When planning to add branded clothing to your business, one of the first decisions you must make is how to style your new merchandise. Beyond creating a design, you’ll also need to decide how to print it physically. Each method of clothing printing and customization offers unique benefits. Maybe you’ve had your eye on screen printing and embroidery, to name a couple. These two methods are great options for starting out in clothing customization, but is one superior to the other? Today we’ll be exploring screen printing vs. embroidery to find out which is better.

Basics of Screen Printing

If you’re a fan of t-shirts, odds are you own a screen-printed tee. Screen printing involves pressing ink through a silk screen to transfer your desired design onto the product. In more detail, you create a stencil of your logo or design, transfer it onto the silk screen, and apply it to a flat surface in the desired color ink. This method has a range of uses, from DIY hobbyist screen printing to high-end commercial use. You can screen print by hand, but if you decide that this is the method for you, you could also invest in an automatic screen-printing press.

Basics of Embroidery

Embroidery also has a range of uses, including DIY and commercial use. Although, you probably wouldn’t want to hand-embroider your own merchandise, as the manual process takes a bit of time. Embroidery is a lot like sewing but uses different thread, materials, and tools. Because the hand-embroidering process takes a decent amount of time, most embroiderers will use a computerized embroidery machine. These machines specialize in embroidering all manner of clothing and materials automatically, which helps expedite the process. Embroidery offers a wide variety of thread colors, just as screen printing offers a rainbow of inks.

Screen Printing Benefits

Screen printing has many benefits for business merchandising. The screen-printing process produces a high-quality print with a professional appearance. Because of the special ink, screen prints are very vibrant and colorful. Screen printing is also very customizable, as you can create whatever kind of stencil you want. There are many options when it comes to placement on your material, as long as you limit your design to a flat surface. This printing method is also great for bulk orders because you can reuse your stencil design for multiple prints.

Embroidery Benefits

Embroidery also offers many unique benefits when it comes to merchandise customization. One of the biggest perks of using embroidery is its durability. Embroidery thread is much thicker than normal thread, and the weaving process makes it even stronger when sewn into place. Embroidery thread comes in a rainbow of colors for amazing customization potential, and the color holds up well over time. Like screen printing, embroidery also has a neat, professional look, making it the perfect choice for logos and other business designs.

Screen Printing vs. Embroidery

Now that the basics of screen printing and embroidery are clear, let’s get into how to choose one or the other for creating your merchandise. Decide what kind of merch you want to offer, whether it’s clothing, accessories, etc. From there, you should weigh the benefits of screen printing and embroidery and compare them with the types of products you want to offer. Both methods support a wide range of products and materials.

When To Use Screen Printing

If you want to expand your business with a variety of merchandise, screen printing is a great option. With a screen-printing press, you can print clothing designs and many other materials, including glass, wood, canvas, and more. Because screen printing ink is thick and vibrant, it’s great for standing out against dark colors and materials. Other printing methods may not have as vibrant of results. And as long as you use the correct heat-treated, washable ink, these prints are durable and long-lasting after dozens of washes, which is key to a good clothing print.

When To Use Embroidery

While it’s not suitable for some solid materials, embroidery is perfect for trickier textile materials that cannot be printed on so easily. Embroidery is not limited to flat surfaces, either. This means you can easily embroider popular merchandise items like hats, which wouldn’t be compatible with screen printing. With an embroidery machine, you can also handle bulk projects with ease and in a decent amount of time. For example, you could place an order of strapback hats in bulk and adorn them with your logo at a very low cost and effort.

Overall Winner

In the battle between screen printing vs. embroidery, it’s up to you to decide which is better for your business. Both methods have their own pros and cons, but the choice comes down to which you see being more useful for your merchandise line. If you see yourself focusing mainly on clothing items, you may want to invest in an embroidery machine. While both methods are great for clothing, embroidery can handle a wider variety of materials and surface shapes. On the other hand, if you want to expand your merch horizons to include more general products, screen printing would be ideal.

You could also consider the costliness of each method. Both methods will cost about the same in the long run, as you will need to invest in the machine itself, your bulk products, and either the screen printing inks or the embroidery threads. Embroidery threads tend to be on the more expensive side of the two materials. Keep this in mind while shopping around. You can also save money by shopping in bulk.

So, which method seems to appeal more to your business: screen printing or embroidering? Both are great options for those looking to get into brand merchandising, especially if you want to feature apparel. To determine which is best for your business, decide what you want to offer, which method supports your final product, and how you want your design to look. This will help you decide which to invest in first, to save you money in the long run.