Embroidered and printed products give a unique look and style to every piece of clothing you wear. Both methods are also excellent for marketing your brand, business, or simply enhancing your look. But how do you choose between embroidery and print?
Embroidery is useful when you have high-quality fabrics, yet the design is often small. On the other hand, screen printing is suitable for thinner fabrics and complex artworks. However, they wear off more quickly.
If you want high-quality, unique embroideries that will last for years, then go with that. If you want something that might not last forever but has bigger images, choose print. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of embroideries and printing.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Custom Printing
When it comes to screen printing, it is the most commercial form of t-shirt printing and probably will be for years to come. The procedure is simple. A stencil form of your design is imprinted on smooth fabrics.
It is very easy to replicate this procedure and produce vast amounts of customized t-shirts with your design in a quick way. You can use various colors and shades, and even if your desired shade is rare, screen printing can replicate it.
With screen printing, you can apply special effects to your design, such as text designs, glow-in-the-dark effects, vintage, and more. You can choose complex and big artworks that can be printed on your t-shirt. However, your design might begin to fade after a couple of dozen washes.
It all depends on the materials and the machines as well. Printed t-shirts are also easily damaged via stretching. Furthermore, if you wish to implement many colors, the price will increase. In some instances, depending on your manufacturer, you might not get your desired colors. They might feel a bit too light or dark, but it depends on who is doing the printing and the nature of your design.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Custom Embroidery
Embroidery is remarkable since it has that human factor. However, today some machines can also perform the sewing process. Customized embroidery is slowly catching up in terms of manufacturing speed using special threads and digitized design.
Customized t-shirts, or other garments, need to contain a thick fabric to hold the threads firmly. This also ensures a high-quality material that will stand the test of time.
When it comes to coloring options, they use stock threads in embroidery printing. Though there are plenty of colors to choose from, it is limited when it comes to shades. You can also apply special effects to your embroidery through specific threads, but it depends on whether the provider can offer such a feature.
The embroidery printing technique shines when it comes to small and simple designs, and it goes particularly well on hoodies or polo shirts since they can bear the weight of the embroidery. Embroidery can give a classy and sophisticated look to your wardrobe. However, embroidered clothes may be a bit more expensive to make, and your design can’t be too big because stretching will distort the image.
Price
Now let’s talk about the financial aspect of screen printing and embroidery printing. Various factors influence the price, such as the number of clothes printed, the artwork, the number of stitches, and the number of colors.
The most costly factor for embroidery printing is the number of stitches, while for screen printing, it is the number of colors used. Embroidery is usually the more expensive option, but it is higher-quality and lasts longer.
Target Audience
One of the most important factors when choosing between screen printing and embroidery is your target audience. The reality is both options are great, but who do you want to sell or give it to?
Embroidery printing can suit all ages and styles, while complex artworks through screen printing might not look so suitable for older adults, but they can suit children, teenagers, and younger adults.
Final Words
If you want high-quality customized t-shirts that will last a long time, go for embroidery, but keep in mind that you can’t create big designs with this technique, and you can’t create a huge supply as fast as with screen printing. If you want complex and big artwork designs, you should choose screen printing, but remember that they don’t last as long.
No matter what you choose, analyze your target audience carefully. Both options are great, and customized clothing, in general, is steadily increasing in popularity. Everything customized has a unique feeling. Choose a proper provider and manufacturer, and explore their options.
