Embroidery vs. Screen Printing Cost

If your logo design has a few colors, screen printing may be more expensive because you’ll have a screen charge for every color. Although most likely you’ll pay an embroidery set-up charge, the number of colors in your embroidered logo won’t affect your cost unless you exceed 12 to15 colors. If your logo isn’t too complicated then your embroidery set-up charge could be less then your screen charges. Also, almost any type of artwork format can be used for an embroidery set-up. With screen printing, vector art (line art) is often necessary so you may be charged an artwork fee to convert your artwork into vector format. Still not sure whether to choose screen printing or embroidery? Ask your decorator!

What about Cost?

Okay, you’ve decided that the T shirts you want to use have enough “weight” for embroidery, your logo design isn’t too stitch intensive and embroidery will give you the right “look”. What about cost? Embroidery will be a lot more expensive, right? Not necessarily. If you only need a small number of T’s – say 24, and there are a few colors in your logo, then embroidery may be very cost effective.

Screen Printing Vs. Embroidery - Get The Right Look!

Sometimes screen printing is the prefered decoration method over embroidery because it creates the right look. A logo that looks great printed in a distressed style cannot be recreated in the same way with embroidery but you can create a different type of distressed look with embroidery. Screen printing can reproduce fine details such as small stylized fonts; outlining and color gradations. In embroidery, small fonts many need to be increased in size or converted to a block font, outlining may need to be eliminated and color gradations may be possible if there is enough room to make them work.

More on the way...

Can My Logo Be Embroidered On a T?

One of the common questions we get is “Can my logo be embroidered on a T-shirt?” The simple answer is, it depends on the logo, some designs work, others don’t. During the process of embroidery many holes are put into a garment. A garment needs to have a certain fabric weight to support a lot of stitches. Most T shirts can be embroidered with a left chest (heart size) logo unless the design is very stitch intensive but I wouldn’t recommend doing a larger design.

More considerations to come!

Thread Width - All the Same?

Is all embroidery thread the same width? No. Most applications require the same thread weight but sometimes its preferable use thicker thread. An example would be an embroidery design on a leather jacket. In order to avoid punching too many holes while embroidering and thus cutting the design out from the jacket, a heavier weight thread can be used so that proper thread coverage is maintained without putting too many holes in the leather. Some applications such as tiny lettering can require thinner thread to create crisp, clean letters. Using the right thread type can really make the difference for special projects!

Add Pizzazz to Your Threads!

Besides rayon and polyester threads, speciality threads such as metallic, solar activated and multi color are used for different custom embroidery applications. Most people are familiar with metallic thread which is available in a variety of colors including gold, silver and copper. Because metallic thread is more difficult to embroider with it isn't suitable for every application but it can add sparkle to a holiday design. Solar active thread, which looks like white thread until it is exposed to sunlight, comes in basic colors such as red, blue, green, yellow and purple. This thread can produce surprising results. Imagine a wedding dress that appears to be white until the bride exits from the church! Another nice effect is produced by using multi color thread to create a camo look. This thread looks great in a wide column font on hats. Expect to pay more for speciality threads but when used correctly, these threads give pizzazz to your design!

One last thread to come!

Rayon Thread's Advantages

Although polyester thread is less likely to “run” during laundering, rayon thread has its advantages. Rayon thread has more “sheen” and is better at reflecting light. Because of this sheen rayon thread may be desirable for large, detailed designs. Also, rayon thread is available in more shades and may work better for realistic designs (e.g. animals, birds, fish) that require lots of thread colors.

More "threads" to come!