WHAT IS EMBROIDERY?
Embroidery uses threads to create a rich, textured design on a garment. The image or drawing is sewn directly onto the shirt, jacket, cap, sweatshirt, or fabric item.
An embroidered design can include lettering, logos, and even complex artwork. Our designers translate the artwork into a sequence of stitches – thousands of them. This design process is as much art as it is science, and is called “digitizing.” Larger designs require longer to set up and to sew.
Our computerized, multi-head embroidery machines can sew as many as 15 thread colors into a design, and can embroider dozens of garments at a time.
Embroidery is long-lasting and does not show the effects of time or frequent washing. An embroidered design has a depth, dimension and luster that looks expensive and has a high perceived value.
WHAT IS SCREEN PRINTING?
Screen printing uses inks to imprint a design onto a shirt, sweatshirt, apron, or fabric item. The basic process involves squeezing inks through one or more sheer fabric screens onto the garment.
The number of screens needed for a design depends on the number of colors in the design. Our computerized automatic presses apply each layer of ink precisely every time, using the correct pressure for the design, ink type and texture of the garment being printed onto.
We heat-cure our screen printed items in a conveyor oven. This chemically bonds the inks to the garment, giving a long-lasting, durable design that washes and wears well, and that usually outlasts the garment.
IS ONE BETTER THAN THE OTHER?
No, they both produce long-lasting, durable results, and in most cases the garment will wear out before the design does. Screen printing is a better choice if your design is very large or has a lot of fine detail, because we can screen print in higher resolution than embroidery can achieve. Embroidery is a better choice for fleecy or more textured garments, or where you prefer a more three-dimensional, classy look and feel.
If you are undecided, we can help to match the best process for your needs.
IS IT CHEAPER TO DO SCREEN PRINTING OR EMBROIDERY?
Screen printing is generally less expensive per item, but not as much as you might think. It is typically a couple of dollars less per item in higher volumes because our automatic presses can screen print each item so much more quickly than our embroidery machines can.
However, embroidery doesn’t require as much time to set up as screen printing. This makes smaller runs possible with embroidery, so it can be less expensive overall if you need fewer items produced. Embroidery is also more economical to reorder in small runs, for this same reason.
WHAT FORMAT DO YOU NEED MY ARTWORK IN?
In order to screen print or embroider your logo, we need it to be in a vector format…something that was originally created in a program like Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. We have the most success with AI, PDF, and EPS files. We can work from a low resolution JPG or a Microsoft Word file, but we can’t do it for free (sorry).
