Apparel Fit Guide

A t-shirt’s fit refers to the way it’s tailored to fit body shape. Not only does it impact appearance, but also comfort. Consider this information when selecting products to be customized to ensure that everyone will look and feel their best in their new custom tees.

Fit Types

We categorize t-shirt fit types to help you find the best choices for those clothed in your newly designed shirts. Our fit types include:

Standard Fit

Semi-Fitted

Relaxed Fit

Men’s vs. Women’s Fits

Screen Printing

Screen printing is a process that uses a mesh screen to transfer ink onto an underlying garment. The basic operation starts with the creation of a stenciled screen that allows the selective application of ink to a piece of apparel. Every color applied requires a separate screen to place the ink exactly where needed within the design.

Screen printing has become the standard customization for t-shirts and apparel. This method shines for applications that include:

• Larger, high-volume orders
• Unique or oversized print areas
• Single-color prints, such as text or logos
• Specialty or special FX inks

Learn more about our screen printing techniques, specialty inks, and specialty services here.

Direct to Garment (DTG) Printing

Direct to Garment printing applies ink to a garment using inkjet technology. This uses a process that applies fine droplets of different colors to render a full-color design. Think big & complicated inkjet printer.

Also known as digital printing, DTG has become increasingly popular due to the simplicity of the printing process. In addition, this method produces fantastic results in areas such as:

• Smaller, simple orders
• Standard print locations and sizing
• Multi-color prints, like photos
• When soft feel or lightweight print is important

Heat-Applied Vinyl

Vinyl offers a variety of benefits and is applied to a garment using heat to create a durable bond. We feature several techniques depending on use:

• Cut Vinyl - Commonly used for team names and numbers
• Printed Vinyl - Offers full-color images, with greater detail
• Foil Vinyl - Adds metallic bling to designs for special occasions

Images

Incorporating images into a design may seem simple, but there are common mistakes that can negatively impact the resulting print. Based on our experience printing millions of t-shirts, hoodies, and other pieces of apparel, we recommend the following to get the most out of your images:

Use High-Quality Images

The use of low-quality images is among the most common problems with customer-submitted images. This means that the image does not contain enough detail, which results in poor print quality. We recommend

• At Least 200 DPI (300 DPI Is Better)
• Full Size

For example, a typical center chest design is 9” wide x 7” high. So the image should be 9” x 7” with a resolution of 200 DPI.

Crop Images

Images often include elements that are not critical and distract focus from the main subject. Reducing the size by cropping the image places emphasis on the subject.

Adjust The Image

Images often have minor imperfections like scratches, spots, shadows, or other defects that may negatively impact the printed design. As a result, we recommend adjusting the image to eliminate those imperfections to get the best print possible.

Size the Image

Image size should be relative to the garment, otherwise, it may overwhelm smaller garments. Therefore the image must be scaled to ensure a consistent appearance.

Not sure how to do this? We can make this design adjustment on request.

Use a Standard Image File Format

There’s a broad range of image file formats and our team can use practically every one. However some produce better results than clothes, so we recommend using the following:

Fonts

The selection of fonts or typefaces for use in a design is among the biggest decision made. Fonts not only transmit written information, but they set the tone for the entire design and convey greater meaning. Based on our experience, we recommend the following tips to improve your designs using fonts.

Search For Different Fonts

Font selection can have a profound impact on how people interpret your design, so it’s wise to search for fonts that are consistent with your message. 25% of Already Fresh users produce their design with our default font, which represents a missed opportunity. While it can be time-consuming, the benefit can be a much more cohesive design.

Just consider how the font used for each of these categories provides contextual meaning:

Make Your Message Easy to Read

Communicating the message contained in your designs is of primary importance, so selecting fonts that are easy to read and understand is important.

Some tips to make your message easier to read include:

• Use Decorative Fonts Sparingly
• Don’t “Shout” at People by Using All Caps
• Scale Fonts Proportionately to Avoid Stretching
• Create Visual Hierarchy Using Font Order, Size, Color, and Treatments

Choose Fonts That Are Appropriate

Fonts convey meaning and create an important first impression, so select fonts that are consistent with the message of your design. For example, a font applied to a non-specific movie title can set dramatically different expectations about what the film is about:

Use Three Fonts Or Less

The use of multiple fonts can add visual interest and create a visual hierarchy, but a rule of thumb is to use no more than three fonts. Here’s one example of how impactful this simple rule can be:

Generally, we suggest selecting fonts as follows:

• A large, decorative, primary font to communicate the most important message
• A medium-sized, less decorative secondary font to use for supporting information
• A smaller, plain font (if necessary) to convey less important, detailed information

Embroidery Tips

Embroidery can elevate apparel from commonplace to extraordinary and many. It offers a more polished, professional look for a range of apparel like polos, jackets, and hats. However, there are some factors that should be taken into consideration to get the most from custom embroidery.

We’ve assembled these tips to help.

Keep It Simple

Simple designs are more legible and produce better results than more complicated ones. Often the detail in complex designs doesn’t translate well to embroidered designs, since the thread size used is standard and cannot adapt to fine detail.

We recommend removing extra words, dates, phone numbers, and unnecessary details to clean up your design.

Select The Right Product

Embroidered elements look good on a wide range of products, but some produce better results than others. Generally, products that use thicker fabrics tend to be better candidates for embroidery. These include:

• Hoodies
• Sweatshirts
• Pullovers
• Jackets
• Polos
• Hats & Beanies
• Towels

Choose Lettering Carefully

Lettering should be bold, clear, and simple to achieve the best appearance possible. When creating your design, consider these factors:

Size - Lettering smaller than ¼” is rarely legible and doesn’t produce a good result.

Font Style - Use simple, clean fonts. Sans-serif fonts are ideal

Case - Use of uppercase letters can increase readability.

Avoid Shading & Color Blending

Applying a shadow or using a blended color can produce inconsistent results in embroidery, so they are not recommended. Since individual colored threads are used to produce color blends, the result can produce a fuzzy, less polished appearance.

Limit Size

Smaller embroidery designs produce a more polished appearance and tend to produce better overall results. While larger embroidered areas can look good on sports jerseys and jackets, they can lose detail and feel heavy when applied to most garments.

Match Colors

Companies with an established brand should use colors that closely match their established brand to maintain a professional appearance. This can include Pantone matching, or simply working to select colors that approximate their color palate.

Proper Placement

Selecting a location that compliments the strengths of an embroidered design will produce better results. For example, we’ve found that chest, sleeve, or back of the neck locations present simple embroidered elements well.