Screen Printing Washing & Drying: Care Tips

When it comes to custom printed shirts, we adore them and want to wear them for years to come. However, the more we wear them, the more frequently we must wash them, too. Its common knowledge that repeated screen printing washing and drying can cause print or colour fading. But is there a safe way to wash custom prints? Can we prevent the colour fading of our beloved personalized clothing, even after several washes?

As an experienced screen printing services provider, we know how to make custom print garments last. This article will walk you through a step-by-step guide on washing screen-printed tees, hoodies, and other custom-printed garments.

Step-by-Step Guide to Washing and Drying Screen-Printed Clothing

The steps on how to wash and dry your clothes are straightforward. Whether it is to prevent fading, drying, or cracking of the ink on your printed garment, remember the tips below:

1. Separate coloured garments from whites.

As with regular laundry, it’s safer to separate the whites from the coloured garments. Doing so will prevent the risk of dark-coloured textiles bleeding onto your favourite shirts. This practice will ensure that you keep the quality of the prints and the original colour of the clothing. Don’t ruin your custom tees just because you skipped this washing step!

2. Turn your shirt inside out before washing.

The rubbing that occurs during regular washing helps your machine thoroughly clean the fabric and get rid of dust, dirt, or oil residue that cling to the clothing’s fibres. However, the same rubbing action can cause the ink’s colour to fade, especially during frequent washing. Turn your shirt inside out during the washing and drying process to prevent this.

Doing so will protect the print from rubbing against other materials. This tip applies to both hand washing and machine washing.

3. Use cold water or low-temperature settings.

Cold wash settings or cold water for handwashing is gentler to the fabric and your prints. Using hot or warm water when washing printed garments is the worst thing you could do to your beloved shirt.

Remember, heat is a custom print’s worst enemy. Furthermore, combine this with harsh bleach or heavy detergents—your shirt is pretty much a goner. Aside from the fading, it can cause the ink to crack and ruin the beautiful details of your design.

4. Ditch the chemicals and choose mild detergent.

While we want to protect our favourite prints, we also want our clothes clean. Using detergent is inevitable. To make sure that you keep your custom tees safe, ditch the harsh chemicals and only use a mild detergent. It still gets the job done while ensuring that your garment is still in good shape and can survive another wash.

5. Hang your tees to dry

Yes, the best way to protect your custom tees and hoodies is to go old-fashioned and hang them dry. As mentioned earlier, heat is your print’s biggest enemy. If using a dryer is your only option, you can tumble dry on low settings or use a moderate dryer temperature.

If you choose to hang your garments to dry, follow it up with ironing. However, make sure that you do not iron over the prints. Iron the clothing while inside out. You can also add another layer of any plain garment to protect the print from direct heat.

If you follow these steps, you’ll keep the quality of your custom prints for years. However, there are times when the quality of custom clothing is impacted not by poor care but by something else. What if your custom prints are fading or cracking because they weren’t done well in the first place? Well, we can help you with that.

Embroidery Works’ Quality Custom Prints are Made to Last

Embroidery Works screen prints thousands of tees and hoodies every week, and each piece is special. We understand how valuable custom clothing is. Coupled with our advice above on how to properly wash screen printed clothing, our custom prints are done using the highest quality printing methods and materials. Let’s work together to make your unique tees and hoodie designs come to life!

Aside from our screen-printing services, we also have a team that caters to the demand for quality embroidery in NZ. We provide screen printing solutions for businesses and promotional materials printing work. Have questions? Talk to us today at +64 9 361 1159!