Custom Apparel
Screen Printing
Ink pushed through a mesh screen, one color at a time, laid down thick and cured into the fabric. The right call when a graphic has to read across a room.
Request a QuoteInk That Belongs to the Shirt
Screen Printing for San Antonio Businesses and Crews
Screen printing builds an image out of separate ink layers. Each color in your artwork gets its own screen, the ink is pressed through that screen onto the garment, and heat cures it so the print becomes part of the fabric rather than a film sitting on top of it.
Because the screens are made once and then reused for every shirt in the run, screen printing is built for repetition. It is the method behind crew shirts, event tees, promotional giveaways, and any job where the same bold graphic goes on a stack of garments and needs to survive the wash.
It is also how every bulk t-shirt order at InlineGraphics is produced. Our online Custom T-Shirt product is printed direct-to-garment (DTG) one shirt at a time, and once a run reaches 10 or more of the same design, screen printing takes over and the per-shirt price drops. Request a quote and we will price the whole run.
What Screen Printing Is Best For
Bold Graphics at Scale
Large chest and back prints, heavy line work, and solid blocks of color. Screen printed ink holds its edge and reads clearly from across a parking lot or a trade show floor.
Runs of the Same Design
One set of screens prints the whole order. The more garments carrying the identical graphic, the more sense screen printing makes compared to piece-by-piece methods.
Everyday Wear and Washing
Cured plastisol and water-based inks are made to be worn hard. Crew shirts, shop tees, and giveaway apparel keep their print through regular laundering.
Cotton and Blended Tees
The method is at its best on cotton and cotton-rich blends, which is exactly what most team, event, and promotional apparel is cut from.
Brand Color Discipline
Inks are mixed to your brand colors rather than approximated, so the shirt matches the sign, the banner, and the truck.
Specialty Finishes
Options such as soft-hand, high-density, and metallic inks are available when a graphic calls for a different texture or finish.
Crews That Match
One design, one run, a whole team wearing the same bold print.
Built for the Stack
Screens are made once and print the entire order, shirt after shirt.
Screen Printing or Embroidery?
Use screen printing when the artwork is large, graphic, and repeated across a run of shirts or hoodies. Use embroidery when the mark is small, the garment is a polo, cap, or jacket, and the look needs to read as permanent. Plenty of programs use both: printed tees for the field and embroidered polos for the front office. Send us the artwork and the garment list and we will tell you which method serves it better.
Ask Which Method FitsHow a Screen Print Order Runs
Artwork and Color Separation
We review your file, confirm it is print-ready, and separate the design into its individual ink colors, one per screen.
Proof and Approval
You see the design placed on the actual garment and sized to the real print area before any screen is burned.
Screens and Press Setup
Screens are burned, registered on the press, and inks are mixed to your brand colors and test printed until the pull is clean.
Print, Cure, and Check
The run is printed, heat cured, and inspected. Garments are sorted by size so the order arrives ready to hand out.
Screen Printing Details
General guidance while we finalize the published specifications. Ask us for the exact figures on your project and we will confirm them in writing with your quote.
- Minimum order
- Screen printing is priced around a setup per color, so it favors quantity. Tell us how many garments you need and we will confirm whether screen printing or another method is the better fit.
- Turnaround
- Scheduled against your deadline. Give us the date the apparel has to be in hand and we will confirm the production window when we quote.
- Pricing
- Quoted per project. The drivers are garment selection, quantity, number of ink colors, and how many print locations the design uses.
- Artwork
- Vector files such as AI, EPS, or PDF give the cleanest result. High-resolution raster art can work depending on the design, and our team can rebuild or clean up artwork when needed.
- Print locations
- Front, back, sleeve, and pocket-area placements are all available. Each additional location is its own setup, so we confirm placements before screens are made.
- Garments
- Cotton and cotton-rich tees, long sleeves, hoodies, and crewnecks. Tell us the brand and cut you prefer, or let us recommend one for the job.
Prefer to Order Online?
These products can be configured and ordered directly, with proofs before production.
Screen Printing FAQ
Your artwork is separated into individual colors and each color is burned onto its own mesh screen. Ink is pressed through the screen onto the garment, one color at a time, then heat cured so it bonds with the fabric. Once the screens are made, every shirt in the run prints from the same setup.
Choose screen printing for large graphic designs on t-shirts, hoodies, and event apparel, especially when the same design repeats across a run. Choose embroidery for smaller stitched logos on polos, caps, and outerwear where the look needs to read as permanent.
Yes. Every color in the artwork is its own screen and its own pass on the press, so color count affects both setup and price. Designs built from a few clean colors are the most economical, and we will tell you if simplifying the art would help.
Vector artwork such as AI, EPS, or PDF is ideal because it scales without losing edges. High-resolution raster files can work depending on the design. If all you have is a logo off a business card or a website, send it anyway and our team will tell you what it needs.
Talk to us about it before you buy. Customer-supplied garments are handled case by case, since fabric content and construction decide whether a print will cure correctly, and we would rather confirm that up front than risk your inventory.
For small orders, our online Custom T-Shirt product is usually the faster route: you configure the shirt, upload your design, and check out. For larger runs, request a quote and we will price the screen print.
Have a Run of Shirts to Print?
Send us the artwork, the garment, and how many you need. We will confirm the method, proof the placement, and quote the job. Serving San Antonio and Central Texas.