T-shirt Printing Prepress Technology (1)

First, the basics of T-shirt design

T-shirt design (pattern design) is divided into active design and passive design. Active design is mainly used to produce T-shirts for merchandise. Designers can use subjective ideas without any restrictions. Basically, any object or any graphic art technique can be used to create T-shirt designs. Passive design mainly refers to the creative design of advertising T-shirts, travel T-shirts, commemorative T-shirts, etc., subject to certain restrictions, to be carried out under the constraints of achieving certain intentions.

To carry out T-shirt design, one must first master the basic process of T-shirt printing, and also understand the printing technology level of the producer and the T-shirt printing equipment used. For example, T-shirts of colored fabrics are always printed with water-based glue paint, but if producers master the production technology of thermosetting plastic inks and purchase corresponding equipment (mainly T-shirt printing machines, infrared dryers, Infrared T-shirt oven, etc.), he can use hot solid ink to print color fabric T-shirts for processing. The glue printing and thermosetting ink printing have different requirements for the design of the pattern. The paste can only be printed with a simple color pattern. The hot ink can be printed with a transitional printing on the screen, not only on the white T-shirt. For color screen printing, spot color screen printing can also be performed on dark T-shirts. If the designer's design does not correspond to the technical process mastered by the producer, the printed design does not reach the designer's original intentions and effects, or even cannot be printed at all. Therefore, the T-shirt designer must be a master of the T-shirt printing process. In particular, the excellent T-shirt designer must be very concerned about the development status and technical characteristics of the latest T-shirt printing materials and printing equipment in the world so that Fast speed uses the latest scientific and technological achievements to produce novel and unique T-shirts.

In industrialized countries, T-shirt designers are often independent professionals. They founded their own T-shirt designers or companies and sold their own ideas and designs to customers such as T-shirt factories, T-shirt operators, and advertising companies. Such a T-shirt design company is often the first to consider three issues when designing: 1. The customer's requirements; 2. Using the latest T-shirt printing technology to achieve a unique artistic effect of color; 3. The best cost-profit rate.

Color gradation screen printing technology has developed rapidly in China in recent years. Screen printing technology has gradually been adopted in T-shirt printing. At the same time, the popularity and competition of computer desktop publishing systems have greatly reduced the cost of production of color separation screens. Now it is very convenient and inexpensive for us to create color separation and screening films. This progress is like the advancement from letterpress printing to offset printing in the printing industry. T-shirt designers have got rid of the design restrictions of the color pattern (except for glue printing) and have more creative space, regardless of photo effects or painting effects. Still inkjet effects can now be easily reproduced on t-shirts by screen printing technology. This is the progress of contemporary science and technology. At the same time, T-shirt designers are also asked to master digital technology.