If you want to add a logo and other types of designs to workwear, hoodies, jackets, t-shirts, bags, or sportswear, embroidery and screen printing are your two main options here in Australia. Both these techniques suit the majority of business requirements when investing in branded garments.
What’s the difference between screen printing and embroidery? Deciding which option is right for your workwear or uniform requirements can be tricky, so we have created this handy guide to the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.
What Is Screen Printing?
Screen printing is the process of printing your logo or design onto the fabric using special ink. Screen printing designs onto fabric is an automated process completed one colour at a time using mesh to transfer ink onto the fabric, which is then dried to set the print or cure it.
Advantages
- Long lasting printing technique
- Cost effective for large print quantities (the more you print, the cheaper per unit)
- Large number of colours
- Almost any fabric materials can be used
- Better able to handle complicated designs
- Screen printing is best suited for permeable fabrics (allows ink into the weave)
- Best for larger designs
Disadvantages
- Not economical for smaller quantities
- Expensive setup and multiple colour costs
- Each different colour means a new screen and a new layer of ink
- Only one colour is able to be applied at a time
- Minimum order quantities are likely
- Tend to work best on smoother fabrics
- Print quality may deteriorate on fabrics with uneven courser surfaces
- Not all fabrics are suitable for use
What Is Embroidery?
Machine embroidery is an automated process using a sewing machine or computerised embroidery machine that creates patterns on textiles using a needle and thread. Most commercial embroidery machines have 12 or more sewing heads with up to 15 needles per head (12 items can be embroidered simultaneously, and the logo can use up to 15 thread colours).
When using embroidery, your logo will need to be digitised and the file uploaded to the embroidery machine, which instructs the machine what to stitch.
Advantages
- Long lasting durable finish
- Fade resistant
- Professional look and feel
- Suitable for creating logos on thicker garments (polo shirts, hats, hoodies etc.)
Disadvantages
- Set up fees can be costly
- Requires digitised logo image
- Limited colours available per job (limited to machine capabilities)
- Best for smaller designs
- Able to be applied to a wide range of garments and fabrics.
- Usually no minimum order quantities
Which Method Is Cheaper?
One of the first questions people ask when comparing screen printing and embroidery is: Which method is cheaper? The short answer is, it depends on the complexity of the logo design and the number of garments that need to be branded.
For example, embroidery tends to be cheaper for pocket-size logos, smaller quantities (less than 100) and for logo designs with several different colours. In comparison, screen printing is more affordable if you have large numbers of garments and fairly complicated designs.
The main reason for the difference in costs is the setup cost for most embroidered logos is a one-off fee which doesn’t vary based on the number of colours in your logo. Whereas the setup cost for screen printing is dependent on the number of colours you use as a new mesh screen is required for each colour in your logo.
However, larger quantities will alter this calculation somewhat as the setup costs become less and less incidental the larger the quantity.
Size is also a determining factor in the cost involved. Large logos or images will obviously cost more with embroidery because they can take thousands of stitches to create using more thread and take more time to complete. This is where screen printing is definitely cheaper.
Another thing to keep in mind when calculating costs is whether you anticipate future repeat orders. Often setup fees will not be required again for embroidery but will be charged for screen printing.
Which Method Should You Use?
Another of the most common questions people ask is; Which method will give the best result? The short answer is it all depends on the items being decorated, the long answer takes into account a number of other factors – see below for 5 things to consider when choosing between embroidery and screen printing.
Screen Printing Or Embroidery – 5 Things To Consider
When deciding between embroidery and screen printing, these are the 5 most important factors to consider:
- Order Volume. The size of the job (number of items to be printed)
- Logo Size. The size of the logo design
- Fabric Type. The type of material you want to use
- Colours. How many colours are required
- Intricacy Of Design. How complicated the image is
As a general guide embroidery tends to be a popular choice for business shirts, polo shirts, hats, jackets and hoodies. This is because embroidery is often perceived as more prestigious and works better on thicker fabrics. For garments like t-shirts, hi-vis gear and other lightweight fabrics, screen printing is generally considered the best option. This is because embroidery can be too ‘solid’ and puckering may occur due to uneven tension in the fabric, and also because screen printing is better for larger images.
What About Dye Sublimation?
Dye Sublimation is also sometimes used when printing fabric; however, it is more commonly used for items such as coffee mugs, mousepads, key chains and ornaments etc. The dye sublimation process uses a specialised computer printer that uses heat to transfer dye onto sublimation paper which is then transferred to the destination material using heat and pressure. This method of printing is only able to be used on materials made from 100% polyester or blended materials with a polymer coating.
Advantages
- Vibrant colours
- Will not fade
- Endless options
- Long lasting result
- Great for all over and detailed designs
Disadvantages
- Only for high polyester count materials.
- Dye sublimation won’t work on dark-coloured fabrics
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If you are still uncertain as to which decoration technique is best suited for your business, contact us at Business Image Group for professional advice on screen printing and embroidery, we are happy to help you figure out the best, most cost-effective option!
