Sizing information
We sell our shirts in 6 standard unisex, crewneck sizes. These are medium weight (5.5 oz), premium quality, 100% ring spun cotton. We work to keep the variation in quality and cut of tshirts down to a minimum by focusing on higher quality shirts. You can use the sizing chart below to get a better idea of whether the size you're ordering will fit you.
FAQ's
What the heck is "ring spun cotton"?
Standard tshirts are made with a simple twisted cotton thread which is cheap and easy to manufacture. Ring spun cotton adds an extra thinning process in the production of the thread which gives the resulting knitted fabric a softer feel and makes the garment more durable. For printing purposes, ring spun shirts are better since it's a tighter, smoother knit that gives a better surface for the inks to grab on to. You can immediately feel the difference when you pick up a standard vs ring spun shirt. When you zoom in on the fibers you can also see how standard shirts are more course. The left image is standard and the right image is ring spun cotton. Both are zoomed in to 200x.
Standard tshirts are made with a simple twisted cotton thread which is cheap and easy to manufacture. Ring spun cotton adds an extra thinning process in the production of the thread which gives the resulting knitted fabric a softer feel and makes the garment more durable. For printing purposes, ring spun shirts are better since it's a tighter, smoother knit that gives a better surface for the inks to grab on to. You can immediately feel the difference when you pick up a standard vs ring spun shirt. When you zoom in on the fibers you can also see how standard shirts are more course. The left image is standard and the right image is ring spun cotton. Both are zoomed in to 200x.
What types of ink are there for screen printing?
There are two primary types of screen printing inks. Plastisols and water-based inks. Plastisols are what the name implies. They're PVC (plastic) based inks that are very easy to work with. They are laid down on the surface and adhere to the shirt once heat set. Water-based inks are different in that they are printed into the fibers of the shirt. Once the shirt is heat set the ink permanently dyes the fabric.
Why do you use water-based inks over plastisol?
Simply put, with plastisols the clean up is a mess. Water-based inks clean up much more easily and put less harmful muck into the water system over time. We feel there's already enough plastic going into the environment already. We don't need to add to that problem with our printing processes.
On dark colored shirts we're using a process called discharge printing. In the heat setting process the dye in the shirt gets "discharged" out leaving the ink color in its place. As you can see in the close up photo below, printing with these inks leaves only the dyed fibers after the first run through the washing machine. This detail example is a three color print on a black shirts (the Cross Peen Hammer design).
What if I request a custom order printed with plastisol ink?
There are other printers who will accommodate you. If possible, we'd like the chance to convince you to take a more environment-friendly approach to your printing needs. We also believe the resulting product is far better quality when you choose water-based inks over plastisols.
Can I get you to print one of your designs on a different color shirt or a hoodie?
Sure, but there are some limitations. Some garments print differently than others, so we'd have to make sure the color/garment you're requesting is going to work with the inks we're using.
What kind of file do you need to do my custom design?
Vector files are preferred but we can work with almost anything. We can even work from a sketch on paper, but the best format is to have an Adobe Illustrator file. If you only have an idea of an image you'd like to print, often you can find public domain vector files with a simple google search.
Can you match Pantone colors for my artwork?
We have a full color matching system for our inks. If you have a Pantone color in mind, try to match with the Pantone Solid Coated color book as those are the formulas our system works from. If you don't have a Pantone book available just come by our studio and you can select colors from our Pantone book. Take note that precise color matching for small batches is very difficult since the amounts of each color component added can end up being tiny fractions of a gram and difficult to control. But even then we can get it pretty darned close.
I need 1000+ shirts printed, like, yesterday! Can you do it?
Sorry but our own temporal distortion device is currently on out for repairs. Even smaller orders require time to source the shirts, set up the artwork, burn screens, and do the printing. Once we get your artwork and provide a quote we can give you an estimate of how long it will take. About a week is normal turnaround.