T-Shirt Printing Swansea, IL
T-Shirt Printing Swansea, IL. You don’t need an excuse to get great custom printed t-shirts made – you could have a company event coming up, a family vacation planned, or might just want some for fun. Swansea, IL t-shirt printing is meant for everything from marketing a brand to enhancing team-building efforts to having some fun with a life event. The sky is the limit for t-shirt printing abilities and uses. Make sure to choose your t-shirt printing shop carefully – one with experienced print and design team members who serve the Swansea, IL area. You can be confident that STL Shirt Co. has all that and more.
STL Shirt Co. is the best Swansea, IL area screen printing shop. We have been meeting your screen printing and embroidery needs for nearly half a century. You will always experience the best Swansea, IL t-shirt printing experience at STL Shirt Co. To begin your order or ask us questions about our services, call us at 636-926-2777 or send a text at 636-299-0162 now.
The T-Shirt Printing Process
STEP ONE – Make your order.
You’ve decided you need to have some t-shirt printing done for your upcoming event, club, sports team, or some other use. You contact your shop to place the order and that is where the Swansea, IL t-shirt printing journey begins. When you order your shirts, you will have to choose and specify the:
- Brand, cut, style, material, and color of the shirts
- Ink colors or special effects
- Design to be printed
Don’t sweat it if you are intimidated by the thought of creating a design and making all these choices! STL Shirt Co. can give you counsel and assurance through every step of the t-shirt printing process. Our expert screen printing artists and designers are at your disposal. Need help designing a logo that perfectly captures your vision? You can rely on our professional design team. We can also help you select the right shirt and ink colors.
STEP TWO – We create the screen
After you decide on a 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 unique parameters, our t-shirt printing team will select the best mesh screen for your order. The screen is coated with a substance called emulsion, which is sensitive to light. That film we printed your design on is placed on the screen and the screen is exposed to light. Light is blocked from reaching the screen wherever the design is on the film but the rest of the emulsion hardens in the light. This is how we create the stencil.
If your design involves multiple ink colors, we go through the same process for for each color in the design.
STEP THREE – We print.
Then, it is time to add the ink. T-shirt printing and other screen printing usually uses a special ink called plastisol. Have you ever noticed how, on a printed shirt, you can feel the texture of the design, but it is still soft and flexible? That’s plastisol for you. It is great because it withstands washes, moves with the fabric material of your shirt, and shows up vibrantly on a shirt of any color.
Next, we mount the prepared screens to a printing press, with each shirt pulled taut and placed on a plate below. We are very careful to make sure everything is registered and lined up precisely so we know that your design will end up in the right place on your t-shirt. We add ink on top of the screen and use a squeegee across the entire screen to apply and press the ink onto the shirt. This process is repeated for every single t-shirt we print, and if your design has multiple colors, we repeat it for each color on every shirt. There is an art to applying the ink just right to where it looks bright 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.
Now your awesome design is on your shirts! But they aren’t ready to go yet. After the ink is applied, the ink has to cure. This means the ink must be transformed into a solid so it becomes permanent on your t-shirts. To do this we have to apply heat to the ink. Ink curing is a science, and it’s easy to damage the shirt or the print when you don’t use the correct temperature or amount of time. You can rest assured that we have the curing process figured out, so you know your prints will turn out great.
STEP FIVE – You get your shirts!
Once the ink is cured, it means that your t-shirts are officially printed! Next, we fold them up nicely and pass the finished product off to you. We can have your shirts or other items printed and packaged within only a few days. Ask us about having your order shipped to you. And if you are in a jam and need your t-shirts printed even faster, we even offer rush printing services.
T-Shirt Printing Orders
In our humble opinion, [t-shirt printing is a magical, beautiful thing. We love what we do and won’t apologize for it. Now that you’ve heard all about the t-shirt printing journey, you are likely ready to place an order. If you like the idea of t-shirt printing but don’t have a specific need for it, think about the following opportunities and occasions for which t-shirt printing is ideal.
Try Swansea, IL t-shirt printing for…
- Athletic teams
- Sports fans
- School clubs
- Fundraising
- Event and organization volunteers
- Bachelor & bachelorette parties
- Corporate events
- Class reunions
- Family vacations
- Company picnics
- Birthdays
- Clubs
- Swag for businesses and organizations
- Work shirts
- Union events and organizations
…And so much more! There are a million different occasions that are perfect for t-shirt printing and other garment screen printing. You would be hard-pressed to come up with a reason that we haven’t printed shirts. No matter what Swansea, IL t-shirt printing services you need, you can count on us.
Choosing a Partner for Swansea, IL T-Shirt Printing
Custom screen printed t-shirts are a fun opportunity that can be effective for many different purposes. But not all t-shirt printing is the same. With printed garments or any screen printed items, there is a huge difference between the work of a top printing shop and a school group applying iron-on’s in the basement. We cheer on aspiring printers and certainly don’t have anything against out-of-the-basement operations (countless great screen printing shops have started out this way!). Still, as the customer, you will experience a definite disparity in the quality, customer service, and abilities you have access to when you work with an accomplished and skilled t-shirt printing company for the Swansea, IL area like STL Shirt Co.
To top it all off, we are a union screen printing shop. Having your Swansea, IL t-shirt printing done by a union shop means that the people printing your t-shirts have had extensive training and have demonstrated their skill in what they do. Not only that, but shopping at a union shop for t-shirt printing or anything else is a way for you to endorse excellent labor conditions and participate in the local and US economy. For your next Swansea, IL t-shirt printing order, make the choice to support a union print shop.
Screen Printing Services
Embroidery
Basic Polo
With Embroidery
STL Shirt Co.: A Top T-Shirt Printing Company for Swansea, IL
At STL Shirt Co., we think t-shirt printing is awesome. You may think us a bit biased, but the reality is that screen printing on t-shirts, hoodies, and other surfaces is an excellent and useful method for creating quality custom apparel for your next event. Whether you have been put in charge of organizing a large volunteer event or you have a last-minute bachelorette party to plan, you can count on STL Shirt Co.’s t-shirt printing services. When you need t-shirts printed for a special occasion, you expect great quality and helpful service. With STL Shirt Co., that is what you get.
We have been performing quality t-shirt printing and other screen printing services for people in the Swansea, IL area and beyond for more than 45 years. With a staff of union-member screen printing technicians, a fast turnaround time, and professional design services, we have the best t-shirt printing services around. The next time you need t-shirt printing in Swansea, IL, we are here for you. Call us today at 636-926-2777, text us at 636-299-0162, or request a quote online to begin your t-shirt printing order today.