The Fabric Printer Specialises In Screen Printing T-Shirts and can replicate any design onto a garment.
We can reproduce your image perfectly using the most modern machinery from international suppliers, high-quality screen printing inks and our in-house artwork and separation team.
Our techniques include:
Spot Colour screen printing
Specialty Ink Printing
CMYK Process Screen Printing
Simulated Process Screen Printing
Index Screen Printing
While our head office is in Perth, we can ship to any location Australia-wide.
We also offer special effect inks and finishes that can elevate your brand's identity. Our automated equipment allows us to print over 800 units per hour.
No job is too large for The Fabric Printer, making us the preferred custom screen printer for some of Australia's largest brands, Festivals, Brewers, Gyms, events, and businesses.
The Fabric Printer Specialises In Screen Printing T-Shirts and can replicate any design onto a garment.
We can reproduce your image perfectly using the most modern machinery from international suppliers, high-quality screen printing inks and our in-house artwork and separation team.
Our techniques include:
Spot Colour screen printing
Specialty Ink Printing
CMYK Process Screen Printing
Simulated Process Screen Printing
Index Screen Printing
While our head office is in Perth, we can ship to any location Australia-wide.
We also offer special effect inks and finishes that can elevate your brand's identity. Our automated equipment allows us to print over 800 units per hour.
No job is too large for The Fabric Printer, making us the preferred custom screen printer for some of Australia's largest brands, Festivals, Brewers, Gyms, events, and businesses.
Spot Colour Printing
Spot colour screen printing allows for precise control over each colour in the design, resulting in vibrant, opaque colours that match specific Pantone shades (PMS). It is ideal for designs that require exact colour matching or bold, solid colours.
BOLD GRAPHICS
CLEAN DESIGNS
SOLID COLOURS
Spot Colour Printing Benefits
PRECISE COLOUR MATCHING
Using the PMS colour matching system we can create a custom mixing guide for your brand colours ensuring consistent branding across different items and print runs.
CLARITY AND VIBRANCY
Spot colour printing produces exceptional clarity and vibrancy for eye-catching designs.
COST EFFECTIVE
Screen printing can be cost effective for both small and large print runs. As long as the design is the same size and colour, you can choose a variety of garment styles to print on in one run.
MATTE, SEMIGLOSS & SFX FINISHES
Sometimes the finish of your print is an important consideration for the overall aesthetic of the garment. We work with both waterbased and plastisol inks which have a matte and semi-gloss finish respectively plus we offer a range of exciting special effect inks to elevate your garments to the next level!
ECO-FRIENDLY OPTIONS
Our screen reclaiming system and film-free screen imaging production process reduces waste, and our water-based ink options offer an environmentally-conscious choice for sustainability focussed customers.
Spot Colour Printing Process
The process begins with creating the design for printing onto your garment. Designs are typically created digitally using software like Adobe Illustrator. Each colour in the design is separated into layers, creating a separate screen for printing each colour. This separation is crucial for screen printing, allowing for precise colour registration.
Once the design is separated into individual colours, the next step is to create screen printing frames for each colour. Screens are then placed into our digital imaging machine, where each colour channel is printed onto the mesh, blocking out the areas where the ink will pass through. The screen is then exposed to UV light that hardens the emulsion, allowing the design to set onto the screen's mesh. From there, the screen is registered, and inks are added to our automatic screen printing press, where the magic happens.
Once the printing is complete, the ink is cured using heat to ensure durability. This process involves passing the garment through our conveyor dryer and applying heat to the printed area.
Overall, spot colour screen printing offers a versatile and effective method for decorating garments with vibrant, opaque colours. With careful attention to detail and precise colour registration, it produces visually striking results that are durable enough to withstand repeated washing and wearing.
Specialty Ink Printing
Garment printing with Special Effects Inks involves the application of unique and innovative ink formulations to create eye-catching and tactile effects on clothing. These effects go beyond standard printing methods, adding texture, shine, shimmer or other distinctive qualities to the design.
UV BLACK LIGHT CLEAR COAT
This clear coat is practically invisible under normal light but will illuminate under UV blacklight. You can apply this ink as a top coat over standard and neon inks to create a brilliant glow or print directly onto garments to hide secret messages and designs that will be revealed under black light.
GLOW IN THE DARK
This type of ink contains luminous pigments that absorb light during the day and emit it in low-light conditions, creating a glowing effect. It's often used for designs intended to stand out in dark environments or for novelty apparel.
FLUOROESCENT NEON INK
Neon Textile Ink brings vibrance colour to t-shirt printing, offering a spectrum of bold, fluorescent colours. It can be added to spot colour designs, creating an eye-catching effect and illuminate under black UV lights.
PUFF INK
- Puff ink contains a foaming agent that expands when heat exposure creates a raised, three-dimensional effect on the printed surface. It adds texture and depth to the design, making it visually appealing and tactile.
SHIMMER INK
- Shimmer inks contain reflective particles that create a metallic sheen when printed onto garments. They add a touch of elegance and sparkle to designs, mimicking the appearance of metallic surfaces like gold, silver or bronze.
GLITTER INK
- Glitter ink contains fine glitter particles suspended in transparent ink, creating a sparkling effect when printed onto fabric or over the desired base print colour like pink. It adds shimmer and glamour to designs, making them stand out and catch the light.
Why Use Special Effect Inks?
Printing with Special Effects Inks offers endless possibilities for creation and customization. It allows designers to add unique touches and enhance the visual appeal of their designs. These innovative inks can transform ordinary garments into statement pieces, making them stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Why Use Special Effect Inks?
Printing with Special Effects Inks offers endless possibilities for creation and customization. It allows designers to add unique touches and enhance the visual appeal of their designs. These innovative inks can transform ordinary garments into statement pieces, making them stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Special Effect Ink Benefits
Printing with Special Effects Inks offers endless possibilities for creation and customization. It allows designers to add unique touches and enhance the visual appeal of their designs. These innovative inks can transform ordinary garments into statement pieces, making them stand out in a crowded marketplace.
ENHANCES VISUAL APPEAL & ADDS DEPTH TO DESIGNS
Using Special effect ink provides an extra method of
CREATES MEMORABLE & ATTENTION GRABBING APPAREL
Screen printing produces exceptional clarity and vibrancy for eye-catching designs.
OFFERS DESIGNERS CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY & UNIQUENESS
Screen printing can be cost effective for both small and large print runs. As long as the design is the same size and colour, you can choose a variety of styles to print on in one run.
ELEVATES YOUR OVERALL BRAND IMAGE
Uniqueness and quality will keep customers coming back
CMYK Screen Printing
CMYK screen printing for garments is a method for producing full-colour designs on apparel. Combining cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks allows for reproducing intricate details, gradients and multicoloured artwork. Ideal for T-shirts, hoodies and other garments, CMYK printing offers exceptional colour accuracy and durability, making it a popular choice for businesses and individuals seeking high-quality custom apparel.
GRADIENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOREALISM
CMYK Process Benefits
FULL COLOUR BRILLIANCE
For stunning visual impact
INTRICATE DETAILS & SUBTLE COLOUR VARIATION
The optical effects of overlayed colours mixing on the printed garment offers another dimension to designs
SPOT COLOUR ADDITIONS
Spot colours can be added to a cmyk print for extra impact
COST EFFECTIVE FULL COLOUR PRINTING
By replicating full colour designs using just 5 screens, CMYK can be a more economical way of printing images that would otherwise require up to 10 colours & screens and the associated set-up costs.
CMYK Printing Process
CMYK printing, also known as four-colour process printing, reproduces a wide range of colours on garments. It involves mixing four base colours: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black) to create a spectrum of colours. Each colour is applied in tiny dots, which combine optically to produce a full-colour image.
Here's a detailed breakdown of the CMYK process colours:
- Cyan (C): Cyan is a blue-green colour that forms the base for producing blues, greens, and shades of grey in the final print. It absorbs red light and reflects blue and green light.
- Magenta (M): Magenta is a pinkish-purple colour used to create reds, purples, and some shades of grey. It absorbs green light and reflects red and blue light.
- Yellow (Y): Yellow is a primary colour crucial for creating a wide range of hues, including oranges, greens, and browns. It absorbs blue light and reflects red and green light.
- Black (K): Black adds depth and contrast to the print. It enhances details, provides shadowing, and creates black highlights.
Simulated Process Printing
Simulated process screen printing replicates full-colour images using spot-colour halftones and is suitable for intricate illustrations, portraits, and photographic designs. It offers a larger colour gamut than CMYK printing, with improved Skin tones and proper greys. This process uses around 6 to 11 colours to achieve outstanding results.
LIFELIKE DETAIL
HIGH DEFINITION PRINTS
MAXIMUM IMPACT
Simulated Process Benefits
NUANCE AND SUBTLETY OF DESIGNS
Unlike traditional spot colour printing, which uses limited ink colours, simulated process printing utilizes a combination of halftones and blends ink colours to create the illusion of a full-colour spectrum.
STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHIC REPLICATION
Replicates photographic images with stunning realism
EXCEPTIONAL HIGH-DEFINITION
Provides high-definition prints for exceptional impact
CREATES IMAGE DEPTH
Shading, tone, detail
Simulated Process
The original design is separated into colour channels, typically six or more colours, each representing a specific ink colour. These colour channels are then converted into halftone images, where continuous tones are translated into a series of dots of varying size and spacing. These dots' density and arrangement determine the final printed image's perceived colour and tone.
Screens are prepared for each colour channel; the halftone image is burnt onto them using a photosensitive emulsion. The T-shirts are loaded onto our automatic screen print press, and each screen is aligned using our pre-registration system. Ink is applied to each screen, and a squeegee pushes the ink through the mesh and onto the fabric below. This process is repeated for each colour channel, with the overlapping halftone dots creating the illusion of a full-colour image.
Simulated process screen printing offers several advantages for T-shirt printing, including vibrant colours, high resolution, and the ability to reproduce complex designs precisely. It's a popular choice for large-scale apparel printing projects with detailed images. It allows designers to create eye-catching and visually stunning garments that stand out from the crowd.
Index Screen Printing
Index screen printing uses a limited number of spot colors with a square dot, to create vintage-inspired designs with a distressed effect, perfect for achieving a retro look or "band tee"-style graphics.
TEXTURE & CONTRAST
VINTAGE AESTHETIC
DISTRESSED GRAPHICS
Index Screen Printing Benefits
CHARACTER, AUTHENTICITY & TEXTURE
Index screen printing allows the combination of eye catching vibrant and detailed designs with layered texture effects. It's a popular choice for larger-scale apparel printing projects, providing designers with a versatile and persuasive method creating visually stunning garments.
NOSTALGIC VINTAGE LOOK & FEEL
The ability to produce high definiton prints with bold bright colour, combined with a distressed worn appearance of bygone eras, results in a spectacular and emotive overall image.
BETTER COLOUR CONTROL
Precise colour reproduction and consistent colour intensity
HIGH/LOW TONES WITH ON & OFF BASE PRINTING
The Index Printing Process allows you to create two colours from one using an on and off base technique, known as high and low tones. Effectively doubling the number of colours visually seen.
Index Printing Process
Also known as index colour printing, index screen printing is a method used to reproduce vibrant and detailed designs on T-shirts and other garments. This technique is similar to simulated process printing but involves a different approach to color separation and printing.
In index screen printing, the original design is separated into individual color channels, each representing a specific ink color. Unlike simulated process printing, which uses halftone dots to create the illusion of continuous tones, index screen printing relies on solid square pixels of colour, known as color indices. Each colour index is assigned a specific ink color, and the design is printed using a series of screens, each containing one of the designated ink colours. This allows you to create two colours from one using an on and off base technique, known as high and low tones. Screens are prepared for each colour index using a photosensitive emulsion, and the T-shirt is placed onto a printing pallet. Each screen is aligned precisely to the other; then, ink is applied to the corresponding area of the design using a squeegee. This process is repeated for each colour index, with the overlapping colours creating the final full-colour image.
Brilliant Colour Intensity with High & Low Tones
Index printing allows for brilliant colour & contrast. The design is broken down into solid square pixels of colour, which are assigned a specific ink colour and printed onto a spearate screen. By printing on and off base we can achieve high & low tones that effectively double the number of colours visually seen.
Why Choose Screen Printing for your T-Shirts and Apparel?
Superior Durability
Screen printing offers unmatched durability, ensuring your designs withstand multiple washes and wear, maintaining their vibrant colours and crisp details over time
Garment Versatility
Whether cotton, polyester or blends, screen printing adapts seamlessly to a wide range of fabrics, providing consistent results with high-quality prints.
Cost Effective for Bulk Orders
Screen printing becomes more cost-effective as the order quantity increases, making it the ideal choice for large-scale productions without compromising quality.
Vibrant and Detailed Prints
With its ability to lay down thin or thick layers of ink, screen printing delivers bold and intricate designs with vibrant colours and fine details, making your apparel stand out.
Specialty Inks and Finishes
Elevate your brand Identity with extensive customisation options like Special Effect Inks and multiple finishing options like matte, semigloss and soft touch.
Accurate Colour Matching
Using a Pantone (PMS) colour matching system, we can mix and match over 1200 different colours to ensure your apparel captures your corporate colours and tone.
Eco-Friendly Practices
Eco-friendly practices like our screen reclaiming system, film-free screen imaging, water-based ink options and environmentally-conscious production methods align with our sustainability goals.
Long-Term Investment
Due to the durability and soundness of the process, screen printing is a long-term investment, providing value for money for both your business and customers as your custom apparel continues to look great over time.
Trusted by Professionals
Screen printing has been a trusted printing method in the industry for decades, favoured by big brands & professionals for its reliability, versatility, and ability to produce consistent, high-quality results every time.
Screen Printing FAQs
How much does screen printing cost?
The cost of screen printing is based on four factors:
- The total number of garments to be printed
- The method of screen printing process used
- The number of colours required per print
-
The number of print locations required per garment – e.g. front only, front and back.
Once your custom design is finalised and the screen created, you can print any number of garments over the minimum 20-item order. With our quantity discounts, the more you print, the lower the cost per item will be. Should you want to rerun the same design at a later date, your screen print will be available — there are no charges to store your design and no set-up fees to do it again. All you pay is the cost of your printed garments.
What items can be screen printed?
The choice of fabric plays a vital role in the quality of your printed product. The majority of our garments are quality cotton-based products responsibly sourced via AS Colour. We offer an extensive selection of garment styles perfect for screen printing from a range of quality brands, chosen for their suitability relative to ink reaction and curing process. If we aren't able to source the particular garment type you are seeking, we do permit you to supply your own on a case-by-case basis. But remember, cheaper fabrics can be subject to shrinking, which can ruin your design. Browse our range of garments.
Why choose professional screen printers?
If you require a bulk order of t-shirts, a professional screen printer will be able to deliver the most cost-effective solution in the shortest amount of time. At The Fabric Printer, quantity goes hand in hand with quality. Even when our machines are running a peak capacity of 800 units per hour – each garment is as perfect as the next. We are proud to be the go-to printer for many of Perth's largest events, including the City to Surf, HBF Run for a Reason and Fringe World Festival.
How long does screen printing last?
Compared with other methods of garment printing, screen printed images will generally outlast the shirt they're printed on. The Fabric Printer uses specialist eco-friendly inks where possible and implements a thorough curing process to ensure your design won't fade. The life of your print can also depend on the material of the garment. Our stock is specifically chosen to keep your design looking fresh and full of colour even after multiple washes (provided the correct washing instructions are followed).
What is the turnaround time for screen printing?
The standard turnaround time for screen printing jobs is 7 to 21 standard working days, depending on our production levels, stock availability and the time of the year (high season). We understand that there may be occasions where a rush job is required, and we are happy to accommodate you wherever possible - we carry large amounts of stock on hand for this very reason. Just be aware that there may just be a small additional cost to meet tight timelines. For this service, call our team, and we'll provide an accurate quote and delivery date.
What are the artwork requirements for screen printing?
| Preferred File Types | Vector, .PDF, .EPS, .AI, or .PSD |
| Acceptable File Types | Raster (300dpi preferably), .BMP, .TIF, .JPEG, or .PNG |
| Colour Limit | Maxiumum of 11 print colours. |
| Colour Matching | Colours are matched to the PMS Pantone Coated Colour Book. |
| Maximum Print Size | Garments: 400mm x 465mm |
Please refer to our detailed Art Work Specifications Page for the preferred file formats and artwork setup for each printing method.