He went on to say that screen printing does have an advantage when it comes to soft prints, detail and four-color process large imprint areas and special effects.
From the distributors’ standpoint, they might find out that screen printers can’t make all of their dreams a reality. “Buyers and, quite frankly, novice screen printers have no idea how many variables and limitations there are in garment screen printing. First off, the fabric types and weights are endless. How ink transfers through a screen will differ on a variety of fabrics. Most presses are limited in image size, so what we see at retail with the entire shirt covered in ink, is not something your local printer will be able to do,” Vann noted. “Variables include, but are not limited to, garment seams, mesh types, bulky items like jackets and bags, fabric types (cotton, polyester, nylon, etc.), special effects and so on. The bottom line, just because you have seen something somewhere (retail store or promotion) doesn’t mean it is necessarily a phone call or e-mail away.”