If you’ve made the decision to have a go at creating your own printed hoodies at home, chances are you have a head full of inspiring ideas and dreams of gorgeous garments. Now more than ever, creating 100% unique and wholly DIY-made clothing has never been more popular – a fashion movement facilitated by the rise and rise of the appropriate home-printing technology.
From screen printing hardware to higher-quality transfers and so on, it’s never been easier or more affordable to get hold of the kind of kit required to make your own custom garments at home. Of course, achieving professional-quality results can be something that’s much easier said than done, but in terms of getting creative and having a play with what’s available, there’s never been a more fun time to be a plucky amateur home clothing designer.
So with this in mind, what follows is a quick introduction to the five most important rules to live by when it comes to printing hoodies, courtesy of those who live and breathe professional garment printing:
1 – Keep It Simple
First and foremost, never under any circumstances fall into the trap of assuming that simple has to be boring. When you think about it, many of the world’s most iconic and memorable designs, logos and examples of professional branding of all time, they are in fact remarkably simple. Of course there’s nothing to say you cannot be elaborate if you so wish, but it’s important to be aware of fact that the more complicated and intricate your design is, the more difficult it will be to recreate it on the garment of your choosing. By contrast, keep things as simple as possible and you will find it infinitely easier to get the job done and come out with genuinely professional quality results.
2 – Quality Counts
Something else to bear in mind from the very beginning of the design process is that quality counts – in reference to the quality of the garments you choose and the printing hardware/accessories you have access to. If for example you only have the lowest-grade transfers and a printer that has been replaced only once in the past 20 years, you can’t realistically expect to come out with world-class results. By contrast, if you were to entrust the printing of your garments to the professionals with extraordinarily expensive and capable machinery, the design would undoubtedly come out looking much better. And the same also applies to the hoodies you buy – higher-quality hoodies breed higher-quality results.
3 – Have a Trial Run
Never under any circumstances even think about going ahead with the final print until you have had at least one trial run – ideally two or three. The reason being that not only is there every chance you will make a mistake along the way, but this will also be your first opportunity to see what the design itself looks like when printed on to an actual garment. Suffice to say, the results aren’t always as you may expect them to be which is why it is important to have a trial run before going ahead and potentially ruining the hoodie.
4 – Take Your Time
One of the most important rules to follow throughout the process from start to finish is that of taking your time. This applies to every step along the way including the initial design process, preparation, printing, readying and so on. Take your time creating your design and don’t continue until you are 100% happy. When it comes to the printing process, approach things with as much time, care and attention as necessary and never, under any circumstances wear, wash or iron the garment until it is ready (in accordance with the instructions). The very last thing you want is for your enthusiasm to undo all of your hard work.
5 – Speak to the Pros
Last but not least, this may be something of an amateur home printing endeavour but at the same time there is so much to gain from at least considering speaking to the professionals. The reason being that there are so many services on the web right now that can take your design, polish it up to professional standards and print it onto the garment or garments of your choosing for the lowest possible price. In fact, when factoring in the costs of the equipment you will need, the garments themselves and the trial and error process you will undoubtedly go through, you might find it considerably faster, cheaper and more enjoyable to work with the professionals – all while facilitating vastly superior results.
