Printing Techniques Experiment - Test Lab #3

I thought it was a good time to take another look at our printing techniques – with a little help from our test lab. So today we will tackle the age-old question asked by many of our first-time customers: What are the differences between the printing techniques? Which technique do I use to get the results I want?

As supporters of flex and flock, we certainly stand behind our plot printing because it offers the best durability in the battle of Shirt vs. Machine (not to mention that it looks bang-on). The downside of this technique is that not everything is always doable on a t-shirt with three colours. That’s where digital printing comes into play, and specifically our Digital Direct printing technique.

But, before we take a look at the test lab’s results, here is some information about our experiment:

• We chose flex to represent all plot printing techniques. Nothing against flock, writable flex or special flex, but plot printing’s durability is consistent across the board. We could definitely do a test of just plot printing techniques if you are interested.
• We take our science seriously and as in all controlled experiments one should keep the variables to a minimum. Therefore we used one design for all three printing techniques. Of course, this one-coloured design does not highlight the colourful advantages of digital printing, but here we really wanted to look closely at durability.
• We should also mention that Digital Transfer normally has a slim white border around the design. This border is not visible here as it was possible here to cut the foil close enough to the design, thus eliminating the border.

For an even more detailed overview of our printing techniques, check out this great FAQ article. What hopefully comes across here is the difference between plot, Digital Direct and Digital Transfer, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each technique:

• Digital Direct is optimal for a “vintage look”: dark designs on light textiles appear rich and wash out over time creating a used look. Vibrant and resilient colours are to be less expected on dark coloured textiles. I personally like designs on lighter shirts the best. A big advantage of Digital Direct: the surface of the textile barely changes and makes it comfortable to wear (without ironing!). Durability is okay and the colours fade after the first couple washes, but then remain at the same level.
• Digital Transfer has (as we mentioned above) a small border of up to 2mm around the design. The textile feels somewhat “stiffer” and the foil crinkles (scarcely audible).  Dark designs on dark textiles (only offered in some markets) may cause the foil to shine a bit. The colours are slightly more vibrant and more durable in washing compared to Digital Direct.
• Plot printing is the most durable, but at the same time the thickest print we offer. Designs appear very vibrantly and have the highest colour resilience on the shirt. However, there is one important requirement: the design must be submitted as a vector graphic. This allows it to fit on almost any textile and at any size (to a certain extent).

So, with all of that said – I invite you to make your own observations:

Again, if you are looking for even more detailed information and more close-up images of prints for the different printing techniques (including flock and special flex!), then I really recommend checking out this great FAQ article.