# Screen Printed v. Plastisol Transfer Garment Tags



## geoffffff (Mar 5, 2012)

Hello all! I'm trying to convince my boss at work that we should look into Plastisol Transfers for printing labels, and I'm looking for some more information on we should switch.

In theory it seems like printing lots of tags at once then heat pressing them on could be time/money saving, and produce a better product. I've found some arguments for both, but I wanted to see what others had to say.

So I guess the main concerns are as following:
1) Quality: How does the quality compare between the two processes? (i.e. white tags on dark garments don't look great screen printed, could this be improved with plastisol transfer?)
2) Time Effective: How long does the plastisol transfer process compare to screen printing each one by hand?
3) Cost: Will transfers be a more expensive approach? (material costs)

Thanks in advance!


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Do not overlook pad printing if you are doing a bunch.....

I use transfers because my needs are quite low in terms of quantity and I do not print in house....I use white, grey & black......They do not last as long as direct printing but long enough.....Depending on the size of your runs they can be more practical and/or less expensive.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

geoffffff said:


> Hello all! I'm trying to convince my boss at work that we should look into Plastisol Transfers for printing labels, and I'm looking for some more information on we should switch.
> 
> In theory it seems like printing lots of tags at once then heat pressing them on could be time/money saving, and produce a better product. I've found some arguments for both, but I wanted to see what others had to say.
> 
> ...


It does all depend on volume. It's much faster, and less expensive to screen print labels vs using transfers. So if you're doing a large run of shirts, screen print is the way to go. If you're doing one-offs or small batches, then I would use transfers.

To answer your question points:

1. Quality is the same, except transfers will look better, and you'll get a more consistent look on dark garments using white ink.

2. The transfer process can easily take twice as long to finish vs direct screenprinting. With transfers, not only do you screen print, but then you handle the print again to apply with a heat press.

3. Cost is more expensive with transfers because you need more material (transfer sheets) and you're using basically twice your labor; once to screen print, then once to heat press.


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