Airbursh OR silkscreen/screen print Shirts?

[AreYouAMac]

Hi all.

Well I was wondering.. what would be best for having designs on a shirt?

The two I am debating on is Airbrushing or silkscreening/screen print.

Things to think about -

1) Fading -
Do Airbrush designs fade overtime? I am not sure how much loss of color will be gone.. and how long will it take to start fading.
I'm unsure if silkscreen will fade or not.

2) Cracking -
I am positive that Airbrush designs do not crack but most definitely silkscreening will depending on the quality and thickness of the paint

3) Vividness / appealing -
Which one do you think will look more appealing?

3) Quality -
Well I figure quality will come down to the shirt and the process on the shirt

4) Easiness -
I have yet to try silkscreening... but it does look messy to me. Airbrushing on the other hand... does not seem too bad as I have used it before.

5) Metallic colors -
Gold and silver... There are airbrush paint that have gold and silver.. but I am not sure if they too will also fade over time and how they will both look.

Thanks for any input.

[InLikeALion]

Easy. Screen Printing. Each shirt will be "exactly" replicated (as in no inconsistencies from the human airbrusher). You see a huge screen printing design industry because it is more cost-effective and higher quality. How many times have you gone to the mall and seen designer t-shirts? How many times have you thought that airbrush place in the mall was a tacky/cheep trinket shop?

Not to belittle those who do airbrushing. It can be a really amazing art form. But my point is that you don't generally get that quality vibe from airbrushed t-shirts.

[rema]

I must say im not an expert but do have some experience in screen printing t-shirts

1) Screen prints generally hold there colour over a long time, and there should be no issues with fading

2) screen prints generally don’t have cracking issues if you use the correct ink that’s for fabric printing, or fabric binder with pigments

3) There’s a huge range of screen printing colours to choose from, and the appeal aspect does really depend on the design. Quality is really good crisp lines and it is easier to do like a batch of t-shirts with same design.

4) the actual printing side is pretty simple and easy to do, after some practice should be easy its juts just the actual set up of the screens, exposing the images that can be a bit technical and the chemical involved.

5)You can get metallic screen printing inks, that will last a long time, there are some with added glittery bits that sparkle they don’t last as long in my experience, the glitter bits disappear and your lift with just a metallic type print. but I guess it does depend on the type and brand of ink used

Hope that’s helps a little bit

There is a great forum I’m a member of with lots of info and tips about screen printing and other methods of printing t-shirts its www.t-shirtforum.com

[likeavaliant]

If you expect normal people to wear your shirt, then definitely DO NOT AIRBRUSH. screen printing is standard for normal tee shirts. airbrushing is for your grandma's sweatshirt with a picture of her cat on it.

and if you're worried about a mess, just outsource the job. it's not that expensive, but screen printing is fun no matter what.

what kind of shirts are you trying to print up?

[Consultant]

Got any suggestions on where to get them done?

Looking for high quality printing on specialized fabric that evaporates sweats.

[stainlessliquid]

Airbrushed shirts are tacky. Maybe its just the style (since they all seem to be the same), but Ive never seen one I would wear. Its one of those fads from the 90's thats best to forget about.

[klymr]

I agree 100% with all the above posts. Screenprint those babies. I've never done any screenprinting myself, mostly cause I'm scared to buy the supplies and then screw it up, but I hear it's easy and a lot of fun. If I had more of a disposable income I'd be printing all sorts of stuff. I just can't afford for it not to work out right now.