Whenever you need custom T-shirts with your designs printed on them, some people often encounter problems that they were not able to account for. From our experience, we know how frustrating it is for customers to receive an order that wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for.
Before buying custom T-shirts, make sure to read this list of common mistakes you should avoid.
1. Printing Method Mistakes
There are several printing methods out there that can be used for T-shirt printing including screen printing, direct-to-garment (DTG), heat transfer, sublimation, and a lot more. This can be a little daunting for people who have no idea what to choose for their order.
Oftentimes the company that offers T-shirt printing services may guide you on which printing method is best for your desired outcome.
The printing method can depend on the complexity of your design, the number of orders, the number of colors used, what texture you’d want the print to be, and of course cost.
To avoid the mistake of choosing the right printing method, take the time to research the different types first to know which one is a perfect match for your custom T-shirt. You can consult your service provider if there are things you don’t fully understand.
2. Bad Fabric Type
Just like the printing method, there are plenty of apparel and fabric types to choose from when you’re ordering custom T-shirts. What you choose will mostly depend on the softness of the fabric and how expensive the apparel is.
The usual fabric chosen for T-shirt printing is cotton because of its soft texture but another thing to consider is whether the fabric works with the type of printing method you want.
Cotton works with many printing methods but there are others like transfer and sublimation that works best with Polyester.
More than T-shirts, you can also choose apparel like sweatshirts, hoodies, tank tops, and more. Some of these options can cost a little more but that will depend if you want your designs not just on T-shirts.
3. Imbalance in Color Combination
This type of problem is a common encounter for people who are printing text-only designs on their T-shirts.
What you see on the computer screen doesn’t necessarily translate well in print, that is why it’s better to make sure that you have good contrast with the text color and the color of the T-shirt.
An obvious mistake to avoid is having dark color texts, or even logos, on dark-colored T-shirts.
The same goes for light-colored texts to light-colored apparel. If your logo has a fixed color that doesn’t work with the color of the T-shirt you choose, a good workaround is putting a different color outline to the logo.
One more thing to note is that the more color you choose, the more expensive your print can be, especially if you are choosing screen printing. This may not be the case with the heat-press method you should still consider the number of colors you use.
4. Low-Resolution Image
T-shirt printing service providers often require a certain design format and level of quality for them to be able to print your design without looking blurry. If you submit your design or logo in a small format, they will have to expand it to a level that will not look good on the actual print.
Make sure that the size of the logo or design you will submit is actual or even bigger than the size of the actual print. Design services are also often provided by T-shirt printing companies.
5. Copyrighted Designs
Copyright laws are nothing to joke about especially if you are going to sell the T-shirts you are having printed. Some designs and logos are copyrighted or trademarked that cannot be just reproduced on a whim.
This is a common problem when it comes to printing apparel because oftentimes people aren’t doing it purposely but you should still be careful in choosing any designs that you get online. It is still recommended to create a design of your own or make sure that it’s free for commercial use.
6. Wrong Sizing
Aside from options on apparel fabric type, sizing is also a common problem encountered when ordering custom T-shirts. Oftentimes, the “one size fits all” option is chosen by customers because it can be cheap. However, there are obvious downsides when choosing this sizing for T-shirts.
If you are getting custom T-shirts for specific people in mind, make sure that you get the right size for the right people. Sizing charts are often available upon request from the T-shirt printing company.
7. Costing Issues
Some designs and fabrics can cost more when ordering custom T-shirts. You should always check with your custom T-shirt providers first about how much the orders will be. Finding a T-shirt printing company that offers free estimates is the best option you have.
Ordering in bulk can help you save more because orders in small numbers can make production expensive thus costing more.
There are certainly more issues and problems you can encounter when ordering custom T-shirts, but these mistakes mentioned are the common ones that you should make sure to avoid.
Asking for help and preparing questions for your custom T-shirt provider could make the process smooth.