Our showroom has our most popular styles in polos, hoodies, caps, t-shirts and much more! Examine samples of screen printed logos, embroidered logos and DTG Printed logos.
Polos in Our Showroom
Caps in Our Showroom
T-shirt & Hoodies in Our Showroom
Front Counter in Our Showroom
We’ll walk you through the entire process and let you compare what’s best for you. Our quoting system has all our pricing pre-programed and we’re able to create quotes super fast. So if you need a quick comparison of screen printing vs embroidery vs DTG printing, we can have 3 separate quotes created, printed and emailed with a click of a button.
How we love these jobs. Photorealistic screen printing is so much fun. It’s the process of printing a design that has the clarity of a photo.
APE Original Design
Photorealistic screen printed APE logo
We achieve this by separating the primary colors within the design and, then, screen printing each color one at time. Each color is mixed with all the other colors which produces a print that is almost an exact reproduction of the image… “ALMOST”. Which is why we use the term “realistic”. A limitation of screen printing is that it can only print designs at a resolution of about 55 dpi. To reproduce an design that is a 100% accurate, a resolution of 1,200 dpi is needed (DT-Film printing and DTG printing can achieve a resolution of 1,200 dpi).
However, photorealistic screen printing can achieve amazing results and it’s a perfect solution for jobs that have a highly detailed design and that require a high volume of garments. DT-Film printing and DTG Printing may have the advantage in clarity but they lose out when it comes to speed and costs. Our automatic press has the capacity to screen print 950 prints an hour. This pace (and lower ink costs) puts us in a better position to print high volume, highly detailed designs at a fraction of the cost of DT-Film, DTG and embroidery.
So why doesn’t everybody offer photorealistic screen printing? It ain’t easy! Photorealistic designs require experience to print with any consistency. Every step of the process requires precision preparation. Separating the colors, preparing the screens and setting up the press all have strict standards that have to be met before printing. Everything from the percentage of fading in the artwork, the tension of the screens and even the pressure used to print the design have to be set to exact increments. In addition, we only use the best software and automated press on the market (M&R Equipment).
Watch our press in action as it prints a photorealistic job we provided for American Pile Driving (APE)
Patches are offered in a number of ways. Embroidered or woven patches give a more traditional / classic look while patches that are made from leather, rubber or silicon offer a look that is completely unique. We love unique logos so that’s why offer all these options.
Sew these patches to almost anything. Caps, jackets, bags and even t-shirts can all have this classic look and since our patches are sewn to the garment, you don’t have to worry about your patch peeling off. Want to see the process? Watch our short video of us laser engraving some custom leather patches and, then, sewing them on to some beanies.
One of our favorite jobs of the year. We’ve been working Federal Way Lions Club for over 20 years. What’s different about FW Lions Car Show, is the fact that they use last year’s winners as part of the this year’s design. They send us photos of the winners and with a little help from Photoshop, we incorpoate the actual cars within the logo.
Prestige. There’s just something about a stitched logo that impresses people and gives the impression of professionalism. Even with all the advancements with silicon patches and DTG printing, no imprint method compares to embroidery when it comes to prestige.
Versatility Embroidery has the ability to be embroidered a wide range of garment styles and material types. This allows customers to imprint the exact same logo on everything from caps & beanies to polos & jackets.
Multiple colors at no extra cost Unlike screen printing, embroidery can imprint multiple colors at no extra cost. This is because embroidery is charged by how long it takes to embroider the logo. In fact, we use the logo’s “stitch count” as a barometer of how long it will take.
Only 1 Set Up Cost There is an initial set up for embroidery called Digitizing. We have to program the machine to be able to stitch the logo. Once a stitched sample is approved by the customer. The logo is set for all future orders so no future prep charges are necessary.
Durability Over time, screen printing or DTG printed designs begin to break down and some fading or even some cracking may result. Embroidered logos tend to outlast the garment. Making embroidery one of the most durable imprint methods available.
Unique Artistic Approaches Get creative with embroidered designs. Use unique thread colors, combine embroidery with patch material or use special effects like 3D puff embroidery.
It’s Not All Roses for Embroidery
Large Designs Designs that are 10″ or larger take considerably longer to embroider. In fact, some designs can take over an hour to stitch a single design resulting in higher costs to the customer.
Fine Detail: Small lettering or really fine detail makes embroidery a poor choice. Unfortunately, we can only embroider so small and when a logo has really fine detail or fonts, these sections of the design tend to embroider fuzzy or disfigured.
Limited Color Matching (Pantone Colors) Thread is offered in a wide array of colors but, unlike screen printing, not every pantone color is offered. This can be a challenge when strict marketing guidelines need to be met. However, there is always a color within a few shades of any custom color.
Higher unit costs in comparison to other methods Production of embroidery is significantly slower when compared to other imprint methods like screen printing. Although embroidery costs are reasonable at higher volumes, embroidery can’t keep up with our automatic press that has the capacity to print 950 shirts an hours.
Modifications to Logo There are some modifications that can be made to embroidered logos like changing colors but changes typically requires the design to be digitized (Set up) again. A common request is changing the size. This small change actually requires the logo to be embroidered in a completely different way.
See how our new automatic press was installed. It’s amazing to see how these machines are shipped / installed. We couldn’t be more excited even though our our backs are a little sore. Stay tuned as we’ll be posting future designs and orders that are printed with this press.
This compressor provides all the necessary pressurized air to keep our press working at optimal efficiency, while also keeping unwanted noise levels to a whisper-quiet minimum. Coupled with its incredible design and dependable air supply, it is no surprise why we chose Ingersoll Rand as the perfect partner to bring superior screen printing production to our customers. We’re confident that this reliable technology will help us provide top-quality screen prints without any sacrifice in quality!
Why we chose Ingersoll Rand
Experience industry-leading performance
Energy Efficient
Whisper quiet operation
Closely Maintained / Reliabel Pressure
Smart integration eliminates leaks and pressure drops maximizing reliability
Screen printing takes a lot of specialized equipment, and the large format printer is absolutely essential! This handy machine produces film positives – transparent pieces featuring bold black designs that have to be exposed on screens for each color printed. With its help, efficient production becomes possible in no time at all!
Why we chose Epson
The Epson Sure Color T3270 is the ideal large format printer for every screen printing project. This advanced machine offers a maximum print size of 24″ and prints with an impressive black density that’s necessary to produce high-quality film positives. Additionally, this eco-friendly system boasts lightning speed that maximizes efficiency in production! With superior capacity, accuracy and more – it makes all the difference when completing any job on time without sacrificing quality results.
We are excited to announce that we will be expanding our capabilities with the installation of a state-of-the art automated screen print press and robust conveyor dryer. This upgrade allows us to not only increase production, but improve quality.
An automatic press can replicate the exact same squeegee angle and speed from shirt to shirt. This consistency allows us to screen print higher resolution images with more intricate detail. Simpler designs will also see improved quality with cleaner lines and sharper definition.
And oh yah… Did we mention that it’s fast! For the average job, our manual press can print a shirt about every 45 seconds. This automatic press has the capacity to print a shirt every 3.8 seconds. That’s 950 shirts an hour!
About the Equipment
M&R Automatic Press
8 color design capacity
16″ x 18″ print area
950 prints per hour production
Product of the Year – 2019 SGIA
Made in the USA
M&R Conveyor Dryer
Highest production capacity in its class
Most energy efficient in it’s class
Best overall rating in it’s class
Made in the USA
Why we chose M&R
Choosing M&R was not a difficult choice and here’s why:
30 Year history of providing premier quality and service
Primary brand used by most major custom apparel companies
American-made
Stay tuned – Join our social media
As we prepare the space and equipment is installed, we’ll be posting updates and short clips. Follow us on our social media and stay up to date with our current events or future sales.
