Heat Press vs. Screen Printing

At Badger, we’ve invested years of research into developing our signature custom branding to provide your business and employees with high-quality workwear that’s safe and versatile to match all environmental conditions whilst showing off your brand’s logo. We offer a range of custom wear from high vis vests to heat pressed polo shirts online through our streamlined custom service for your business.

What is Heat Press Printing?

Only becoming a prevalent and efficient method in the last 20 years, heat printing offers an easy process to reproduce more complex and high-quality custom designs. A heat transfer uses a combination of heat and pressure to print images onto t-shirts and other items. There are two methods: vinyl and digital print.

Vinyl heat printing uses a machine to cut out individual designs from colour vinyl. Your custom design is laid out on the garment and pressed with heat to transfer the image across to your clothing.

Digital heat printing, on the other hand, uses a printer to create an iron effect, which works more beneficial for high resolution and complex designs in smaller batches. Your graphic design is printed out from your computer using a specified printer, paper and solvent ink. When the paper is pressed to the promo item with heat, the ink adheres to the material and the graphic image transfers to the article.

What is Screen Printing?

Screen printing uses screens and ink to transfer an image onto a t-shirt or promo item. While this method has been around since 960 AD, its current form wasn’t discovered until the 1910s. Even at that stage, screen printing didn’t become a popular printing method until Andy Warhol came about in the 1960s, with a predominant range of his artworks being created with screen printing (also known as silk printing).

The process of screen printing involves your screen first being cut to create a stencil for the design. The ink is then spread over the screen with a squeegee, running over the patterned stencil passing through onto your promo clothing item underneath. Only one colour may be used for each screen, so you will need multiple screens for a design with various colours.

This process can be more time-consuming for designs with many colours; however, screen-printed art feels softer and lasts much longer than heat-pressed art. It also works out to be a more cost-effective option for large printing quantities, although it does require more chemicals and equipment.

Which Method Gives You the Best Results?

While screen prints may hold up better in the long run, you’re limited in the complexity of the design with screen prints. Heat transfers allow more freedom in colour and sophistication, making a more crisp-looking image.

The Best Place for Custom Workwear

Browse Badger’s online store for quality custom workwear, and bulk buy deals. We have everything tradies, surveyors, farmers, businesses and project managers need, including hi-vis, extreme hot and cold workwear, and women’s options.

See for yourself in-store or contact us directly for assistance or custom orders.