Fabric selection is a giant piece of the selling and design process, that many times, gets heavily overlooked. Not long ago, if you wanted to get custom screen printed tees done, you really just selected tees based on weight, ie 4 oz, 5 oz, or 6 oz. And maybe, all cotton or "50/50", blended cotton and polyester.
But damn the old days, things and times have changed. Or, at least they have in our shop. See, we firmly believe in fashion apparel and branding, and we take that belief into the garments we encourage our clients to select. Anytime the basic tees are even brought up, brands like Gildan and Jerzees, I never miss the opportunity to tempt the client over to other brands and fabric blends.
Though, I have seen some of the tee blank basic companies start putting out more tri blend and 60/40 options, as well as all-poly options, nobody wins the upscale tee market like Next Level Apparel and American Apparel. These companies, along with others like Bella+Canvas and Tultex to name a few, have redefined blank apparel goods in an industry where the status quo was getting just plain boring. These better fabric blends not only feel better on, they look better on you. Basic tees are "tubular construction", meaning, it was a giant super long sock, that got cut, then sleeves sewn in, and a neck, and boom, its a shirt. Nicer brand tees are often die cut, into shape, a front and back. These sides are sewn together, yielding a shirt that is not only of nicer material, but better fit. This is how womens tees are made usually, so that the body of the tee matches the shape of the body of a female better. Think: hourglass. Guys tees, while not too drastically hourglass in shape, have started to follow this trend from better-shirt manufacturing companies. The result is better fitting, which makes the customer look even better in them. Another thing about the better tees, is that they just print nicer. Seriously. Screen print a design onto a cheaply made tee, then same design onto a nicer fabric, and compare the two side by side. The difference is giant. Visually, the inks and detail stand out so much nicer on the better substrate.
Approaching clients about moving up to a nicer garment is tricky some times. I know, that if someone is looking for a cheap tee to give away for political election season, or maybe a give away for a 5K run, they would be a hard sell to upgrade. But clients looking for branding and marketing products that are sold or that they hope stand the test of time in the end users closet, typically understand where we are coming from when we pitch the upgrade. Its surprising to many how affordable it is to move up to nicer brand fabrics.
To learn more about how your project can be made even better, reach out to us at orders@definitionindustries.com and lets get a quote started. We will go over your options, and take the time with you, so that you make the best decision for your project, that ends with an awesome feeling product, printed perfectly, at a great price, and delivered on time.
-Charlie Veuleman
www.definitionindustries.com
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