We often get customer requests to print performance garments like the one shown below. Today almost every major garment label has some version of performance wear in their line. Fleece or knit you can basically find these polyester rich fabrics available in every garment category. You’ll find that the information in this article also pertains to blended fabrics such as 50/50s and triblends where the same principals apply as they also contain poly fiber.

Sometimes referred to as technical fabrics; performance fabrics are generally synthetic rich and get the name “performance” for their quick drying and moisture wicking properties. These attributes are great for the athlete but not for screen printing. Fabrics that don’t absorb liquids also do not absorb inks; so any form of water-base inks are generally out of the picture. That’s not to mention that water-base and discharge print systems are a dye process and plastics (i.e. synthetic fibers in performance garments) do not take kindly to dyeing or bleaching.

Now plastisol screen printing on the other hand should work fine because it fuses to the fabric as an elastic film to create your image as opposed to dying the fabric with a water-base ink. Problem solved right?… Wrong! To cure plastisol ink you need to heat it up to around 300° F; this causes the dye in the garment to sublimate (turn to gas) and migrate into your ink. This is known as dye migration and the darker the garment color the more likely it is to occur.

Fortunately, there are solutions to this problem. The most common is using a specially formulated high-opacity, low-bleed ink (shown in the picture above) designed to block the fugitive dye molecules trying to sublimate into the print ink. Another is printing a silhouette (or base) under your print area to act as a barrier between your top print colors and the garment dye. Lastly, preheating the garment either in the conveyor dryer or under a flash can pre-sublimate loose dye in the garment and better heat set what stays behind. Another note here is that higher quality garments typically have higher quality dyes formulated to cut down on sublimation, we have seen the difference here first hand.

Armed with knowledge you can produce high quality prints on all types of substrates and a good screen printer knows to never let their guard down. Thanks for reading.

Daisley Gordon
Daisley Gordon
2021-09-02
We've worked with The Foundry for two projects. Logo'ed kitchen towels which we sell and custom embroidered custom aprons for a special group of out staff at Café Campagne We were very happy with the results.
Peter Keckemet
Peter Keckemet
2021-08-30
Great to work with, very helpful in getting concept to product.
Janet Charbonnier
Janet Charbonnier
2021-08-24
We love The Foundry! We too are a small business and appreciate working with another small local business. The communication was on spot, our bags and patches were perfect and our job was done in a timely manner. You guys rock!!!
jeremiah robinson
jeremiah robinson
2021-08-04
These guys were awesome to work with! Not only were they more than helpful with the process of getting my shop custom shirts and hats, but also helped with getting the image I wanted to come to life a reality. Very helpful and easy to work with! highly recommend for your next project.
Nina Arranza-Riley
Nina Arranza-Riley
2021-08-03
I chose Foundry out of the many print shops available to us nearby because of their stellar communication and follow-up, plus they made the shirt-making and ordering so easy for me to understand! I have no knowledge of screen printing and shirts whatsoever, but with Clint and Kara's help I was able to pick and design one for my company AND THEY TURNED OUT AMAZING! Seriously, I can't thank you guys enough. The people at the Foundry are kind, helpful, patient and professional, answering my many questions and easing my worries. Project was completed on time and on budget, shipped fast, shirts were comfortable and the designs well printed. I am absolutely going back here in the future.
BS_creativeDir.
BS_creativeDir.
2021-05-05
Working with Foundry was a wonderful experience. Clint was professional and he helped us tremendously. I will most definitely do more business with Foundry. Foundry is A1.
Aimee Peck
Aimee Peck
2021-04-15
Great experience with The Foundry! They were able to do a project super fast and the end result was awesome! I will be working with them again.
Drew Mortenson
Drew Mortenson
2021-03-31
Fantastic customer service with friendly employees and high quality prints. They are great at accommodating for their customers and making sure that everything comes out absolutely perfectly. Definitely recommend for anyone who needs quality screen printing services!
Liv Nagler
Liv Nagler
2021-03-29
The Foundry ROCKS!! So quick to respond and able to accommodate anything we threw at them! I can't wait to order from the team again!
Marcus Hahnemann
Marcus Hahnemann
2021-03-29
I got awesome service and some really cool swag for my new business. Forrest talked me through best bang for my buck and with some high-quality items. The logos turned out great in my members at the Cle Elum Back9 love the gear. I’ve already had to re-order some more gear.