Making tees and hoods come to life
Screen Printing
We screen print thousands of tees and hoodies every week, from a single colour to complex simulation prints. Up to ten colours on the machine.
Screen printing is still the best way to put a bold, vibrant design on a garment and have it last. A properly cured print will outlive the garment it is on.
That word — cured — is where most of the difference sits. Everyone has seen a print that cracked after a few washes, and that is almost always curing, not ink. The ink has to be held at temperature long enough to become a solid. An undercured screenprint is like a great brownie: soft in the middle, and it cracks the moment you pull it. A properly cured one is a bad brownie — a solid teeth-breaker.
We can print up to ten colours. On black garments, bear in mind a white underbase may be one of them. If a design has more colours or finer detail than that allows, Supacolour is usually the better answer and we will say so.
Single-colour through to complex simulation process print. On darks, a white underbase may count as one of the ten.
The part that decides whether a print lasts. Our team has been doing this for over twenty years and we do not rush it.
Tell us PMS 485 and we know exactly which red you mean. Pantone is the standard for a reason — screens and RGB are not.
Separations done by our own team, so what comes off the press is what you approved.
One garment or several thousand.
If screen printing is the wrong method for your design or fabric, we will tell you and suggest what is not.
Our work
Typically used for
- Tees and hoodies
- Event and tour merchandise
- Sports and club apparel
- Promotional clothing
- Uniforms
- Tote bags
How many colours can you screen print?
Up to ten on our machines. Note that on black garments there may be a white base included in that count. If your design has a lot of colours or fine detail, we can Supacolour it instead.
How long does screen printing last?
A properly cured screenprint will last the life of the garment. Prints that crack over time are almost always undercured — the ink has to be held at temperature long enough to cure into a solid.
Do you print on polyester garments?
Not by direct screen print. Polyester is dyed with heat, and curing a screenprint can reactivate that dye so it migrates into the ink and tints the whites. We use Supacolour on polyester instead — a smaller area of the garment gets a more tightly controlled heat, so the problem does not arise and the finish is usually better anyway.
What is a Pantone or PMS colour?
A universal colour standard. Every screen printer has the same Pantone books, so when you say PMS 485 we know exactly which red you mean. Monitors all render colour differently, which is why RGB and CMYK references are unreliable between screens.
What are your minimums?
We have none.
Want this on your garments?
Embroidery Works works with print shops, uniform suppliers and brands across New Zealand. Open a trade account and order online, or talk to us about your job.