Silkscreen Vs Embroidery, which marking is better?

When we want to customize garments we can choose between multiple printing techniques. Two of the most widely used marking methods are screen printing and embroidery. Both are very common, but with substantial differences between one and the other. What are these differences? Which is better? Which one to choose for my clothes? We solve all your doubts so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Screen printing features

Screen printing is one of the oldest and most widely used textile printing techniques. It consists of transferring the ink that will form the image to be reproduced onto a canvas. For this type of technique it is recommended to use natural fabrics , such as cotton, which better absorb the ink liquid. It is also advisable to use fabrics with a high grammage , since being thicker garments, a better result is obtained.

The screen printing technique was born hundreds of years ago and has been perfected so much that it is currently one of the most widely used printing techniques. The reasons for its high use are several:

Durability and good finish. It is a technique that allows quality reproductions and high durability. Being printed directly on the garment, which absorbs the ink, it usually fixes with great guarantees on the fabric. It also allows to obtain a good finish, being clean and of quality.
Optimal for large orders . Being a highly automated technique, it can be used to make large quantities of garments in a short time and at a reasonable price.
Great versatility . It allows the use of multiple designs and colors, which allows almost anything to be reproduced, as well as being used on many materials.

It is usually a technique widely used for making T – shirts, but it can also be used in mugs, tote bags, umbrellas or backpacks.

Without a doubt, it is a very versatile and useful technique to personalize a large part of our products.

Embroidery Features

Embroidery is another of the most used stamping techniques. As we well know, embroidery consists of decorating the fabric with threads, reproducing an image on the fabric. Applied to the realization of merchandising products, embroidery has some nuances that make it more delicate and detailed. Like screen printing, it is a decoration process that has been used for hundreds of years and that has evolved over time. In this way, it has gone from being an eminently traditional technique to being able to be automated, reducing times without losing quality in the final product.

The embroidery is characterized by:

High resistance . While it is true that quality screen printing is characterized by its durability, embroidery offers even greater resistance. Using quality yarns, we guarantee that the reproduced image or logo will remain on the garment for a long time. Facing washes it is also more resistant and does not lose intensity with them.
Good image . Embroidery is often associated with prestige and quality, and since the beginning of this technique, it has always been a symbol of wealth and power. The big brands use it to capture their logos because it is related to that good image and recognition.
Timeless The great durability and the good reputation it has, makes embroidery a timeless method, which is linked to big brands and which provides quality.

It is usually used especially in textile garments such as polo shirts and caps , and also to make small logos, since its production allows more thoroughness in the details.

So which is better, screen printing or embroidery?

As we have seen, they are different techniques and, consequently, they can be used in different ways depending on our objective. Let’s see the pros and cons of each of the techniques.

Pros and cons of screen printing

If we want to produce many products , it is the most recommended. It is a highly automated technique and due to the cost / unit ratio it is worth it for large quantities. If what we want to capture is an image, screen printing is undoubtedly more recommended than embroidery.

As we have indicated, it is the most used for T-shirt Embroidery in Dubai and tote bags. On the other hand, if we oppose screen printing with embroidery, the durability and quality of the second is usually greater than the first. We can say that the embroidery lasts longer and is better maintained over time.

Pros and cons of embroidery

If we want our logo to appear on a garment such as a polo shirt or a cap, embroidery is the most recommended method. It is a clean, sharp technique that makes the logo stand out . On the contrary, it is not recommended to use it to capture large images or logos, as it is a technique that if used to reproduce large designs, can put the quality of the garment at risk. When done with needles, if the material of the shirt is too thin to adequately hold all the embroidery stitches in a large design, the end result may not be satisfactory.

As for the cost , the price of the screen printing depends on the number of garments, number of colors and the number of locations of the image on the garment. From 10 units with 1 printing ink, you can start to evaluate this technique. It is true that the more shirts you have to make, the cheaper they are.

The cost of the embroidery will be determined by the number of threads to be used, as they say, it is paid per stitch. So, for large logos or with many colors, it is not worth embroidering.

Conclusion

In general, when analyzing the cost of one or another alternative, we must look at three aspects: the number of garments to be made, the type of garment and the size of the logo or image . Depending on these three variables, we can choose which of the two techniques is the most recommended for our design. Although we can say that embroidery is the best option for shirts, polos, caps and jackets and screen printing is usually the favorite option for t-shirts, sweatshirts and large logos.

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