Printing a Personalized Garment

Today we will show you how we print a personalized garment!

First the garment is loaded onto the printing pallet and a metal clamp is placed over it. This metal clamp is held in place by magnets on the underside of the pallet to ensure that the garment doesn’t slip during printing.

After the garment is loaded, the pallet moves into the printer where it is automatically sprayed with a water-based solution called Fixation Agent. This fixation agent creates a layer that helps the ink adhere to the garment, providing vivid colors and long-lasting washability.

Later, during the curing process, the fixation agent is evaporated in the dryer. Sometimes this leaves a faint vinegar-type smell on the finished garment. But don’t worry – it will disappear with the first washing!

All printing is done with five colors of ink: Cyan, which is a shade of blue, Magenta, a pinkish-red color, Yellow, Black and White.

Similar to school children mixing red and yellow finger-paint to make orange, or blue and yellow to make green, the opaque quality of the CMYK inks allows us to achieve all the colors in the CMYK color gamut by printing one over the other.

The white ink is printed onto the garment first, to create what is called a white under-base. This white under-base prevents the garment’s fabric from soaking up too much of  the colored ink, and is important to achieve vivid color.

After the white layer has been printed, the pallet moves to the front of the printer, and the colored ink is printed over the white under base.

When the printing process has finished the metal clamp is removed and the garment is placed onto the dryer.

The garment rides a double return belt through a gas dryer set to 330 degrees Fahrenheit. It travels through the dryer on the top belt, flips over at the end of the dryer and is returned to the operator on the bottom belt about nine minutes later.

Now the garment ready to be folded, packaged, and shipped to the customer.

Follow Us
Latest posts by InkPixi (see all)

71 thoughts on “Printing a Personalized Garment

    1. Printing on the back requires changing the size of the design, and changing all the co-ordinates to center the design and print it the right distance from the collar.

      We don’t yet have a way to switch between front and back prints on the same design without causing problems. But, it’s on the list of things to add in the future.

    2. im impressed. thanks for taking the time to share with us how you print the tshirts….
      now i know…..more to it than i previously thought……im enjoying the tshirts and caps i ordered…..they arrived promptly earlier this week and im impressed with the quality of the caps and tshirts as well as the printing…..i will order again from yhou
      ray

  1. I just want 2 say I was amazed by ur Busness, when you sent me an flyer. Im sure ur company saw my name (woodbury) just like on ur flyer. So I just had 2 have that shirt 2 amaze my family. Tks u made my year. Maybe sooner or later i’ll get the hat as well. The same way
    Tks Ink-Pixi

    1. This is a great USA Co. Thanks for going on the Com. I,m still waiting for my order, but I,m sure it will be beautiful. Will be ordering more in the future. Do you make any wolf designs or eagles.Would like to see the hat designs too. Thanks again, great Video, explaining the process. Much more to it then I thought.

      1. Hi David. Thank you for the kind words. We do have a design with an eagle in two variations – Tough Old Bird and Patriotic Tough Old Bird. If you enter #283 and #295 into the search, you will be able to peruse them. I will pass along your suggestion for a wolf design to our Product Development Team for future consideration. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. Have a fantastic week!

  2. We received your mail flyer and decided to give it a try. We ordered two Ts, two long sleeve Ts, a hoodie, and a hat. We were pleasantly surprised when we received our order so quickly. And the merchandise was just great. Will recommend you to local groups here in town that may take advantage of your services.

    mrmac

    1. I, too, received a postcard from you and decided to give you a try. You emailed me all through the process to let me know you got my order, processed my order, and shipped it! Unfortunately, one of the shirts I ordered had a typo. I made ONE phone call, and four days later I received the corrected version! Needless to say, I am very pleased and impressed. Will definitely do business with you again! Joan G.

    1. I was also wondering how you set up the different lettering for each item to be printed. For instance, one shirt says Smith and the next shirt says Jones. How do you change what it’s going to say on the shirt?

    2. Good questions!

      The printing is all computer-controlled. The name and design number come from your order, the computer translates them into artwork, and sprays it onto the shirt.

      The system is smart enough that it can (and does) print completely different designs one after another, so the operators have to be on their toes and be sure to load the correct color of shirt!

  3. Very Interesting!! I just received back my order and then watching this video makes me appreciate my shirts and caps all the more!! Thanks and great job!!

  4. I found the video really interesting. Thanks, too, for getting our order to us quickly, along with good quality and reasonable prices. What more can anyone ask for.

  5. Wow! Thanks for the video. I have already placed my second order with you and am preparing a third one in a few months. It would be really neat to see how you embroider the hats. Thanks for quality work, fast shipping and great prices!

  6. We appreciate the care you take checking spelling. Sometimes the fingers miss a letter or two. Now I have an “i” problem on ths keyboard. The finished product is quality and looks great.

  7. Getting the flyer with my name on it was one of the best marketing tools I have seen. There is something about seeing your name on a pattern that makes it ” got to have that” on a guys list. Great product, good quality, well be ordering more. Dan “Evil D” Duty.

  8. We ordered and received two personalized sweat shirts. The quality is great and we get comments on them all the time! I tell everyone where I got it and will be ordering more myself! Thanks!!

  9. James, enjoyed video—–I rec’d mail flyer also—-ordered t-shirt for nephew as a surprise—-am sure he will like it—-ordering was easy—you/your people providing e-mail communication throughout process was appreciated—–I’m very please with results—-THANK YOU—–

  10. I’ve placed 2 orders with you and there will be a 3rd. When my family gets their Christmas gifts they will want more. One more thing the larger sizes is a really good idea since most stores don’t carry them. THANKS !

  11. Oh, wow, my order arrived very quickly and all perfect! I found your video “follow-up” great fun since I am 79 and have been silk screening since high school. The technology has come a long way, but I still have fond memories of doing T-shirts in my studio and all the difficulties matching colors and having shirts scattered all over every square inch to dry…THANKS!!

  12. I was very pleased with my order, The shirt quality is excellent, I’ve gotten several comments when we wear one. I’m sure I’ll be ordering again. Thanks for the video, it was very interesting. Your product makes great personalized gifts. It’s nice to be able to order 1 item or many items. Thank-You

  13. I was very pleased with my order. The shirt and print qualities are excellent ! Quick service, good prices. I get comments whenever I wear one. I see myself ordering again in the very near future. Thanks for the video, it was very interesting. I especially like the fact that you can order 1 item or many. Thank-you

  14. I got your postcard showing how my name would look on the farm design. I don’t have a farm, just a background garden. My wife had been teasing me about my “farm”. It was so cute that I ordered the hat and teeshirt. Now I am “officially” a farmer. I wear my hat whenever I drive my old pick-up. I live in the suburbs where there are no farms so I having fun wearing the hat with the name of the suburb where I live.

  15. After receiving your flyer I knew I had to have your product. I ordered a long-sleeve shirt and a hat. Both are well made and quality. I was surprised how awesome the both looked! Everybody that sees them on me asks where I got them and I tell them INK PIXI. I’m old enough to remember when silk-screening meant buying several items of the same kind at one time. Your business has done away with that idea and at a reasonable price. It is a pleasure doing business with your company.

  16. I received a post card from and decided to order a set f shirts( short sleeve, long sleeve, and hoodie for my husband for Christmas then cedcided to order a set for myself too so we could be “twinnies”(lol). I was so excited when it came in that I decided to give to him right away- he absolutely loved it. I will order from your co. again. Thank You, Much, from Dupont University

  17. I, like the rest of the people who have made comments, was very surprised how quickly I received my shirts. I am very well pleased with your products and will probably order again from your company. Thank you for your prompt service.

  18. When I was in print shop in high school we learned silk screening to imprint shirts so I was really impressed with your video. I know some companies still use that method but yours is faster and most likely cheaper. Thank you.

  19. I got your postcard showing “country club design”. My brother and his wife are golfers so I ordered polo shirts for them and was so pleased with the quality that I’ve ordered more shirts for my brother-inlaw too.Great job, thank you.

  20. For Christmas, I gave my son, his wife and their two boys name shirts with the Polish eagle on it. My 11 year old granddaughter thought they were so great that I ended up ordering 2 more, one for her and the other for her mom. They arrived today and she’ll be thrilled when I give them to her.

  21. Just received my order of 12 shirts and am very pleased. Only a little over a week after ordering. Excellent work, and everybody loves them. Will probably order again sometime.

  22. I ordered the tee shirts for my daughter and myself with one hat to share. They arrived timely – the day before Mothers Day – and we love them. Your service and shipping is fast too. Thank you for such good service and great product.

  23. The postcard that we received with our name on a shirt was the best marketing tool. I promptly ordered shirts for my son and husband. My son loved his shirt which he just received for his birthday, the Welsh Dragon. My husband will have to wait until Father’s Day for his pirate captain shirt and hat but it will go nicely with the pirate flag flying from our deck. I hope you add Martial Arts, Music (singing), and Computer Programming/Gaming-related themes to your wealth of designs. Women’s fit shirts would be nice, too.

  24. Loved the video. I have always wondered how the printing was done.

    I received two shirts from you last week and was VERY impressed the the printing and the quality of the shirts. They also arrived more quickly than I expected. I’ll be back, that’s for sure. Consider me an extremely satisfied customer.

    Jo Ann

  25. WOW I Am Very Impressed, & Very Pleased, With The Quality Of The Garment,!
    I Will Be Shopping More For T-Shirts From A Knowledgeable, & Accurate Printing
    Company, Thank You InkPix. Al Huckaby In Louisiana. Thanks For Such Quality.
    Kindest Regards To All Involved With InkPix.

  26. The sales person on the phone was very helpful and courteous. I placed my order with express shipping and the order was absolutely perfect, and It arrived two days earlier than the expected shipping date. The product was fantastic and I will definitely order from you in the future. Thank you so much for making us have a great day with the customer T-shirts.

    1. Thank you, Dennis. We are utterly committed to providing you with an excellent customer experience.

  27. Just wanted you to know that the orders are great. Everything is such high quality. I know our kids will love the shirts and hats for Christmas and the girls will like the aprons. You made my shopping this year a little easier. Thanks again.

    1. Hi Marilyn. Thank you so much for the kind words. Providing our customers with an excellent experience is of utmost importance to us. We are so happy to have helped make your shopping a bit easier. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. Have a fantastic day! -The InkPixi Team

  28. How EXCELLENT! I am thrilled with having my name proudly displayed on my shirt and hat. Knowing that elaborate printing – I am in awe! Thanks a million!!!

  29. Flyer caught my attention as did not having to order a minimum number of the products I ordered – steered me away from your competitor – just got my order, stuff looks great, thanks for your good work!

    1. Thank you Jim. We appreciate your business. We are committed to providing you with the best customer experience possible.

  30. I just ordered 23 “Ranch” tee shirts to be given to guests at my husband’s 90th birthday party. If it hadn’t been for your advertising genius evidenced in the post card picturing our name, I wouldn’t have known about inkpixi. You won’t be forgotten now! THANK YOU

    1. Hi Becky. Thank you for the kind words. What a great party gift for your guests! Yes, you may order online. We offer three easy ways to order: mail, online, or by phone.

  31. I was very impressed I will order again very fast shipping and liked everything I received this will help my business thanks

  32. I received your flyer with a sample picture with our last name and I knew right away this was something I had to get for my husband for Father’s Day. I was a little late ordering so I thought I would have to give him an IOU, but to my surprise and excitement it arrived on Saturday before Father’s Day.
    Thank you so much for the quick processing and delivery. When I gave it to him he was so surprised and loved it so much. He used to fly private planes and is still a big aviation buff.

    1. Kim,
      Thank you so much for leaving us a comment. We are so happy to hear that you received your order in time for Father’s Day for your husband, and that he likes it! Thank you for your purchase and have a wonderful day!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *