Screen Printing vs. Embroidery: Which is Best for Your Custom Apparel?

The First Step to Customizing Your Apparel

Nothing catches the eye like a cool design. And when it comes to branding, a great way to advertise your brand is by creating custom apparel. There are various ways to add designs to clothing; screen printing and embroidery are two of the most popular. But how do you tell which is best for your upcoming batch of team tees, logoed hoodies, or corporate caps? Let’s zoom in and examine the advantages of each method so you can make the best call.

What is Screen Printing?

Screen printing is what you commonly see on T-shirts and hoodies these days. Also called silk screen printing, this popular method of adding designs to fabric involves laying the garment flat and pushing ink through a mesh screen. This transfers the overall design (defined by individual stenciled designs on each screen) to the piece of apparel. Once it dries, it’s on there for good.

The process originated in China in the 10th century, during the Song Dynasty. Then, the screens really were made of silk. The Japanese followed suit, using stencils to create designs that were pushed through a silk screen with stiff brushes. Fast forward to the early 1900s, and new tools like squeegees helped bring about a revolution in commercial screen printing. [SOURCE]

Modern screen-printing equipment incorporates polyester mesh screens, which are more durable than silk. Though automated and computerized, the basic process remains the same. Today, print shops can add designs to all types of clothing, from T-shirts to sweatshirts to tote bags. Leading printers have even more versatility, allowing you to add your chosen design to glass, metal, and wood.

Pros of Screen Printing

Creating designs via screen printing is ideal for larger spaces. Normally, the designs are printed on the front or back of the tee or hoodie, where there’s plenty of real estate for a more complex design. But logos and wording can also be added to cuffs, hems, and hoods—it's very versatile.

If you’re looking to add your corporate logo to a host of hoodies, screen printing is your friend—it’s well-suited for large orders. Compared to other options, screen printing 10,000 tees is more cost-effective while still providing vivid, colorful, eye-catching designs.

Cons of Screen Printing

Setup costs for small orders can make screen printing a bit more expensive, especially if the order consists of multiple colors. That’s because every color requires the printer to lay out a new screen, a fairly complex process that increases the setup time. Screen-printed designs can also crack and fade if not properly laundered or poorly maintained.

What is Embroidery?

Embroidery, the art of adding designs to fabric with thread and needle, has a surprisingly long history. The word embroidery comes from the French word “broderie,” which means embellishment. Embroidery is believed to have originated in China, but it likely goes back even farther. Amazingly, archaeological finds from the Cro-Magnon man suggest he was hand-stitching and decorating clothing more than 30,000 years ago!

Examples of embroidered clothing are scattered throughout human history, from the Romans to the Vikings to Medieval times, where embroidery enjoyed high status in the Islamic world. The Industrial Revolution brought about big changes, automating the process with machinery. The earliest examples of machine-produced embroidery were produced in France in the mid-1800s. Around 1900, embroidery became more widespread thanks to mail-order catalogs and widely available paper patterns. [SOURCE]

Today, embroidery is a very popular method of customizing clothing. One of the things about embroidery that literally stands out is its texture. As more and more threads are added to a design, it raises off of the fabric’s surface, bringing another dimension to it. There’s a reason royals throughout history have had their state robes embroidered with gold and silver thread. It’s the kind of luxurious touch that draws attention and suggests premium quality.

Pros of Embroidery

Decorating fabric with thread and needle creates permanent designs with a high-quality look and feel. Embroidery is ideal for smaller designs and holds up well to hard use, making it great for garments that have to be washed frequently. If you’re looking to customize corporate clothing—say by adding everyone’s name to their uniform—embroidery is a smart choice for embellishment. It also works well as a branding method for luxury garments.

Cons of Embroidery

Embroidery may not be the best choice for large, complex designs; it works better for simple designs like logos produced in smaller batches. Compared to screen printing, embroidery is less effective at delivering complex color gradients and reproducing fine detail. It’s also more expensive, making high-volume production more costly.

 Factors to Consider When Choosing

Not sure whether screen printing or embroidery is best for your needs? Let’s review the characteristics of each.

Screen printing uses ink and screens to produce vivid prints on apparel. The process excels at creating complex designs in high-volume runs, making it ideal for precisely reproducing large logos and intricate patterns in multiple colors. It’s often used for adding designs to casualwear or sports apparel.

Embroidery, on the other hand, is ideal for creating super durable designs and relatively small text. The process is ideal for adding texture and dimension, raising the design off the fabric’s surface to catch the light and the eye. Embroidery is a smart choice when you need to add a luxurious touch to high-quality garments, and its durability makes it perfect for professional uniforms that need to be laundered often.  

Making the Final Choice: Screen Printing or Embroidery?

Whichever method you choose, the designs produced by screen printing and embroidery excel at raising brand awareness for your business. Customized clothing is a great way to highlight a new advertising campaign, bring a cohesive look to your team, or keep uniforms looking sharp. Wherever your needs lie, rely on Empire Printing to help turn your ideas into reality.