# Whats better Embroidery or Screen Printing



## Kurfuu Clothing (Jul 23, 2008)

Hello, i would like to know, when starting a clothing co...... is it better to start with an embroidered logo or a screen print logo?


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## homesteademb (Apr 22, 2008)

That depends on what garments you are using and what the designs are. Sometimes embroidery is better, (polos, fleece, hats, etc.) and sometimes screenprinting is better (t-sirts, large designs)


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I think small designs Embroidery looks good, but big designs you need to screen print or plastisol transfers. ... JB


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## tshirtsep (Feb 15, 2007)

homesteademb said:


> That depends on what garments you are using and what the designs are. Sometimes embroidery is better, (polos, fleece, hats, etc.) and sometimes screenprinting is better (t-sirts, large designs)


Yeah, that pretty much sums it up...!

I think there are more people offering just Screenprinting than Embroidery so doing both would be an advantage... unless it's cheaper just to outsource it... ah, forget it, i don't really know!


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

It can depend on the application. Embroidery generally has a higher preceived value. Screen printed hats and polos can look cheap. Screen printing is great for full front/back designs on T's and sweats with fine detail and small text.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

COEDS said:


> I think small designs Embroidery looks good, but big designs you need to screen print or plastisol transfers. ... JB


Hmmm, we did a full jacket back in emb for $600.


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## NESBOW (Sep 10, 2006)

from my point of view i would add this. if you want to do alot of shirts in masses cheaply screen them. if you perhaps want to do a bit more technical and elegant and classy i would suggest embroidery.


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

The OP was asking about "logos", tho, whether to start with emb or screen printing, and that brings up a Q for me, I kind of wonder if you emb a logo onto a tee, and the other way around, is it possible to screen print on a polo, I guess if it's not a pique weave?? I am also curious what the difference in cost is for the same logo in each process. Thanks so much...


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

You can embroider a logo on a t-shirt and screen print on pique, but it's not done as much as the other way around because the other way around is the more optimal application.

It's a bit hard to compare apples to apples because of the different pricing processes, but from what I've seen, the same image would usually be more expensive to embroider than it is to screen print it.


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

binki said:


> Hmmm, we did a full jacket back in emb for $600.


 I was talking about Logo's on t's and golf shirts. I have a full back embroidered jacket , I wear and people always ask me to make one for them. I have a Flag that is actually the preamble to the Constitution. I think embroidery is really more costly than screen print. ..... JB


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Consider who you market to. Are they more likely to wear embroidery or screen printing in the setting where they would be wearing the garments you provide?


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## NESBOW (Sep 10, 2006)

just another thought on screening, with this you will be dealing with alot of chemicals


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

I guess that screen printing has some amount of setup longer than embroidery but you can push more units through with an auto press. Embroidery can get you more $ per unit because you are normally doing higher end products so the starting point is more. 

What you really need to do is find out where your market is and sell what they want. We sell 10x more embroidery than printed garments. But then again, our market is clubs and businesses that want a really nice shirt or hat and nothing says quality like embroidery. Our printed shirt orders come from those that want to give away the product as a promo or want to have them for a one time use like a b-day party.


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## Sundancerde (Apr 12, 2008)

we do both embroidery and screen printing...I see a trend with our customers...embroidery..

http://www.embrodierymagic.com


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## mistyjones (Aug 11, 2017)

For businesses or service uniforms, embroidery is perfect.


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## LTPEMB (Jul 10, 2015)

Screen printing is usually easier and more profitable competitively (with an automatic).
Embroidery is harder to learn and difficult to make profitable and competitively priced.


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## LTPEMB (Jul 10, 2015)

binki said:


> I guess that screen printing has some amount of setup longer than embroidery but you can push more units through with an auto press. Embroidery can get you more $ per unit because you are normally doing higher end products so the starting point is more.
> 
> What you really need to do is find out where your market is and sell what they want. We sell 10x more embroidery than printed garments. But then again, our market is clubs and businesses that want a really nice shirt or hat and nothing says quality like embroidery. Our printed shirt orders come from those that want to give away the product as a promo or want to have them for a one time use like a b-day party.


He basically stated my thoughts... although unless you take Embroidery Digitizing into account which can be more labor intensive setup for embroidery at times... 
Simply put Embroidery is more labor intensive and the current standard market pricing doesn't reflect the labor.
Screen printing is less labor intensive making it a lot easier to reduce costs while keeping pricing the same. 

That said market saturation of any one area can push things out of business anyway.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

LTPEMB said:


> That said market saturation of any one area can push things out of business anyway.


Yeah, when we started we had 8 competitors within a half mile. Six of them closed down.


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Local competitors will come and go. It can be hard to know how many local competitors you actually have if they work from home. If you sell primarily online that really isn't a factor. Competition isn't necessarily bad.


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## Alexkuter (Oct 12, 2017)

Hello,
On my opinion, Embroidery is a better option and I prefer Embroidery instead of Screen Printing.


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## brenden (Dec 11, 2008)

homesteademb said:


> That depends on what garments you are using and what the designs are. Sometimes embroidery is better, (polos, fleece, hats, etc.) and sometimes screenprinting is better (t-sirts, large designs)


Yep totally agree!

You would want to avoid doing a massive embroidery design on the front or back of a garment as it will start to feel like a bullet proof vest. Print is perfect for that. But for a left chest embroidery looks classy and can add more value to the garment giving higher margins for you.

Finally quantity makes a huge difference. Short runs would be inefficient to run on screen printing but ideal for embroidery.

It really is dependant on your order.


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## davidshaw (Oct 24, 2017)

Do you have any experience of either? I would go with what you have experience in as both have a steep learning curve and you will get a lot wrong before you start getting things right!





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Krowmark.com


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Most people have an interest in a particular type of decoration. You would really benefit from attending a trade show.


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## KelceyW (Dec 1, 2016)

And keep in mind that with embroidery you can stretch into adding Tackle Twill if you want to do full backs on jackets or hoodies and the like. We've done some neat stuff for customers who have wanted their logo full sized but 'not screen print looking'. 
I agree with the earlier comment that a trade show visit would be a good place to start.


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