durham, NC

T-Shirt Printing Durham, NC

T-Shirt Printing Durham, NC. Are you anticipating a special occassion? Either way, having a custom t-shirt printed is a great idea! T-shirt printing is used to accomplish a variety of goals. Are you tasked with bringing a work or sports team together in Durham, NC? Are you hoping to mark a special life event with a lasting memento? Do you want to raise money or awareness for a cause or market a business? ALl these very different goals can be accomplished with the right t-shirt printing services. When you do need t-shirt printing services, it’s important to find a screen printing company that is skilled at printing, can help you with your design, and can have your order ready when you need it. When you order shirts from STL Shirt. Co, you get all those things and more.

Shirt.Co is one of the top t-shirt printing companies serving individuals, groups, and businesses in the Durham, NC area. We have been serving the screen printing and embroidery needs of the people of Durham, NC and throughout the country for over 45 years. Our t-shirt printing abilities and excellent customer service set us apart. You may have more questions about what we can do for you, our methods, or how to place your order. Ask us questions or start your order by calling us at 636-926-2777 or sending us a message at 636-299-0162 today.

How it Works

Placing a custom t-shirt printing order can have an enigmatic feel. You give your order to your favorite screen printer and, a few days later, you have fresh-pressed, neatly boxed t-shirts on your doorstep or waiting for you at the shop. One might go so far as to call it magic, but we aren’t one to toot our own horn. For those who have never experienced the process, t-shirt printing is a mysterious endeavor. Many of our t-shirt printing customers come to us for special occasions and events, so we understand the excitement that surrounds these shirts. Have you ever wondered about the journey that plain cotton tee has gone through to become the beauty you see hanging in your closet or reflected in the mirror today?

The T-Shirt Printing Process

STEP ONE – Make your order.

You know you need some t-shirt printing done for your upcoming occassion, club in Durham, NC, athletic team, or something else. You contact your shop to place the order and the t-shirt printing process is set into motion. When you place your shirt order, you will have to choose and specify the:

• What color, brand, style, and material the shirts will be
• Ink type and color(s)
• Design to be printed

“But I’m not a graphic designer,” you exclaim. Not to worry! Shirt.Co is here to offer guidance and support through every step of the t-shirt printing process. Use our professional printers and designers. For assistance in creating the perfect logo or design rely on our professional design team. If you want to know which shirt or colors will work best for your needs, we can help with that too.

STEP TWO – We create the screen

After you determine your design, we go about preparing the screen that allows us to print the design on your shirts. First, we print the design on a transparent sheet of film. Based on your desired end results, our t-shirt printing experts will select the best mesh screen to use in printing your shirts. We then coat that screen with a photo-sensitive substance called emulsion. That film we printed your design on is placed on the screen and the screen is exposed to light. The design on the film blocks the light from reaching the coated screen in the shape of your design, but the rest of the emulsion hardens in the light. This creates the stencil.

If you want a design using multiple colors, we go through the same process for for each color in the design.

STEP THREE – We print.

This is where the ink comes in. Screen printing such as t-shirt printing typically uses a special ink called plastisol. You might have noticed that the prints on shirts are slightly textured, a little rubbery, but still smooth and flexible. That’s plastisol for you. Plastisol is ideal for screen printing because it withstands washes, moves with the fabric material of your shirt, and shows up vibrantly on a shirt of any color.

The screens we made are attached to a printing press, and each shirt is placed on a plate below. We are very careful to line everything up exactly so that your design is oriented correctly on your t-shirt. We apply ink on top of the screen and pull a squeegee from end to end of the screen to smooth and press the ink onto the shirt. This process is repeated for every single t-shirt we print. For designs with more than one color, we repeat it for each color on every shirt. There is an art to applying the ink precisely to where it shows up nicely and retains the sharp lines in the original design. Lucky for you, our t-shirt printing team has mad skills.

STEP FOUR – The ink cures.

The ink is now on your shirts! But there is still one more step. Once the ink is applied as a viscous liquid, it must be cured. This means we have to turn the liquid ink into a solid so it stays on your t-shirts. To do this we introduce the ink to heat. Ink curing is a science, and it’s possible to damage the shirt or the print with temperatures that are too high. We know what we’re doing, though, so you know your prints will come out great.

STEP FIVE – You get your shirts!

After the ink is cured, it means that your t-shirts are officially printed! We fold the shirts up neatly and pass them off to you. We will package them up and have your shirts or other printed items ready in just a few days. Ask us about having your order shipped to you. For those last-minute situations when you need your t-shirts printed even faster, use our rush printing services.