Deedra George 9/2/19 Deedra George 9/2/19

Direct to Garment vs. Heat Press Vinyl vs. Screen Printing

Custom shirts are a great way to promote a business, display a cause, or even just express yourself, and there are a few ways to print a design on a shirt—or any fabric. So, which one is right for your design needs?

Direct-to-Garment

Direct-to-garment printing is probably the easiest method for printing on t-shirts and fabrics. The shirts are placed on a platen and the printer almost works similarly to a paper printer. The shirt goes into the machine, and a printing head goes back and forth across the fabric blowing the ink into the shirt. Blowing the ink into the shirt means that you can't feel the design on the fabric.

This makes direct-to-garment the fastest and easiest method, and it also allows printing of full color pictures. There is no limit to the number of colors for direct-to-garment printing. So, if your design requires more than 4 colors, this method is likely your best option. This method is great for printing color pictures or complex designs.

There is one primary setback when it comes to direct-to-garment printing: it can only be printed onto lighter colored shirts like white or pastels. Other methods place the design on top of the fabric, so they can be done on any color; but because the ink goes into the fabric, it mixes with the color of the fabric than lay on top of the fabric—leading to the restriction of lighter colored fabrics. Over time, this type of printing also tends to fade as compared to a traditional screen print.

Traditional Screen Print

Traditional screen printing is done using screens which act in the same way as stencils so that when the ink is pressed across the screen it only goes through where the design is. This method is done manually, and if a unique color is required, the ink is also mixed by hand. While there are automatic screen print presses, the process itself is still often done by hand, pressing the ink across the screens with squeegee. When the design is finished, you can feel the ink on the fabric. Because this method is so much more hands-on, it tends to go a little slower than other methods of printing.

Two things to keep in mind about traditional screen printing are that there is a maximum limit to the number of colors that can be used in design and a minimum number of shirts. Because of the way that screen printing presses are set up, only a certain number of screens can be accommodated, limiting the number of colors. Most often the maximum number of colors accommodated are four or six. And, because of the more complex process for creating the screens for a design, there is often a minimum number of shirts required to make going through the whole screen printing process really worthwhile—usually upwards of about 18 shirts. Over time, this type of printing can tend to crack, creating an interesting texture.

Heat Press Vinyl

Heat press vinyl is an interesting medium between direct-to-garment printing and traditional screen printing. This process involves taking rolls of colored vinyl, cutting out a design, and heating the design onto the shirts using a heat press; you can feel the design on the fabric as in screen printing, though the feeling is different. Like direct-to-garment, and unlike screen print, this can be done on one shirt or multiple shirts; and unlike direct-to-garment, but like screen print, this method can be used on any color shirt. This method is in the middle on speed, though it is still a pretty quick way to have a shirt made.

There is also a limit on colors with the heat press vinyl, primarily due to logistics. When screen printing, the shirts and screens are lined up through placement in the machine. In direct-to-garment printing, the colors are printed all at once. However, with heat press vinyl printing, different colors and parts of designs are aligned by hand, and as the number of colors increases, complexity, difficulty, and probability of errors increases dramatically. So this method of printing is great for one- or two-color designs.

Other Methods and Processes

There is a different method of vinyl transfer, called quick print or express print, where a design is printed onto heat press vinyl and then applied to a shirt. This is a method that combines direct-to-garment printing and heat press vinyl, though is best used when there is a single object that needs to be printed and doesn't work as well for large, whole shirt designs.

New State-of-the-Art Screen Automatic Screen Press

Which Method Fits Your Needs?

When choosing which type of printing will work best for a design it best to keep three things in mind: the number of shirts, the number of colors, and the color of the shirt you want. After considering those things, it's only a matter of deciding which compatible kind of printing style meshes best with the design.

We offer all three of these methods at By George and have just added a state-of-the-art automatic screen press which allows us to print faster and have more colors per shirt. We are happy to demonstrate all three methods to our customers to help them pick out the best print method for them.

Deedra George 8/19/19 Deedra George 8/19/19

New Product Update

Twice a year, our main vendor, Sanmar, comes out with new products. This mid year update has some items that I’m sure will be some of our best sellers.

Twice a year, our main vendor, Sanmar, comes out with new products. We all get super excited because Drew, our Sanmar rep, comes by to show us all the new items and lets us try out some of our favorite ones. This mid year update has some items that I’m sure will be some of our best sellers.

Sport-Tek Posi-UV

My first exciting product is the Sport-Tek Posi-UV line. There are short sleeve and long sleeve tees and short and long sleeve polos.

These are a 4 ounce, 100% polyester interlock with a UPF rating of 50. These will be perfect for 5k’s and for anyone spending much time outside.

Designed for game day or the work day, these high-performance polos offer a soft, matte hand and deliver exceptional UV protection, PosiCharge color-locking technology and moisture wicking. These come in a wide variety of colors.

OGIO Ladies Force Long Sleeve Tee

My next favorite is the Ogio Ladies Force Long Sleeve Tee.

Features:

Stay-Cool Wicking Stretch
Flatlock Seams for Comfort
Reflective Details
5.2-ounce, 88/12 poly/spandex with stay-cool wicking technology
OGIO heat transfer label for tag-free comfort
Cutout back with strap
Thumbholes for warmth
Black reflective O heat transfer on front left hem

New Era® Shutout Wheeled Bat Bag

One of the most exciting items is the New Era® Shutout Wheeled Bat Bag. For teams on the move, this wheeled bag was built for practice or play. A sturdy base and wheel set, along with a massive main compartment makes it shut out the rest.

Features:

600D 100% polyester/250D 100% polyester diamond dobby ripstop
Holds catcher’s set up to size L–XL, helmet, catcher’s mitt, outfield glove, cleats, sandals/slides
Zippered side/accessory pocket holds up to 5 softballs
Designated bat sleeves hold up to 4 bats
Removable, lined hook and loop shelf separates main compartment from ventilated shoe compartment if needed
Padded handle
Two fence hooks for easy hanging
Padded carrying handles
Large wheels and molded bottom plate
Top removable decoration panel with universal zipper
Dimensions: 37.5"h x 12"w x 10.75"d; Approx. 4,837 cubic inches

Pork Authority Sweater Fleece Vest

This is my favorite piece and I can’t wait until it gets cool enough to wear it. This is the Pork Authority Sweater Fleece Vest and comes in both ladies and men’s sizes and styles.

Available Colors:

Black Heather
Medium Blue Heather
Grey Heather.

You can see all of Sanmar’s newest products by clicking HERE (https://www.companycasuals.com/bygeorge/b.jsp?customer=bygeorge&todo=search&showPrice=No&query=new

Deedra George 8/17/19 Deedra George 8/17/19

By George: A Successful and Growing Helena Business

By George has grown from a small shop offering alterations, to a business offering a variety of services that proudly stands with the community around it.

By George (Alterations, By George) at its original location in 2002.

Deedra George first opened Alterations, By George in 2002 as a shop that did only that—alterations. But the Helena business grew, involving family, multiple moves, and some large, heavy machinery. The original shop was in the tiny white building where the Helena Taco Bell sits now.

One month after the store first opened, Deedra bought her first embroidery machine. Over the next few years she would do alterations and embroidery, assisted by different family members both working some in the shop and selling merchandise such as decorative bows and wreaths.

In 2006, the shop was temporarily moved into the George house for two years until they moved into their next shop down the road from the original store. Husband Adam George joined her, and they tackled running a small business together with Adam taking over the embroidery side until By George added another department: t-shirt printing.

This began an explosion in By George history. In 2009, By George got a direct-to-garment printing machine and began making t-shirts. The next year they expanded their printing department with a vinyl cutter and printer for making quick print designs, cutting vinyl, and added yet another service—printing banners.

In June of that year, Adam drove to South Carolina to pick up a four station traditional screen printing press, further expanding their capabilities for t-shirt printing.

But the printing department wasn't the only area that grew; in 2011 embroidery added a new 6-head embroidery machine, vastly growing its capacity.

By George's current storefront off of County Road 52

With all this growth, By George needed to upsize, and in 2013, the business moved into their current location off of County Road 52, behind a restaurant that has been Frankie's, American Ranch House, and is now El Tejano.

The move was not without its own share of adventure, however, as getting that 6-head embroidery machine safely across County Road 52 ended up with Adam behind the seat of a forklift carrying the embroidery machine with someone on either side watching to make sure nothing went wrong.

So, By George has grown from a small shop offering alterations, to a business offering a variety of services that proudly stands with the community around it. Just a drive around Helena showcases many By George products, from the decals on the caboose (added and maintained by the store) to shirts printed for both other small businesses as well as the local schools.

By George has not stopped expanding. The store always looks to grow its business to provide more and better services and products, and a new automatic screen printing press with more stations has just been added to their equipment line, allowing more colors and faster printing. They have also refreshed the front of the shop with new flooring and paint. Make sure to stop in soon to check out the updates.