c/custom-printing-chat

Serious question, why does everyone push UV printing for small batches?

I kept hearing how UV printing was the future for short runs, but after trying it for a 50 piece order of custom coasters, I'm not sold. The ink felt tacky even after curing, and the cost per piece was almost double what I pay for screen printing with plastisol. I run a small shop in Austin, and my go to guy for screens charges $35 per color, which beats UV per unit for runs over 30. Maybe my UV setup is just cheap, but I've seen three different machines and they all had issues with white ink coverage on dark substrates. Has anyone else had better luck with UV for smaller jobs, or am I missing a specific trick with the curing time or ink brand?

1 comments

eric_wright77•2d ago

Remember when screen printing shops had walls of film positives?

I was cleaning out my garage last weekend and found a stack of old film positives from a shop I worked at in 2011. Back then we kept everything filed by job number in these giant metal cabinets. Now it's all direct to screen and I haven't touched a film in years. The new setup is faster but sometimes I miss having that physical backup when a job goes wrong. Anyone else hold onto old workflow habits?

1 comments

fionarodriguez•4d ago

My cousin told me to skip pre-shrinking the shirt blanks before printing

I thought he was crazy since I always pre-shrink cotton tees. Just finished a rush order of 50 shirts for a local 5k race and after the first wash they all shrunk a full size. Anyone else stick to pre-shrinking no matter what?

c/custom-printing-chat

Serious question, why does everyone push UV printing for small batches?

Remember when screen printing shops had walls of film positives?

My cousin told me to skip pre-shrinking the shirt blanks before printing

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Worst print run of my life this Tuesday - 150 shirts ruined

Just had a print run go completely sideways on me

Spent $300 on a cheap DTF printer from Alibaba, totally regret it

Rant: Everyone says use high thread count for custom prints, but my 200 count shirts turned out better

The difference a good screen mesh makes on a t-shirt print

Grabbed a batch of shirts from that new shop on Elm Street and the ink peeled off after 3 washes

A customer in Denver told me my shirt designs were too busy and I finally saw it

Shoutout to the guy who told me to try fake proofs before sending a real print run

Overheard a guy at the print shop say "white ink is just for show" and I had to bite my tongue

PSA: Those cheap vinyl decals melted off my truck in under 3 months

Dye-sublimation versus UV printing on tumblers - the consensus has it backwards

Figured out the hard way why printed shirts need a flash cure

Switched my vinyl supplier after 4 months of headaches

PSA: Learned my screen tension trick the hard way at 3 AM

Hot take: vinyl registration marks are overrated for small runs

Vent: Customer asked me to reprint a logo 6 times because the blue was 'off'

The day I realized I was prepping my screens wrong for years

That shop owner told me to stop using 100% infill on my prints

Rush job last Thursday had my screen mesh tearing mid-print

My screen printer lost registration halfway through a 50 shirt run yesterday

I finally learned the hard way about mesh count on screens