If You Can Dream It, We Can Print It

In the practice of the art that is custom t-shirt printing, screen printing has been widely accepted as the preferred method since it made its first appearance during 960 in China. Since then, technologies, fabrics, and colors have evolved, but the techniques remain similar. Screen printing is a process that allows the image or text you choose to be soaked into the cloth to produce a vibrant image on your custom t-shirt — or any apparel! Each design requires a screen that dictates where the ink will transfer onto the apparel and what areas will be blocked. For multi-colored items, several screens will be made, one for each color used. The fabric is laid beneath the printer and then the screen is applied. Ink is introduced and then squeegeed across the fabric. This allows for the ink to be absorbed but assures that it is done so evenly. 

At Shirt Shack in Hastings and Kearney, we have mastered the art of screen printing and can create any custom t-shirt you want.  Want an impeccably-made novelty t-shirt, but don't have your own custom design idea? We've still got you covered! Shop our novelty t-shirt shop.

Screen Printing

Embroidery

Shirt of the Month Club

Novel-Tees

On Any Shirt!

From promotional t-shirts to mugs emblazoned with your company logo, your business printing and production needs will be met and exceeded by the creative team at Shirt Shack. Whether you’re a boss, a sports coach, or a nonprofit group, we have the full-service equipment and materials to create the designs, prints, and advertisements you need.

We work with clients to make sure their dreams are properly actualized, and if you’re having trouble determining which artistic or strategic angle to take, we’re happy to give you suggestions for high-quality, one-of-a-kind products. To learn more about our promotional products and business services, please visit this page.

Quality driven process

High-quality finished products are the result of high-quality products from step one, through the entire process. A final screen printed shirt is the product of a combination of an image or design, ink, and fabric or garment. If you want to have an image or logo printed, we can create your screen print from your image file. However, it will have to be a high-quality image with a clear resolution. At Shirt Shack, we use only the finest quality inks to ensure even printing, free of clumps, lumps, and bumps that won’t peel or flake. Finally, the shirts that we print on must be high-quality fabric so that the image does not get distorted in the printing process or stretch and distort the image afterward. Check our catalogs for all of your apparel needs!

Custom apparel is a process

If it were as simple as ironing an image onto a piece of cloth, anyone could do it! When you visit your local Shirt Shack in Hastings or Kearney, you will be met by an energetic and excited team of skilled experts who have produced thousands of custom screen printing, embroidery, and engraved apparel and promotional product items. They may make suggestions to modify your design slightly to produce the sharpest lines and best colors possible. Images printed from home computer programs may not translate into ink colors that will look the way you want it to on the finished product. Our designers will recommend the best images, the best ink, and the best materials to provide you with the finished product you want.

Not all products and processes are created equal

As mentioned in the “processes” section of this screen printing page, there are several ways to customize your apparel, and, unfortunately, not all of the processes behave the same way on different fabrics and garments. This may influence the garment suggestions that your custom print designer at Shirt Shack will recommend. Garment, plus printing process, plus high-quality ink equals the best-finished product. To produce a clear image, do not be surprised if we steer you away from: Tank-tops, V-necks, Ribbed garments, Canvas, Burnout t-shirts, Pique Polos.

While small images may be able to transfer well with certain screen printing techniques and can be completed on a case-by-case basis, for bulk orders, these garments do not work well because they are not smooth or have neck-lines that frequently cut into the transferred image. If any of your projects include these materials or garment styles, no problem, talk to one of our skilled screen printers to figure out how we can make it work!

The designers at Shirt Shack will not steer you wrong and can explain the rationale behind any suggestion they make in an effort to leave you with a finished product you can be proud of.

At Shirt Shack of Nebraska, we provide our customers with the highest-quality custom printed products and apparel. From design assistance, through the printing process, to completed product, when you work with the skilled designers at the Shirt Shack for your screen printing project, you’ll get the total package.

Screen printing is an art and a science. A combination of artsy science. It is a skill that is acquired over a long period of time by the crafters who hone the talent through trial and error and getting to know their screens and inks. Luckily for them, and for you, the wheel has already been invented, so to speak, so there is no need to reinvent it. All that’s left to do is to learn the trade and develop your own personal design style.

At the Shirt Shack, our expert screen printers have chiseled their skills out of screens made of silk. And, here’s the oversimplified, basic breakdown of how.

Screen printing is simply the process of applying ink to a garment through a stenciled mesh screen. Once you grasp that basic concept, the term “screen printing” makes a lot more sense.

Create the Screen

The first step to screenprinting fabrics or garments is creating the screen itself. Without getting too far into the weeds, this step is a highly scientific one based on chemical reactions and the transfer of energy through light.
The printer will choose a mesh screen that suits the design and the texture of the material being printed. The screen is then coated with a light-reactive emulsion, which is hardened under a bright light.
Next, the design is cut into an acetate sheet and applied to the emulsion coating. The whole screen is once again exposed to the bright light so that the design-covered parts are left unhardened. After a set amount of time, the screen is rinsed to remove the unhardened parts, creating a stencil for the ink.

Printing the Garment

Now it is time for the fun part! The newly created screen is attached to a printing board that lowers the screen perfectly into place and is used to apply ink to the garment beneath. Ink is spilled over the screen and then pressed onto the garment to reveal the completed design transferred to the shirt.

The design and screenprinting process includes a lot of room for customization and personal touch. There are many different inks and application techniques that can alter the way a completed design turns out.

At the Shirt Shack, our screen printing experts have mastered the skills required to create beautiful, flawless garments that are custom-made for you. Check out our online gallery or just stop by our Kearney or Hastings location to see for yourself and get your project started today!