Custom t-shirt printing in Singapore proves to be a popular trend because it is versatile and can serve different purposes. Custom t-shirts can be worn as a form of self-expression, as a promotional item for brands and to mark some special occasions. Whether you are a business owner, team leader, employee or an individual making a tee for your loved ones, value-for-money tees and high quality prints are a must for custom print t shirt Singapore. In this guide, we explore key tips that will see the perfect outcome for your custom t-shirt printing project.
1. Choose the Right Fabric
Probably one of the most important considerations in custom t shirt printing is using the most suitable fabric. There are many fabrics available! They vary in texture, weight, colors and function.
The various textures include “interlock” which refers to a smooth finish, “honeycomb” which literally refers to the fabric having small honeycomb shapes, “eyelet” which refers to small holes in the fabric and “pique” which is a cotton knit that leaves a fine textured pattern in the fabric. Fabric weights can be categorised as “lightweight”, “midweight” and heavyweight”. “Lightweight” fabrics could be as light as 100gsm, “midweight” could refer to fabrics between 170-350gsm, while “heavyweight” fabrics could be 400gsm and above.
For tshirts to be worn during sporting activities or outdoor events, the “lightweight” with moisture wicking/ quick dry function tshirts are commonly chosen by our clients.
An example would be our experience with custom tshirts for our Ark Industries team bonding event in 2023. We chose the Under Armour Tech Tee as a team tshirt to wear for our full-day team bonding event. We chose it because it is lightweight and wicks moisture well. This was a good choice as we had an Archery Competition and Cooking Competition, both required us to move around and made us perspire!
Here’s how it looks like!
For differentiation of teams, we had different print colors on the front of the tshirt.
Seen here in this photo is a yellow vinyl print heat pressed on a grey Under Armour tshirt:
Popular fabrics when it comes to having customised T-shirts in Singapore include:
Cotton: It’s soft and breathable for casual, every day wear.
Polyester: Polyester fabric is ideal for those wanting a more durable fabric. For tshirts made by sports brands such as adidas and Under Armour, polyester fabrics usually is designed to wick moisture.
Blends: Enjoy the comfort, function and durability that blend fabrics bring.
An examples of a blend, is the Cotton-Polyester Blend (Cotton-Poly) blend.
2. Choose the Right Printing Technique
There are many print techniques to use for custom T-shirt printing and you should choose just the right one for your artwork/logos, lead time and budget. Here are some common methods for custom t shirts printing in Singapore:
Screen Printing or Silk Screen Printing: It is very cost efficient for large orders if you choose to use screen printing. Print colors are vibrant and long lasting. It will be more costly when the order is of small quantity. Besides a set-up fee to set up the silk screen stencils, a logo fee is charged for each print on the tshirts.
Heat Transfer or Heat Press Printing:
- Digital Prints
With our in-house digital printer, we print the artwork or logos on a vinyl material. Thereafter, we weed out the unwanted vinyl before heat pressing the artwork or logos on tshirts. Preferable for low quantity orders.
Here’s a video with more information about Digital Prints:
- Vinyl Prints
With our in-house plotting machine, we ensure the artwork/logos/text is cut out from our vinyl material. Similar to Digital Prints, Vinyl Prints are also preferable for low quantity orders.
- Direct-to-Film (DTF) Prints
Compared to digital and vinyl prints, the hand feel of Direct-to-Film (DTF) Prints is a lot softer! Great for high quantity tshirts. A digital printer prints the logo/artwork onto a PET plastic sheet, adhesive is added to the print and then it is ready for heat pressing onto tshirts.
A heat press machine applies heat and pressure on the vinyls positioned on the tshirts. It melts the adhesives of the vinyl and with pressure, seals it onto the t-shirts for durability.
Embroidery: Besides flat prints on tshirts, an alternative embellishment is embroidery. Embroidery provides more texture and dimension to logos. It looks classy and luxurious. Embroidery on high quality fabrics of branded shirts from well known brands such as adidas, Under Armour, Puma and J Lindeberg creates a smart, professional look.
Consider your design as well as budget so you can determine which method of printing or embellishment would be the most suitable for your custom t shirt printing project in Singapore.
3. Care for Design Clarity
When you create a custom print T-shirt in Singapore, clarity of the artwork or logos is of utmost importance. The following are a few tips to see to it that your print comes out sharp:
High-Resolution Images: Always use high-resolution images and vector files for your artwork to prevent pixelation. For instance, if your design includes a logo or text, make sure it is clear and readable from a distance.
For our corporate clients, we usually ask for a Brand Guide or Corporate Identity Guide along with vector files of their corporate logos. This is so that we can apply the logos correctly onto different colored tshirts. For example, a 2-color logo may need to be of different colors on a grey tshirt and on a navy blue tshirt. With the vector files or “working file”, we can scale up and down the logos with no compromise of it’s quality.
Colour Contrast: A high contrast visual effect may not also be desired. Some designs that our clients have asked for are tonal or “tone-on-tone” as they prefer a subtle custom tshirt. However, for clients who need to shout a message or have names on their custom tshirts, a high contrast between print and tshirt is needful. For example, a bright yellow vinyl print on a black adidas jersey for a soccer teamwear makes it easy to spot a player from the other end of a soccer field!
Simple vs. Detailed Designs: While complicated designs can be brilliant sometimes, less can sometimes be more! Be simple, with bold shapes, minimal text, or few colours for maximum impact.
4. Purpose of the T-Shirt
The purpose behind your customised T-shirt in Singapore should be a motivation for your design concept. For example,
Promotional Events: If you are designing T-shirts for a corporate or promotional event, use the company logo along with a tagline or relevant message. The design of this T-shirt should represent the overall identity of your brand as well.
Team or Uniform Tees: Sports teams, school or clubs will want to have custom tshirts so comfortable that they can wear them day and night. Get them personalised with names and numbers for that uniform look with a touch of individualisation.
Personal Gift: Custom tees are wonderful gifts to be given at birthday parties, reunions and other celebrations. Gift a fun, personalised design reflective of the personality or interests of the recipient.
This understanding of the objective of your custom T-shirt will guide your design and also your choice of fabric.
5. Get the sizing right
Another consideration in a custom print on T-shirts is sizing. For every tshirt selected, we will be sure to share a size chart with you. If you are ordering custom printed tshirts for your team or department, this information must be shared for your members to choose the appropriate tshirt sizes. Please note that sizes differ between brands and manufacturers.
For example, the brand Gildan’s M size may not be the same sizing as adidas’ M size. The chest width and shirt length may differ.
6. Budget Planning
Budget planning is part of the custom T-shirt printing process. Your budget will determine the kind of fabric, printing and quantity of T-shirts you can place the order for. Some factors to consider are as follows:
Quantity: Ordering in bulk usually lowers the per-shirt cost, so it is more economical for large events or businesses. Our Sales Managers will share the minimum order quantity to you and also let you in on the quantity to order to enjoy a bulk order discount!
There are times when we have had clients who are ordering custom tshirts for their events but they do not have the sizes of the event participants. We usually advise them to order a higher quantity of the Medium and/or the Large sizes as a buffer.
Printing Method: Some tshirt printing methods of are costlier than others. For example, if you have many prints in one order, it may be more affordable to choose the screen printing method. Conversely, if you have few orders, then it will be better to make use of heat press printing method.
Other Extra Charges: At Ark Industries, we ensure that our clients are well informed early in the process about any possibilities of extra charges, which may include design charges, set up fees or rush delivery fees.
Proper budgeting allows you to make beautiful looking customised t shirts Singapore without breaking the bank.
Conclusion
Custom T-shirt printing in Singapore will simply enhance so many businesses, events and personal expressions. From the important factor of ensuring the most suitable fabric choice, printing method, design and also a reliable printing service, you can be assured that your customised print T-shirts look as you want them to. Whether you are creating promotional T-shirts, team uniforms or personalised gifts, these guidelines will help you achieve successful and impactful results.
For the best customised T-shirts in Singapore, one should look to no other than the leader in the industry – Ark Industries. A name you can trust, known for good craftsmanship and finer service that would meet all your custom print t shirt Singapore requirements.
