Every once in awhile, someone requests “a white shirt that does not allow anything underneath to show through.”

Unfortunately this is a situation beyond our control, and substrate opacity characteristics depend almost entirely upon material weight. The heavier and thicker a material, it will be less likely to reveal anything underneath. In almost every case, embroidery backing (even if it is white in color) will show through a white shirt.

For instance, a five-ounce material will tend to have more “see through” properties than something comprised of seven-ounce material. Of course, there are other factors, such as the weave or knit, which make a difference too.

If this may be of concern, please allow us to make the following suggestions:
· If possible, depending upon the application you wish to use it for, consider a thicker shirt.
· Select a different color; sometimes even a “natural” or “ash” color will do wonders in terms of curing this potential problem!
· Wear an appropriate undergarment, such as a t-shirt, underneath.

(Q) I have a white t-shirt that needs to be laundered…will it be okay to place it in a load where chlorine bleach is used?

NO!

NEVER USE CHLORINE BLEACH ON A SCREEN-PRINTED GARMENT

(Q) My organization has highly-specific branding requirements and would like to have unique, custom-made garments assembled. Does Embroidery Oasis offer such a service?

You bet! We have sources for that, and can procure virtually anything our clients might require.

Though probably not amongst the least expensive options available, an eye-catching, customized clothing design can truly take your advertising plan to the next level. For example, how many times have you glanced at someone’s polo shirt or other uniform item, and intuitively recognized them as being an employee of a certain delivery service? Without ever seeing the logo or company name, on a subconscious level…you know exactly what organization they represent.

The benefits of such instantaneous brand-recognition are tremendous, and could be well worth an additional investment. As with virtually anything else in this business, per-unit price typically falls in proportion to increasing quantities. So if you are building or maintaining a corporate image, and considering several hundred or several thousand identical clothing items, this may well be an option worth exploring. At more basic levels of customization, minimum order requirements start at a mere twelve dozen (144) shirts!

Q How can I get my screen printed t-shirt to last longer, and keep its image looking nice?

Over time, any “silk-screened” garment will begin to show the effects of wear. Laundering your items frequently - is one of the biggest factors that could cause an image to degrade. Yet, wearing a stinky shirt is not an option for most people. So as with virtually anything else in life, mitigating this problem involves finding balance between both extremes.

When placing your screen printed t-shirt in the washing machine; turn it inside out.

Upon transferring it into the drier, leave screen-printed shirts “inside out” and adjust your machine settings to “low heat” or delicate.

If you think about it, when a garment sloshes around with other clothes, they can abrade slightly when coming into contact with one another. The effect is more severe in your drier, since the “drag coefficient” (for lack of a better term) increases as moisture evaporates from your clothing. So this will serve to protect the image – even if only a little.

These steps will also provide buffers from the shirts biggest enemy – high temperatures. The “ink” used to print your shirts is essentially a very high-viscosity liquid. It cures (hardens) by sending your garment through a conveyor oven. But frequent exposure to heat can bring about more changes on a molecular level, even within fully cured ink!

(Q) In terms of shirts, what size ranges do you offer?

We offer the entire range of standard sizes within many different styles and colors. Some are even gender and/or age-range specific! As a matter of fact, Embroidery Oasis can even source apparel for domesticated pets…such as cats and dogs!
• Infant - Newborn, 6, 12, 18, 24 months
• Toddler - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Youth - XS(2/4), S(6/8), M(10/12), L(14/16), XL(18/20)
• Adult - XS (extra-small) through 10-XL
• Pet (dog) - XS(1-4 lbs.), S(5-10 lbs.), M(11-23 lbs.), L(24-45 lbs.) XL(46-70lbs.) 2XL(71-85 lbs.), 3XL(86+ lbs.)

• TALL SIZES - in some styles, manufacturers offer “tall” sizes that have a little more length throughout the torso. However, the range of available colors may be limited.
• YOUTH EXTRA-LARGE shirts are nearly identical in size to an Adult small, in most cases. The only true difference that we can find, is that adult sizes are an inch or two longer throughout the torso. For this reason, we often recommend ordering the adult version, in hopes that it might prevent the child from outgrowing their shirt as quickly.

Please keep in mind that not all styles are always available in every color or size.

(Q) Why do “extended sizes” such as 2X through 10X cost more? Is that because they use more material during the manufacturing process?

The notion that larger sizes cost more because of the additional material used in Production - is a widely held misconception. In reality, any pricing disparities are borne out of the fact that fewer such garments are ever made.

Most “mills” (clothing manufacturers) operate within large factories, and carefully plan their output to coincide with consumer demand. Worldwide, the vast majority of people wear garments that range between “small” and “extra large.” Thus, they concentrate their efforts upon those sizes, producing thousands (or even millions) of such garments during a single production run.

Of course, manufacturers usually want to accommodate bigger people within their offering of identical styles and colors. Though, doing this essentially requires them to “switch gears” which is an expensive prospect for any such large-scale system. Essentially, they must halt everything, reconfigure their operation, and put the same (or more) effort into assembling significantly fewer garments.

So, while true that more material may be used in the creation of an “extended size” clothing item, its cost is negligible when compared with other factors.

(Q) Why do the images on older screen-printed t-shirts in my closet or drawer look “faded?”

When you have a t-shirt where the printed image looks “faded” – take a very close look at it. Cured ink will typically have retained its same vibrancy and color as the day it was screened onto your shirt. Chances are, you will notice thousands of tiny fabric strands sticking up – perpendicular to the shirt. So in reality, you are witnessing an optical illusion; the image is not faded. Over time, your shirt has simply become “fuzzy” and is beginning to drown out the silkscreened image!

This phenomenon is called “fibrillation.” All shirts have a fibrous “nap” that gets matted down during the printing process. As time elapses and wear sets in – those tiny fibers begin to break free and once again, stand straight up. Realistically speaking, there is no way to prevent this from happening. But through employing proper garment care techniques, you can drastically slow the process.

(Q) Why do the images on some screen printed shirts become brittle and begin cracking with time?

Have you ever taken a pair of jeans out of the drier, only to be been burned slightly by one of its metal buttons or rivets? Depending upon which setting you use…it can get pretty doggone hot in there! In extreme cases, repeated exposure to high temperatures can make the ink brittle. This is why you might have noticed screen printed t-shirts where the image has begun to “crack” and fall apart.

It is also precisely why we recommend drying your t-shirts on a low heat setting and preferably – turned inside out.

NEVER USE CHLORINE BLEACH ON A SCREEN-PRINTED GARMENT

Though some manufacturers do better than others, it is not uncommon for elements of a garment to be slightly skewed. For instance, most people would never notice such slight variances – but every once in awhile, pockets or plackets might be sewn on a little crooked.

In such instances, we strive to ensure that your decoration (whether embroidered or screen printed) is in line with the pocket. Since we have no control over garment manufacturing processes, experience dictates this is the best practice to achieving good looking results.

Since the industrial revolution, there have been phenomenal technological advances relating to quality control in garment manufacturing. The ability to produce nearly-identical products over a span of time is nothing short of miraculous. Unfortunately however, fabric shades may vary from one dye lot to the next.

(Q) I want to have something screen printed…but cannot decide between a 100% cotton t-shirt, and the “50/50” version. (50% cotton, 50% polyester.) Which one is best?

If you want us to screen print an image on your garment – 100% cotton, or something with a high organic material content, is the only way to go!!!

Over the years, we have learned some hard lessons with 50/50 shirts, and as a general rule, will not print them! If a customer insists, at very minimum we would require prepayment on the project, and could not provide any guarantees or assurances upon your final product – none whatsoever.

Please read our tutorials about “dye migration and sublimation” to understand why…

Dyes for organic (cotton) fabric are made to become absorbed into the individual fibers, giving them color. This is only half-true for the colorants engineered for treating 50/50 shirts, which need to accomplish two very different tasks. Polyester is a plastic substance – and cannot be penetrated by the dye. Instead, it binds with and “clings” to the surface of those individual fibers.

During the manufacturing process, both types of shirts are completely saturated with dye to ensure they will assume their desired color. But even after most of the liquid has drained away, a fair amount of excess colorant remains embedded. Customarily, this is removed by rinsing the material – and in a perfect world…they do so several times to ensure any residue has been depleted. But unfortunately, extra steps in a manufacturing process can tend to be a cost factor. So every once in awhile, certain batches might “accidentally skip a couple rinse cycles” if you know what we mean…

This isn’t so much of a problem with organic fabrics, since their dyes are not specifically made to act upon plastic materials. But on the other hand, colorants made with chemicals that treat 50/50 fabrics…are. The plastisol ink used to print your shirts is essentially a type of plastic. So, any residual dye within a garment can leach through the plastisol and cause it to change colors.

Again, there is no way to tell if a garment might be prone to migration – it can show up instantaneously, or in some cases…gradually over several months.

To our knowledge, there is only one way to prevent this – by washing a 50/50 garment - with water only, several times. As you can imagine, this would add significant time and cost to your project – not to mention, potentially bringing about a host of other problems and headaches!

(Q) What is “dye migration” or “dye sublimation?”

Garments with a high polyester content are subject to a nasty little phenomenon called “dye migration” - also known as “dye sublimation.” Granted, it can occur with any type of fabric, even those with all-organic composition. By far however, the most problems are experienced with shirts woven together with polyester fabric.

Dye migration can actually cause the imprint on your shirt to degrade and change colors. Worse yet, it might happen immediately – while the garment is still in our shop…or become noticeable a month after you have received the shirts. Of course, there is a chance, albeit a small one, the issue might not even arise. But in our experience, we would not gamble on it – as there is simply no way to predict when this problem will rear its ugly head.

For instance, our last batch of 50/50 substrate involved printing a yellow tiger, with its details and outlines in black…on royal blue shirts. To make a long story short, the tiger turned an “icky green” color. We ended up reprinting the entire job on a 100% cotton substrate, which (except for material composition) was identical in every respect to the 50/50 garment.

(Q) If screen printing of garments containing polyester potentially leads to undesirable results – does that mean all polyester based products are bad?

Absolutely not. In fact, depending upon the intended use…garments with a high polyester content might even be preferable!

For instance, materials woven together with polyester usually offer higher levels of resistance against wrinkles and stains. Most of your “easy care” garments are made in this manner - just remove it from the drier and provide a good, solid shake before hanging. Quite often, the item is ready to wear and looks nice enough that no touch-up with an iron is necessary! What could be easier?

Products containing polyester are an excellent choice for any organization that desires to keep its staff members looking sharp.

But in terms of decoration, polyester garments typically lend themselves to embroidery – but not screen printing.