Screen printing, also referred to as silk screening, is a process that’s been used for making custom merchandise, goods for sale, and promotional products for many years. The process involves using a thick ink that lays on the shirt, rather than soaking it into the fabric. Historically, it was the best and most efficient way to mass-produce custom t-shirts and other items. Today, it’s still a preferred choice because it’s affordable, makes colors pop, and creates a more polished, professional finished product.
In this guide, we’ll explore more about why screen printing is a good choice, the benefits of outsourcing, and how you can get all of your screen printing and fulfillment services in one place when you work with a dedicated 3PL partner like Print Bind Ship.
What is Screen Printing?
Screen printing offers several advantages, starting with the fact that it can be used on just about any material. It can even be used on metal, glass, and wood, although it’s a better option for more porous materials like clothing, bags, and accessories.
Screen printing is popular for several reasons, namely:
- Better Quality: Items that are screen printed, will have a higher quality to them. They will be more durable for everyday wear and stand up to laundering and years of enjoyment.
- More Vibrant Colors: When you choose screen printing, you can print almost any color that you can imagine; as the thick inks are available in just about every color that exists. Plus, the prints will be brighter than with methods that absorb into the material or that use other printing styles.
- Longevity: Screen printed designs have a lot more staying power. The thicker inks can stand up to much more wear and tear over the years. This includes the wash cycle and the high heat of the dryer; which is what makes it an ideal choice for clothing.
- Way More affordable: Screen printing is one of the most cost-effective options available today. Especially when you are ordering large quantities. You can get more for your money when you choose this style because it is so affordable to mass-produce.
- Soft Look and Feel: Screen printed inks leave a soft finish. This allows items to still be flexible and comfortable even with printing on them. Some printing methods are rough, or otherwise, disturb the texture of the original item; which is less than desirable in many cases.
How to Outsource Screen Printing
Screen printing, while a great choice, is something that you’ll want to leave to the professionals. If you have bulk orders to fill, the high startup costs and massive space requirements of a screen printing operation might not be conducive to your budget. However, you can reduce your costs by creating your designs in-house and then sending your designs to the printer for completion.
If you want, you can even send your own clothing along with the design to get the exact items you need to be printed handled professionally and in the most cost-effective way possible. If you want, you can even leave the design and clothing choices up to the printer that will be creating your screen printed goods. The options make it easy to get exactly what you need.
Fulfilling Orders
Once your apparel is printed, it will need to be fulfilled. Whether you’re shipping promotional items or fulfilling paid orders, you need a method that gets things done as efficiently as possible. You could choose to let the printer ship your products, but then you’re at the mercy of their shipping costs and capabilities. A better solution is to outsource to a 3PL company that can provide end-to-end fulfillment solutions and take the work off of your hands.
How to Outsource Fulfillment
Outsourcing offers a lot of different benefits, and especially for startups and businesses that are just getting their footing. When you choose to work with a third-party logistics provider, you simply pay one small price and enjoy warehousing, picking and packing, shipping, inventory management, and even returns and customer service related to every step of the fulfillment process.
You will save on warehousing costs, and won’t have to deal with any of the hassles of shipping. Plus, you’ll have a dedicated team of experts on your side to answer all of your questions and offer advice on the best fulfillment solutions. Plus, you can even utilize kitting and assembly services to package your screen printed products as part of a kit or promotional package and reduce labor costs by having everything done in the same place.
Screen Printing & Fulfillment with a 3PL
So, what exactly is a third-party logistics provider? Well, put simply, it’s a partner that you really can’t live without. At Print Bind Ship, we can handle an array of printing, binding, packing, and shipping solutions for brands and items of all kinds, including screen printed apparel. 3PL companies handle everything to do with logistics and use their expertise and dedicated relationships to help you save the expense.
A 3PL allows brands to accomplish more because they already have the tools and infrastructure in place to automate order fulfillment on every level.
Advantages of a 3PL
When you find a 3PL provider that can handle every single aspect of your printing and fulfillment needs makes things easier. With Print Brind Ship, We can:
- Accept incoming apparel that has yet to be printed and store it until printing is needed
- Print large and small orders, as well as on-demand jobs, and pack, ship, and deliver them to customers
- Provide you with helpful advice and insight to improve your apparel business or marketing strategies along the way
- Offer significant cost savings
- Provide flexibility and scalability for startups and small brands
- Improve customer satisfaction and enable growth through improved production and fulfillment
If screen printing is a service that you need, but you’re not sure where to start, why not take care of everything in one place with Print Bind Ship? Contact us now to discuss what kind of solutions we can provide for your screen printing needs.
FAQ
Screen printing is one of the highest-quality printing methods. Screen printing T-shirts results in designs that are more colorful, vibrant, and clear compared to other methods. Prints ultimately last longer with screen printing as well.
Screen printed t-shirts are made with process of placing a silk-screen over the shirt and then layering the design on top. Screen printing results in custom designed t-shorts of the highest quality.
Print Bind Ship offers screen printing for a variety of merchandise, including t-shirts. You can opt to print in bulk or in small quantities. You’ll also gain all the benefits that come with a built-in fulfillment partner.