Whether you’re in the market for work uniforms or school spirit wear, you may wonder if screen printing or embroidery is best for your design goals. For custom shirts, the method you choose usually depends on the overall effect you’d like to achieve with graphics and embellishments. Here’s a helpful guide on when to use screen printing versus embroidery.

Screen Printing

Screen printing uses ink to emblazon text and images on a range of items like uniforms, tote bags, and coffee mugs. For custom shirts, printing professionals will create a mesh screen of your design and push ink through it. They’ll use separate stencils for each color to ensure the print comes out clean and precise without any bleeding.

Embroidery

Embroidery involves stitching threads into garments like shirts, jackets, and hats. Employers often choose to embroider the names of staff members onto custom shirts, which function as stylish name tags. Many people also use embroidery to embellish T-shirts with company logos or school slogans. 

How to Decide

Screen printing is typically the cheaper option for custom shirts. It also provides you with more design freedom since you can use different color gradients and shading options, which makes printing detailed logos helpful.

Embroidery, on the other hand, typically looks more professional, which makes it a popular choice for work shirts. However, it’s not ideal for smaller or more complicated designs due to the limitations of needles and thread. 

When you need custom shirts for school, work, sports teams, or extracurricular activities, get in touch with Honolulu Shirt Shop. Since 1984, they’ve provided screen printing and embroidery services to personalize T-shirts for clients throughout Oahu. Call (808) 847-0831 to get started on a design and request a quote. Visit them online to view a gallery of their work.