How is my t-shirt printed using digital printing?

There are different methods used to print a digital design on a product:

• Digital Direct
• Digital Transfer
• Digital Transfer Overlay

The specific print technique that will work best for you depends on the type of product you choose for printing, the color of that product and the color(s) of your design. When creating a product in the Spreadshirt Designer, the print technique(s) available for the product you select will appear in the Edit Design toolbar. For information about size requirements for digital designs, check out this FAQ.

Here are the methods in more detail:

Digital Direct

Digital Direct uses superior textile ink to print directly onto the apparel without using transfers. When using Digital Direct on white apparel, the shirt fabric will be the white or transparent parts of your design. For example, the stars and white stripes of an American Flag would be the t-shirt itself.

With darker t-shirts, we print a layer of white ink under the design then add the colored ink on top of that initial layer. The colored ink is then embedded directly into the white layer for a rich, vibrant effect. Using the above example, an American Flag would first be a white rectangle, with the red and blue elements printed on top of this initial layer of white. Therefore, these prints can feel a bit thicker than those on light-colored t-shirts.

For the best results, we recommend using transparent file formats (.png or.gif).

Digital Transfer:

With the help of a color ink jet printer, the design is first printed on a special type of transfer material. We then press the transfer material onto the t-shirt under high temperature. There is no white color used in this print technique. The color of the t-shirt will show through where the design contains white or transparent areas.

Digital Transfer Overlay:

The Digital Transfer Overlay process prints using a special type of material and process before being heat transferred onto the t-shirt. We can remove the background only if your design meets all of the following requirements:

• The design must be a shape that contains a distinct contour. In other words, it has to be a shape that someone could cut out with scissors. There cannot be small elements or color gradation because the non-printed elements could not be removed.
• The smallest part must be at least 0.12 inches in size. If there are small parts and complex areas in your design, we will not be able to cut around your design.
• The background of your image is transparent.

If you are unsure if your design elements meet the requirement of 0.12 inches in size, then you should check the design before placing an order. Open your design in the program you created it in, draw a small circle or square with dimensions of 0.12 in. x 0.12 in. and drag it over the thinnest elements of the design. If the design element is larger than the 0.12 in. shape, then the design should print at this size. If the design element is smaller than the 0.12 in. shape, then the design will not be able to be printed.

Special note for shop owners:

CMYK is used for all printing techniques. However, the design is displayed in RGB mode in the Spreadshirt shop (and on any monitor.) You can use your software to compare the design in both palettes, as they may appear differently. We also recommend uploading transparent .png or .gif files.