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Best Practices for Printing on Tie-Dye

Best Practices for Printing on Tie-Dye  | Screenprinting.com

Jacelyn Wedman |

Tie-dye is versatile and popular, especially in the spring and summer. Who doesn’t want to wear all those swirling colors?! Whether you’re dying the shirt yourself or buying pre-dyed garments, you can screen print on it. Expert Colin Huggins shares tips and best practices for printing on tie-dyed garments.

A tie-dyed shirt reading "send it."

Photo by Stark Screen Printing

TO DYE OR NOT TO DYE

While it’s easier to buy pre-dyed shirts from a distributor, sometimes customers will ask if they can dye their shirts afterward. Customers hosting events and excursions like field trips, Disneyland groups, etc. will ask about tie-dying shirts. As long as you cured the garment properly, it shouldn’t be a problem. If you plan to dye the shirts yourself, dye before you print. 

WHAT’S DIFFERENT?

Printing on tie-dye is like printing on polyester-blend apparel. The ink will bleed more easily than traditional cotton material. Tie-dyed fabric feels a little rougher than most garments. It has been handled and processed, so the shirt won’t feel as soft to the touch like a Bella + Canvas t-shirt.

You can use water-based or plastisol ink to print on a tie-dyed shirt. Because the dye in tie-dyed garments is not the same as what's used on standard cotton shirts, you’ll want to use a low-bleed ink and/or a low-cure ink. It’ll prevent dye migration.

PRINTING

Approach printing with tie-dye the way you’d approach printing on poly blend garments. Always run a test before printing the job to test for dye migration. Choose your white underbase wisely. 

RELATED: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO SCREEN PRINT AN UNDERBASE

As always, be careful with the heat. Using a low-cure ink means that the ink will cure before dye migration happens. Cure at the lowest temperature possible while still reaching full cure. 

A printer printing on tie-dyed shirts

Photo by Golden Press Studio

As with everything in screen printing, keep a close eye on your production. If you follow these best practices, you’re sure to get quality prints every time.