With so many options available, choosing the right printing option for your order can be a tricky proposition. However, the team at PB is always on hand to provide a little informed advice and often find that the 2 most common branding options are embroidery and screen printing.
What Is The Difference?
Embroidery involves the stitching thread into your chosen garment. Often used to add a logo onto clothing, it is commonly seen on items including sports kits, corporate wear, school wear, uniforms etc.
Screen printing is a printing technique whereby a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with ink, and a reverse stroke then causes the screen to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed.
To help provide a little further background information, we have drawn up a short list of pros and cons relating to both methods.
Embroidery
Pros:
- Embroidery is offers a very high quality finish and is therefore ideal for uniforms and corporate wear.
- Embroidered finishes are extremely durable and tend to last longer than screen printed finishes.
- Recent development in embroidery machinery has resulted in significantly increased production speed.
Cons:
- Even with the use of advanced technology, it can be one of the more expensive options.
- Complex images and very small text may be quite as well represented as when using other methods.
Screen Printing
Pros:
- Screen printing offers the ideal method for large orders because printing can be completed in bulk very quickly.
- Complex imagery can comfortably be represented by Printing can create high end products, such as photographs and complex designs, that involve shading and gradients.
- It can also offer the most cost effective solution for many orders
Cons:
- Even though screen printing offers a high quality finish, it is not quite on the same level as embroidery which makes it unsuitable for certain projects.
- The more colours you intend to use, the more expensive it will be.
For more information on printing methods and all the options that are available, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 020 8330 3040.