Screen Printing vs. Heat Press: Special Effects That Last

When customers ask for glitter, metallic, reflective, chrome, spangle or other specialty finishes, the obvious solution can seem to be applying the actual material to the garment.

Sometimes that is the right answer. But after more than 70 years of combined printing experience at CrispyPrint, we have learned an important lesson:

The most impressive looking decoration method is not necessarily the one that will still look impressive after dozens, or hundreds, of washes.

That is why, in many situations, we prefer to screen print the illusion of a specialty material rather than heat press the material itself.

Black Chieftains cheer shirt with a big blue S that looks like glitter but is screen printed ink — That blue glitter S is ink. No flakes, no film, nothing to peel.

The problem with heat applied specialty finishes

Heat applied glitter, metallic films, spangles, foils and similar products can look fantastic when they are new. The problem is what happens afterward.

Many of these products come with specific care instructions. Turn the garment inside out. Wash it in cold water. Use a gentle cycle. Avoid certain detergents. Skip high dryer heat. Hang dry when recommended.

Those instructions are there for a reason.

In the real world, however, shirts get thrown into washing machines with everything else. They get washed warm. They get forgotten in dryers. Kids wear them hard. Uniforms are washed repeatedly. Eventually, the decoration can show the consequences.

We don’t like designing a garment around the assumption that the customer will always remember a special set of laundry instructions.

What if we screen print the look instead?

This is where experienced screen printers can do something that surprises people.

We can photograph and study surfaces such as glitter, metallic material, reflective finishes, chrome, sequins and spangles, then reproduce the visual characteristics of those materials through artwork and color separations.

Using simulated process screen printing, highlights, shadows, texture and carefully selected ink colors work together to fool the eye.

The result can look like a specialty material from normal viewing distance, even though what you’re actually looking at is a screen print.

Gold honeycomb that reads as metallic foil, printed with ink on a performance tee.

The photographs in this article are examples of that approach. Effects that appear dimensional, reflective, glittered or textured can be created with ink rather than depending entirely on an applied film or material.

And that’s where the real advantage begins.

Built to be worn, not babied

A properly produced screen print is incredibly durable.

Instead of attaching a decorative material to the surface of the garment, we’re printing ink designed specifically for textile decoration and curing it properly.

That means the customer doesn’t have to treat the shirt like a museum piece.

We still recommend reasonable garment care, because good laundry practices help any garment last longer, but these prints are designed for normal washing and drying. Customers aren’t depending on perfect adherence to special heat transfer care instructions just to keep the decoration intact.

We’ve seen quality screen prints continue looking good for years.

For schools, businesses, athletic programs, organizations and anyone ordering shirts that are actually going to be worn regularly, that matters.

Red Kindergartener by Day Superhero by Night shirt with a screen printed gold glitter effect inside the shield — A kindergarten shirt gets washed a lot. The gold glitter inside this shield is printed, so it survives the laundry.

This isn’t just about the press

Creating convincing simulated specialty effects requires more than owning screen printing equipment.

It begins with understanding artwork.

Our production process at CrispyPrint combines decades of hands on printing knowledge with modern production technology. We use CorelDRAW for artwork development, Separation Studio as part of our color separation workflow, and advanced Anatol automatic screen printing presses for production.

But software doesn’t decide where a highlight belongs. A press doesn’t determine whether a texture will reproduce correctly through a screen. And neither one recognizes that something which looks great on a monitor may turn into mud once ink hits fabric.

That comes from experience.

Our team brings more than 70 years of combined printing experience to the shop. We’ve watched decoration technologies come and go, experimented with different processes, made mistakes, solved problems and learned what actually survives once a garment leaves the shop.

That experience influences what we recommend to customers today.

Black Kryptonite 918 shirt with a screen printed Camaro and green splatter effects made with simulated process ink — Chrome bumpers, glowing green splatter and a full photo of the car, all built in the separations.

A technique worth knowing for other garment decorators

If you’re another screen printer or garment decorator, don’t automatically assume a customer asking for a metallic, glitter or spangle appearance requires that particular material.

Ask what they’re really trying to accomplish.

If the goal is the appearance rather than the physical property itself, simulated process printing may give you considerably more freedom.

Start with a good reference image or photograph of the material. Study the highlights, dark areas, reflections and irregularities that make your eye recognize the surface. Build those characteristics into the separations rather than simply trying to reproduce the base color.

The objective isn’t necessarily photographic perfection.

It’s convincing the eye.

And screen printing gives an experienced separator and printer an enormous amount of control over how that illusion is created.

Embossed carbon fiber texture and a metallic outline, printed flat with ink.

Knowing when not to screen print matters too

We aren’t suggesting heat applied decoration has no place in a professional shop. It absolutely does.

There are jobs where transfers, films, foils and other specialty applications are the correct production method. A good decorator should understand multiple processes and choose the one that makes sense for the artwork, quantity, garment and intended use.

The difference is that we don’t choose a process simply because it’s the easiest way to produce the effect today. We consider what that garment is going to look like later.

That’s an important distinction.

Experience is part of what you’re buying

Customers don’t necessarily need to know the difference between simulated process, spot colors, mesh counts, separations or curing temperatures.

That’s our job.

When someone orders decorated apparel from CrispyPrint, they’re not simply paying us to put a picture on a shirt. They’re relying on us to determine how that picture should be produced.

Sometimes the best looking metallic effect isn’t metallic.

Sometimes the best glitter isn’t glitter.

Sometimes the print that appears complicated is actually the most practical option because an experienced printer knew how to build the effect into the artwork and reproduce it with ink.

After more than 70 years of combined experience, that’s the kind of decision making we believe a professional print shop should provide.

CrispyPrint | Coweta, Oklahoma
Screen printing, embroidery and professional garment decoration. Get a quote or call 918-486-3710.