# Gildan T shirt Preatreat and printing problems with DTG



## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Hello All, I am wondering if anyone has had problems recently with the pretreatment and printing of Gildan ultra cotton T shirts. We have got a new batc in in various colours and all seem to be soaking the pretreat straight through the T shirts. So you do not get a good pretreat. We have always used alot of Gildan and never had this problem before. I have tried other brands like Quoz, AS Colour, JB's etc etc with the same preatreat and had excellent results. Pointing to the T shirts. Because of the pretreat problems this means there is also printing problems like white ink soaking through as well. I have never had this problem before in the 7 years of using Gildan. Would be very interested in the thoughts of others. By the way we are Australian based.


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## 23spiderman (Jun 26, 2008)

we noticed this on the Gildan 64000. the Gildan 2000 has been fine for us, but the 64000 has definitely changed.


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## EricDeem (May 7, 2011)

I havent found Gildan's products to be very good at all for DTG. The Anvil 980 is a much better choice then the 64000 from what I have experienced. The shirt choice and where it was manufactured has a HUGE impact on the pretreat and printing process and results.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

To be honest i have used Gildan for over 7 years andthey have been very good. It is only the last lot we got in which was no good.


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## bwhirley (Jan 15, 2013)

I have been using Gildan Ultra Cotton shirts for years and have actually favored them over the Hanes...that is until recently...something has changed with the Gildan shirts...I can't get a good pretreat and print any longer...I had some older Gildan shirts in stock, and they print great...so something has definitely happened. If anyone knows anything or has been able to get around the problem, please post your method.


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## EricDeem (May 7, 2011)

bwhirley said:


> I have been using Gildan Ultra Cotton shirts for years and have actually favored them over the Hanes...that is until recently...something has changed with the Gildan shirts...I can't get a good pretreat and print any longer...I had some older Gildan shirts in stock, and they print great...so something has definitely happened. If anyone knows anything or has been able to get around the problem, please post your method.


Try a different brand. End of story.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Yes cahnged to the 8600 in Gildan and also using alot of AS Colour. We have also had problems screen printing the the 2000. SO something has changed for sure. If you call them i found them very helpfull about it all and the more feed back they get on this then they will change it all back


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## rlaubert (Aug 14, 2011)

For low end t-shirts I have been using Jerzee 363. But I am looking for an all american made t-shirt so that I can advertise that. What is your recommendation? I have Sanmar, jiffyshirt, ssactivewear and onestop accounts.


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## 23spiderman (Jun 26, 2008)

i just pulled an old Gildan 2000 out of stock today, and it pretreated and printed perfectly. i've quit using them for current orders. the Port & Company shirt has printed well for a standard option, and it's normally on sale for a lower price than Gildan.

Keya has some great shirts at good prices. They all come from Bangladesh so they are consistent. Bayside is what we use for USA shirts.


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## scotney86 (Mar 15, 2011)

I have also dropped Gildan for this reason. Previously they were fine but the recent batch I had in was unprintable


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## kdub718 (Jan 3, 2011)

I also returned some gildan 2000 yesterday cause of this problem. I have had decent luck with pc61's except if they come from Honduras... then I would have same problems.... It has to do with the chemicals in the cotton in different regions I think. But I guess pc is now going to be making all there shirts in honduras now in a new factory, I'm hoping they will be better than current shirts from there... ugh!!!


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## 23spiderman (Jun 26, 2008)

I've had mixed results from Honduras, but the one's from Haiti print great.


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## kdub718 (Jan 3, 2011)

23spiderman said:


> I've had mixed results from Honduras, but the one's from Haiti print great.


yah the pc61's from haiti I have great results with... most all the other regions i have had decent luck with but honduras... I'm kinda hoping that the new honduras factory will fix this but to be honest I have doubts lol... cause there is no way of knowing if the shirt is from the new factory or not. They still have so much stock from everywhere else so it's hard to say... I talked to a rep today about it... been frustrated the last couple of days with blank shirts.


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## Rockford (Jan 18, 2010)

Any further news on this? Will Gildan change back, recently ran out of old 2000 stock and ordered new ones. Completely unprintable, my supplier knows nothing of course.....


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## EricDeem (May 7, 2011)

Anvil 980's seem to have contracted this same disease. They print like garbage!


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## Rockford (Jan 18, 2010)

Thanks, good to know! I was about to replace my stock inventory with Anvil. Maybe Hanes Tagless then...


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## mumzie (May 9, 2008)

so what do we do in the meantime? Anvil 980, Gildan 2000 not printing. Wonder what's happening to the fabric? the fiber? Wonder how long before manufacturers figure it out?

Because if Anvil, Gildan can't sell shirts because we can't print them, we're all screwed.


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## Rockford (Jan 18, 2010)

Just got the scoop from someone in the industry that Gildan has recently been using a chemical treatment to make the cotton softer. Apparently there has already been enough negative feedback to make them stop. I was told that they still have a ton of inventory so it wont be until late this summer or so until they start making more without the treatment. Second hand info but sounds plausible


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Personally I think they did you a favor. Gildan are horrible for DTG printing! Maybe you will get out and find a good shirt and see what your machines can really do! I started out years ago with Gildan and was happy until I tried some good ring spun. What a difference it made in print, washability, pretreat usage. JMHO! 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using T-Shirt Forums


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## EricDeem (May 7, 2011)

spiderx1 said:


> Personally I think they did you a favor. Gildan are horrible for DTG printing! Maybe you will get out and find a good shirt and see what your machines can really do! I started out years ago with Gildan and was happy until I tried some good ring spun. What a difference it made in print, washability, pretreat usage. JMHO!
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I605 using T-Shirt Forums


+1

I concur with Randy's observation. Gildan and DTG don't mix.


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## Ynkfan1 (Dec 29, 2009)

Question. Do you think that this would also affect heat transfers and heat press vinyl applications


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## 23spiderman (Jun 26, 2008)

i must add that i've been doing DTG since 2008 and over 95% of my shirts have been Gildan. when they first came out with their Softstyle line, it was great. last year is when i noticed a difference in print quality and knew something was wrong. while i wouldn't recommend Gildan for DTG to a new person getting started, i have still been able to get good prints. in fact, some of my best prints (many i've posted on this forum) have been on Gildan. i have begun searching for a new brand as the Gildan's now take too much pretreat for my liking. the Port & Company shirt (PC61 & PC54) print well for a basic tee. 

i LOVE how my Keya shirt is holding up, but they are a 4 day ship and they seem to be having trouble keeping stock. i just went there to buy some Royal blue shirts and they don't have what i need. none in stock, none in transit, and none in the factory in the sizes i need. i've called Keya and am trying to use them more, but their stock issue must be stabilized because they print so well that i wouldn't want to mix them with any other brand. once they get enough stock, i would switch to Keya as their price is better than when Gildan is on sale.

i get Gildan with a one day ship and Port & Company with a 2 day ship (free shipping over $150), so i'm still using these two brands for my DTG printing. hopefully, Gildan will switch back to their old way, but i'm sure the DTG segment is small so i have my doubts they will change. 

for me, screen printing, and heat press material have worked just fine on Gildan. i don't use transfers, so i can't answer for that.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

Rockford said:


> Thanks, good to know! I was about to replace my stock inventory with Anvil. Maybe Hanes Tagless then...




We've gotten consistently good print results with the Hanes Tagless shirts. We use them for all the samples we print, inhouse and at trade shows.

_


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## GraphicGuy (Dec 8, 2008)

Hanes Nano are great.


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## DTGuser (Feb 25, 2013)

I've had the same problem, Had to put something in between the layers (Paper towel like material) so it didn't soak thru the back, Hope they resolve this


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## youngmi1969 (Jan 21, 2008)

I heard the exact same thing as Rockford from Gildan directly - softeners - have to run through all the inventory so looks like end of summer til you can be shipped a colored Gildan that will work with DTG.

In the meantime I found the Fruit of the Loom HD lofteez shirt to be great for a basic T. Reason i like it better than the hanes tagless is the softer hand, tighter gauge knit and colors - Their black is a dark blue black unlike the hanes which is a lighter red/black.


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## bolle (Jun 25, 2008)

We have had same problem with shirts which stretch (elastane or whats its name), too much synthetics in material... Also we in more than few times saw that shirt are not stitched straight... At one point we switched to Fruit of the Loom, and not going back...Fruits are great for DTG


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## Gecko Signs NT (Aug 3, 2012)

Ynkfan1 said:


> Question. Do you think that this would also affect heat transfers and heat press vinyl applications


We have been using vinyl and transfers on Gildan 2000 and Softstyle and have not had issues.

What is concerning is that we have just today received our DTG machine and came across this thread. I feel sick to my stomach now, as the majority of our Gildan come from Honduras, with a small minority from Bangladesh. Time to talk to my Rep I think, and also do some research on sourcing a new supplier.


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## rlaubert (Aug 14, 2011)

Check out Keya.com. The shirts are great and good for DTG.


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## kilrkats (Jan 27, 2007)

rlaubert said:


> Check out Keya.com. The shirts are great and good for DTG.


Keya - Printable Apparel - Softer, More Comfortable, Stronger, Printability


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## thedigiguy (May 11, 2010)

When using colors other than black, we use the pc61 from Sanmar. It comes in a wide variety of colors, has a good price point, and it prints well.
For black we just pull from stock.


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

I just ordered and printed 20+ white Gildan shirts and it printed fine, but when I put them on the heat press every one of them had black specks all over the shirt. I tried multiple temps, pressures, Teflon, silicone paper... All the same problem. 
I printed 10 next level white shirts directly after, not 1 issue... I won't be using Gildan any more


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

sandmanbjj said:


> I just ordered and printed 20+ white Gildan shirts and it printed fine, but when I put them on the heat press every one of them had black specks all over the shirt. I tried multiple temps, pressures, Teflon, silicone paper... All the same problem.
> I printed 10 next level white shirts directly after, not 1 issue... I won't be using Gildan any more






It's a very good point. Many people don't realize how much of a difference the brand and type of shirt can make in printing. Especially if there's an issue with a specific brand.


_


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## bangtees (Oct 26, 2011)

adrenaline said:


> Yes cahnged to the 8600 in Gildan and also using alot of AS Colour. We have also had problems screen printing the the 2000. SO something has changed for sure. If you call them i found them very helpfull about it all and the more feed back they get on this then they will change it all back


Considering that Gildan makes a huge number of shirts, I'd be very surprised if they changed their manufacturing processes to meet the needs of a handful of DTG users who couldn't pretreat the shirts for DTG printing. Just return the shirts and try another brand. We used Gildan and Jerzees and had great results.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using T-Shirt Forums


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## thedigiguy (May 11, 2010)

thedigiguy said:


> When using colors other than black, we use the pc61 from Sanmar. It comes in a wide variety of colors, has a good price point, and it prints well.
> For black we just pull from stock.


Black specks on a white shirt? I have seen many problems using pretreat and white ink on dark Gildan Tee shirts, but I have never had problems with their whites. Could you post a picture? I would be very interested to learn what was causing the black specks.


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## thedigiguy (May 11, 2010)

bangtees said:


> Considering that Gildan makes a huge number of shirts, I'd be very surprised if they changed their manufacturing processes to meet the needs of a handful of DTG users who couldn't pretreat the shirts for DTG printing. Just return the shirts and try another brand. We used Gildan and Jerzees and had great results.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-M919 using T-Shirt Forums


So true! 100% of the current DTG market isnt even a blip on most of the Tee Shirt manufacturing companies radar. As we grow and and machines get faster and production numbers go up all of them will come knocking!


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

sandmanbjj said:


> I just ordered and printed 20+ white Gildan shirts and it printed fine, but when I put them on the heat press every one of them had black specks all over the shirt. I tried multiple temps, pressures, Teflon, silicone paper... All the same problem.
> I printed 10 next level white shirts directly after, not 1 issue... I won't be using Gildan any more




Just out of curiosity, try heat pressing an unprinted white Gildan, if you have one left, and see if the black specks still appear. 


_


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

I didn't get the black specks when I pressed them prior to printing. I tried that on a few thinking maybe moisture was an issue. I also made sure I had a new sheet of silicone paper when curing the ink in case it was residual from a previous print. I will out of town until Friday but I will take a pic and post it when I get home. 
I also thought maybe there was too much in at 720 dpi so I switched to 360 and also tried hovering the heat press to dry the ink a little before I put a sheet over and pressed it. Weird


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

These are the black specs I was talking about


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## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

That's ink transfer from the heat press or the paper. Try cleaning the Teflon sheet or heat press, and then hovering over the shirt for 30 seconds before pressing.


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

I did that. Had a new sheet of silicon paper and cleaned the heating element of the heat press. I used a Teflon sheet on a few and cleaned it between uses also. AND I tried hovering the heat press. I changed shirts, and no issues at all.


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## BQChris (Aug 16, 2012)

That looks an awful lot like residual ink from the previous cures but you seem to have covered all your bases with that.

My next thought would be that there are fibers sticking up on the shirt and the print head is brushing against them. Try pressing the shirt for 10 seconds before printing it to help lay those fibers flat.


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

I have also pressed the shirt prior to printing. I have thought all the things y'all have and I have done all said suggestions. 
I even tried different pressures on the press to cure thinking maybe the paper was moving somehow. 
The kicker is, 17 shirts done. 3 came out with no issue. 14 have those specs all over the shirt. And of the 3 good ones they were randomly good. 
I have tried 3 different brands of white t shirts since this issue, and none have had this problem. So I am just going to avoid the brand


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## BQChris (Aug 16, 2012)

Really? That is weird.

What machine are you using? What kind of ink delivery system are you using?


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

I am using a Fast T jet 2. With bagged ink. Fast ink. But like I said, no issues with different brands of shirts.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

sandmanbjj said:


> I have also pressed the shirt prior to printing. I have thought all the things y'all have and I have done all said suggestions.
> I even tried different pressures on the press to cure thinking maybe the paper was moving somehow.
> The kicker is, 17 shirts done. 3 came out with no issue. 14 have those specs all over the shirt. And of the 3 good ones they were randomly good.
> I have tried 3 different brands of white t shirts since this issue, and none have had this problem. So I am just going to avoid the brand




In the end, go with the brand(s) that works best for you. If you're not getting issues with the other brands then why not just stick to those. 


_


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

Cost. I got the cheap ones real cheap. They were going to be given free at a wrestling camp. But I'm sticking to the brands that work for me from now on. Oh well. Thank y'all for the info and ideas.


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

sandmanbjj said:


> Cost. I got the cheap ones real cheap. They were going to be given free at a wrestling camp. But I'm sticking to the brands that work for me from now on. Oh well. Thank y'all for the info and ideas.



As you have seen, sometimes the cheapest shirts become the most expensive ones to use.


_


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

Lesson learned. Haha.


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## thedigiguy (May 11, 2010)

equipmentzone said:


> As you have seen, sometimes the cheapest shirts become the most expensive ones to use.
> 
> 
> _


 
So true! I have had to learn this lesson several times in life. Sometimes you do get what you have paid for. Cheap is not always the best deal.


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