Choosing the right print method can change everything about your final piece — cost, look, feel, and how long it lasts. Two common options for custom apparel are dye-sublimation and screen printing. Here’s a conversational rundown of how they differ and when one might be a better fit than the other.
Sublimation works by printing a design on special transfer paper with dye-based inks and then using heat to turn the ink into a gas that bonds with polyester fibers. The result is a print that’s actually part of the fabric. That means you get vivid, photo-quality images, smooth gradients, and fine detail with no heavy ink layer on top. Because the ink is embedded in the fibers, the print feels soft and won’t crack or peel over time. The major limitation is substrate: sublimation needs polyester or polymer-coated items. It’s fantastic for sportswear, polyester tees, but it doesn’t work well on natural fibers like cotton. The other limitation is turnaround time, because you are printing on uncut fabric all the garments not only have to be printed but actually sewn together, which is why our standard turn-around time is 6 weeks for sublimated garments. If you are wondering what sublimation looks like - think Warriors Rugby League Jersey or Chiefs Rugby Jersey.
Screen printing, by contrast, uses stenciled screens — one screen per color — to push ink onto the garment. It’s been around for a long time because it’s versatile. With screen printing you can get opaque colors on dark fabrics, and you can create tactile, specialty effects like metallics, puff, glitter, or high-density prints. Screen printing works on almost any textile — cotton, blends, polyester — and on many non-textile items with the proper inks and pretreatment. The tradeoffs are setup time and cost: making screens and doing color separations adds overhead, so it’s usually more economical for medium to large runs or designs with only a few spot colors.
In terms of durability and washability, sublimation generally wins on polyester because the dye is in the fibers; it won’t flake or crack. Screen prints can be extremely durable too if cured properly, but heavy ink deposits on stretchy fabrics can crack over time. Color-wise, sublimation is unmatched for complex, photographic pieces and seamless all-over prints. Screen printing shines for bold solid colors and those special effects that aren’t possible with sublimation.
The other advantage of screen printing in NZ is because we are printing on already made garments, we can turn the job around a lot quicker than sublimation. Our standard turnaround time for screen printing is two weeks and can be as short as 2-4 days for rush orders.
So when should you choose one over the other? Go with sublimation when you want full-color, edge-to-edge prints that will never fade on polyester garments. Choose screen printing if you’re printing graphic designs or need your garments quickly. Your only real option too when you are wanting cotton garments. If your design uses many colors but you’re printing onto cotton, screen printing can still work, but costs will rise with each color. If you’re unsure of fabric content or need versatility across different substrates, screen printing is usually the safer option.
If you tell me a bit about your project — what fabric you’ll use, how complex the design is, and how many pieces you need — I’ll recommend the best option and outline practical next steps.