American Apparel Screen Printing
Creating your own custom American Apparel screen printing tees is a statement that you’re a company or brand that prides itself on high-quality, contemporary style and excellent design. In addition to quality materials, our American Apparel shirts are designed with specific fashion goals in mind, whether it’s a figure-enhancing women’s rib tank or a slim fit men’s crew neck. The combination of fashion-forward design and high-quality material makes our American Apparel shirts the perfect canvas for your special logo or graphic.
With the rise in popularity of t-shirts as a marketing tool for major brands and celebrities, the demand for high-quality printed tees increased exponentially. In order to meet this demand, the invention of a rotary multicolor garment screen printing machine made it possible for companies and celebrities to create their own line of customized tees. Screenprinting is the process of using a stencil to print a design onto fabric by passing ink through a mesh screen. This technique was initially used to print t-shirts, but soon expanded to include other types of apparel such as pants, jackets and hats.
As t-shirt printing became more popular, many manufacturers started making their own versions of the multicolor garment screen printing machine. These machines were usually large, requiring a team of technicians to operate and maintain them. Eventually, the machine was made more compact and affordable, allowing it to be used by smaller companies or individuals.
In the late 20th century, American entrepreneur Michael Vasilantone developed a new type of garment screen printing machine that allowed multiple colors to be printed at once. This machine greatly improved the speed and efficiency of screen printing, making it a very cost-effective way to produce large quantities of clothing. Garment screen printing quickly became the most popular type of screenprinting, and soon major companies were printing their own t-shirts to promote their products or to celebrate special events or milestones. Some of the earliest corporately sponsored clothing to be printed with a logo or graphics were Coca-Cola and Disney t-shirts.
By the time American Apparel was relaunched in 2019, the company had shifted away from selling their own line of clothes and focused on wholesale orders. As more players entered the American-made shirt market, it was less profitable for Gildan to continue producing their own styles in the United States. In January 2020, the “Made in USA” shop disappeared from American Apparel’s website and the label was removed from all applicable items on the company’s Amazon storefront.
To create a smooth, soft print on a garment it is important to consider the fabric of the shirt as well as the ink being used for printing. When a print is made with plastisol ink, the ink sits on top of the shirt and has more of a glossy look, whereas water based and discharge ink make prints that feel like they are part of the fabric. A softer print also depends on the printer’s knowledge, as some know-how is necessary to get the most out of your equipment. american apparel screen printing