Joliet, IL

T-Shirt Printing Joliet, IL

T-Shirt Printing Joliet, IL. Are you preparing for a special event? Either way, having a custom t-shirt printed is a great idea! T-shirt printing can be effectively used for many purposes. Are you tasked with bringing a work or sports team together in Joliet, IL? 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 used by individuals, families, and businesses in the Joliet, IL area. People in Joliet, IL and all across the country trust us for their complete screen printing and embroidery needs, as they have for more than 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 begin your order by giving us a call at 636-926-2777 or sending us a message at 636-299-0162 today.

How it Works

Placing a custom t-shirt printing order may come with an air of mystery. 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 want some t-shirt printing done for some upcoming event, club in Joliet, IL, athletic team, or something else. You place the order and that is where the t-shirt printing journey begins. When you place your shirt order, you will have to decide on the:

• Shirt brand, style, material, and color
• Ink type and color(s)
• Design to be printed

If this already feels overwhelming, don’t fret! Shirt.Co can give you counsel and support through every step of the t-shirt printing process. Our professional screen printers and designers are available to help you. For assistance in creating the perfect logo or design rely on our professional design team. We can also help you select the right shirt and ink colors.

STEP TWO – We make the screen

Once you determine your design, we get to work on 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 staff will select the best mesh screen for your order. We then coat that screen with a photo-sensitive substance called emulsion. We place the film with your design on it 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, and the rest of the emulsion hardens in the light. This produces the stencil.

If you want a design using multiple colors, we repeat the process above, making a screen for each color in the design.

STEP THREE – We print.

Now we are ready for the ink. T-shirt printing and other screen printing usually 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. What you are feeling is the plastisol ink. Plastisol is ideal for screen printing due to its ability to withstand p washes, move with the flexibility of the fabric, and display vibrantly on a shirt of any color.

Next, we mount the prepared screens to a printing press, and each shirt is placed on a plate below. We work deliberately to make sure everything is registered and lined up precisely so to make sure the design is printed in the right position on your t-shirt. We add ink onto the screen and pull a squeegee from end to end of the screen to apply and press the ink onto the shirt. This process is repeated for every single t-shirt in your order. 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 stays vibrant and keeps the sharp lines from your original design. Lucky for you, our t-shirt printing team has mad skills.

STEP FOUR – The ink cures.

You can now see the design on your shirts! But there is still one more step. The ink goes on as a thick liquid, but in order to stay on the shirt, it has to be cured. In other words, the ink must be transformed into a solid that will stay in place on your t-shirts. To make this happen we have to apply heat to the ink. It takes research and trial and error to perfect the curing process. It is easy to damage the shirt or the print if you use the wrong temperature or cure it for the wrong length of time. 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! Next, we fold them up nicely and hand the finished product off to you. We will package them up and have your shirts or other printed items ready in only 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, we even offer rush printing services.