Standard Plastisol
Plastisol works on both light and dark colored shirts and is our most affordable method of printing. Plastisol sits on top the fibers of the garment instead of soaking into them. This can give the print a plasticized texture while other types of inks can produce a softer feel. When printing on dark shirts a white underbase is required and considered an additional color.
Fashion Soft (Vintage) Plastisol
Plastisol works on both light and dark colored shirts and is our most affordable method of printing. Plastisol sits on top the fibers of the garment instead of soaking into them. This can give the print a plasticized texture while other types of inks can produce a softer feel. When printing on dark shirts a white underbase is required and considered an additional color.
Waterbase
Water-based ink is simply that. Being water-based, the ink penetrates into the shirts fibers, giving it a very soft finish. This method is excellent for a large print area. Water-based ink is recommended only for light colored shirts.
Discharge
The simplest explanation? Discharge ink is a water based product that is formulated to deactivate the dyes used on natural fabrics.
You have probably seen many shirts with a very soft print that looks like the color of natural cotton – this is discharge printing. Discharge screen printing can be used to print colors on dark garments that in the past would have required an additional layer of white ink in order to achieve proper opacity of top colors.
Foil
Looking for a way to make your shirts pop? Foil printing is a two part process that involves printing a layer of adhesive on the garment, curing it like normal ink and heat pressing a sheet of foil onto the adhesive.
We carry Gold, Silver, Green, Bronze, Black, Red, Blue, Pink, Rainbow & Purple foil. Try to find that variety at your local print shop!
File Preparation
High Resolution Artwork
When you art sending file for print, all files must be at least 300 dpi or Vector Format. Always design your art to the final print dimensions you require. Providing low-res art will result in a low-res looking print. Always feel free to contact our art department for tips and tricks.
Create Outlines In Illustrator
Always remember to convert your text to outlines. If you are using Adobe Illustrator just select your text that you want to convert > Go to ‘TYPE’ > Choose ‘CREATE OUTLINES’.
Artwork and Print Sizing
Standard print size on a mens shirt is 13×17 and Oversized is 17×22. These numbers change depending on the garment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of payment do you accept?
Visa, Mastercard, debit, email money transfer, cheque and paypal.
How is pricing determined?
Pricing is primarily determined by 3 things:
1. the product you select
2. total number of colors needed for printing
3. quantity in your order
Other factors such as design services or special requests can also affect the cost.
Why are multiple placements more expensive?
Each location requires a completely new screen setup and production run. Think of each location as being it’s own individual job.
What is your largest print size?
Feel free to send us artwork so we can take a look at and figure out how to print it as big as possible. Most of the time it is 17″ x 22″.
Can I request samples of my apparel before printing?
Yes, you can. However, we must charge you for blank samples we provide. As an alternative, consider making an appointment to view our showroom. Our experienced sales reps can help narrow down your search by showing you all your options at once.
How do I submit an order?
The easiest way to submit orders is email printer@astroscreenprinting.ca. You can also call us at 416.256.1227.
Do you require a deposit or my order?
We will require 50% of the total order to be paid before garments are ordered. After that 50% is paid, we will get your order into production and the remaining 50% is to be paid on delivery/pickup.
How can I submit my artwork?
We can work with most artwork files but we prefer if your file is either vector file or at least 300 dpi. You may also send us a workable .pdf file. If that is not possible, we are able to work with what you have available and get your artwork prepared for printing. You can send all your artwork files to printer@astroscreenprinting.ca
What is the minimum quantity of shirts i can order?
Our minimum is 24 pieces. This is because it takes the same amount of time and labor to prepare the artwork for screen printing, produce the screens and set up the press to print shirts. By ordering the minimum you may be limited to print size and amount of printed colours. You may also mix and match garment styles within the 24 pieces, but the logo itself must be produced a minimum of 24 times for us to create a price quote for the job.
What kind of inks do you print with?
Astro Screen Printing has an extensive ink stockpile. Just to include some of what we have: metallic inks, shimmer inks, glitter inks, puff inks, glow-in-the-dark inks, discharge inks and water based inks. Specialty inks require additional pricing requirements.
What kind of merchandise do you have available to print on?
In our showroom we have blank garment catalogs with hundreds of apparel choices to choose from. They include all major imprintable apparel brands and has options from tees, to pants, to bags, koozies etc.! Brands featured include American Apparel, Bella, Canvas, Gildan, Alstyle, Alternative Apparel, Jerico & more. You can also swing by our warehouse and our sales representative would love to walk through our samples and help find that perfect garment for your project.
What if I have my own garments? Can you print on those?
Yes, but Customer Supplied the minimum number of pieces is 50pcs per design.
What is the difference between CMYK and Simulated Process?
Four Color Process printing, also known as CMYK, essentially performs the same way that your ink jet printer does, blending the four colors, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black) to produce full color images as opposed to spot color images. Four Color Process with water based inks is best when printed on white or very light colored shirts and does not work well on dark shirts. For full color images on dark shirts, we recommend Simulated Process printing.
Simulated Process printing is similar to CMYK and is capable of producing very photo-realistic images with a high amount of detail. It uses traditional spot colors, yet blends them in a four-color process manner, simulating full color images. This process works very well on both light and dark colored garments. The ink color count for simulated process jobs are often in the five to ten color range, therefore making it the best process for higher quantity runs.
Tips & Tricks
Discharge
Every shirt starts in its natural color cotton, it’s then dyed into your shirt color. Garment dyes used when dying Kelly Green, Royal Blue, Red and Turquoise shirts are often stubborn to discharge printing. This is why we recommend using our Fashion Soft (Vintage) ink when printing on these colors.
A great way to save
You can save a lot of cash when you minimize the amount of colours in your design. Think about minimizing your number of print locations as well.
An added back print or sleeve print will raise your per piece cost. Feel free to ask us how you could save more money.
Colours
We primarily reference the Pantone chart for all our color mixing and matching. Using programs like Photoshop and Illustrator will give your accurate Pantone or PMS colours.
A solid investment would be to purchase your own Pantone book.
I want to print over seams
When you print over a zipper, pocket or seam it creates an inconsistency, because these are thicker portions of the garment. When you print over these portions of the garments, it creates a gap in the print where the ink from the screen does not touch the shirt due to the ridge caused by the seam. Thats when your print starts to get ‘globby’.