Screen Printing for Textiles — the Standard Method for Medium and Large Runs

About Screen Printing

Screen printing (also called serigraphy or silkscreen) is a stencil-based printing method that forces ink through a fine mesh screen onto the substrate using a squeegee. The technique originated in China during the Song dynasty (c. 960-1279) and was industrialised for textile printing in the 20th century. Today, screen printing is the standard for larger runs — with us from 50 pieces per design.

Facts:

• Origin: China, Song dynasty (~10th century); industrial adaptation from ~1910
• Print principle: polyester mesh + photo-sensitive emulsion + UV exposure + squeegee
• Materials: cotton, blends; polyester with low-bleed inks
• Durability: 50+ industrial wash cycles with proper care
• Minimum order: 50 pieces per design
• Wikipedia: Screen printing (en.wikipedia.org)
• Industry association: FESPA — Federation of European Screen Printers Associations
• Ink standards: OEKO-TEX (tested for harmful substances)

Why ShirtStore?

• Volume discount on the garments from 3 pieces (3%) — automatic in the configurator, 25% from 100 pieces, up to 32% from 500 pieces; print and setup are excluded.
• Made in EU — screen print in our own works, no intermediaries.
• Production in 7–10 working days — followed by dispatch; times per technique and delivery option are on the delivery times page.
• Pantone fidelity on request — important for brand CI requirements.

What is screen printing?

Screen printing is a stencil-based printing method. For each print colour, a fine polyester mesh is coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, the motif is exposed via UV light and the unexposed areas are washed out. Special textile ink is then forced through the open areas of the mesh onto the textile using a rubber squeegee. With multi-colour motifs, the process repeats per colour — each colour needs its own screen. After printing, the shirt cures in a drying tunnel at around 160 °C and the ink bonds permanently with the fibre.

The decisive advantage: the colour layer is thicker than with any other print method, so the colours appear especially intense. Special colours such as neon, metallic or Pantone spot colours are possible. The method is mechanically robust and easily survives industrial washing. The downside: the screen preparation creates setup costs on every order that only amortise from a certain quantity per design.

When is screen printing worthwhile?

Screen printing is the most economical choice as soon as the quantity per design is large enough to spread the setup costs. We offer screen printing from 50 pieces; from there it is usually cheaper than digital print. At 200 pieces, print costs €1.16 net per piece and print position for 1 colour on white garments per our price matrix, from 1,000 pieces €0.72 net. The method is suitable for:

• Fabrics — cotton, blends (50/50, 65/35), coarse polyester with special inks. Functional fabrics are only suitable to a limited extent.
• Designs — simple logos, lettering, illustrations with 1-6 colours. Gradients and photo motifs are only possible with limitations (halftone raster) and are usually printed better in digital or DTF.
• Quantities — from 50 pieces, optimal from 200 pieces.
• Applications — event shirts, club jerseys, fan merchandise, merchandise collections, employee shirts in bulk runs.

If your order is below 50 pieces, we don't offer screen printing — then digital print or DTF print is the choice, usually also for motifs with more than six colours.

Benefits and limits of screen printing

Benefits:

• Brilliant colours — thick colour layer, very luminous results, also on dark textiles.
• High durability — over 50 industrial washes without visible wear.
• Lowest unit cost for large runs — €0.83 net per piece at 500 pieces and €0.72 net from 1,000 pieces (1 colour, per print position, per our price matrix).
• Pantone fidelity on request — important for brands with CI requirements.
• Special effects possible — neon, metallic, glitter, puff, soft-hand inks.

Limits:

• Setup per screen — €20 net per printed side and on every order, one screen per print colour; on coloured garments a white underbase is added as an extra screen, not on white or off-white.
• Maximum 6-8 colours economically — beyond that, digital or DTF is better.
• Photo motifs only with limits — halftone works but is never as photorealistic as DTG.
• Functional fabrics are tricky — pure polyester needs special inks; DTF is often the better choice.
• Minimum order — we offer screen printing from 50 pieces only.

Minimum order and prices

Minimum order for screen printing is 50 pieces per design; the motif size (up to 36 × 44 cm) does not change the price. Unit prices depend on the number of screens (print colours plus a white underbase where needed) and the quantity:

Setup: €20 per screen (net), per printed side and on every order, including reorders — one screen per print colour; on coloured garments a white underbase is added as an extra screen, not on white or off-white. The underbase counts like an additional print colour, in the unit price too.

Prices in € net per piece and print position, plus VAT. On coloured garments the white underbase counts as one more colour, so a single-colour logo on a black shirt is charged in the 2-colour column. The garment itself comes on top; the volume discount applies to the garment only, not to print or setup. For larger runs and special jobs please request a concrete quote via the enquiry form.

Examples from our production

A selection of typical orders from our workshop:

• Event shirts open-air festival — 380 t-shirts, 3-colour front motif, single-colour sleeve print. Fabric: 100 % cotton, Stanley/Stella.
• Fan merchandise top-flight club — 1,200 shirts, 4-colour front motif with Pantone specification, single-colour back print. Pantone match to the customer's specification.
• Wholesale staff shirts — 110 polos, single-colour chest logo. Embroidery would have been an alternative, but the customer wanted to keep the comic-style look of the logo — screen printing was ideal.

More use cases in the business clients and clubs sections.

How ShirtStore works

1. Choose your product — fabric, brand, cut in the configurator.
2. Choose size and quantity — volume discount on the garments from 3 pieces (3 % → 10 % → 15 % → 25 % → 30 % → 32 % at 3/20/50/100/200/500).
3. Upload your design — preferably vector (SVG, PDF, AI). See file requirements.
4. Print approval and production — we send a mock-up for approval and produce in 7-10 working days.

Screen print colour options — what's possible?

For Pantone-critical orders we offer pre-press samples; price on request.

Screen print fabric suitability

Configurator workflow — screen print order in 5 steps

1. Choose model and quantity. Screen print is available from 50 pieces, optimal from 200 pieces. Volume ladder applies to the garments only, not to print or setup: 3 % from 3 pcs, 25 % from 100 pcs, 32 % from 500 pcs.
2. Upload artwork. Vector SVG or vector PDF — screen print absolutely needs vector. Pixel files (PNG, JPG) only suitable for halftone simulation, not for sharp logos.
3. Specify colours. Standard plastisol (1–4 colours per side, more colours = more plate setup). Pantone-true colours possible (specify Pantone reference in order).
4. Choose position and size. Standard chest centre 18×18 cm, back sponsor strip 25×8 cm, or full back A3 (29.7×42 cm).
5. Approve preview. Digital mock-up before plate production. For Pantone-critical orders: pre-press sample (price on request).

Experience cases — three typical screen print orders

Case 1 — South German town festival, 380 Stedman ST2000 with three-colour sponsor back

Town-festival committee ordered 380 ST2000 in heather light grey for helpers and sponsor guests. Finishing: chest single-colour (festival logo) + back three-colour (8 sponsor logos in grid layout). Print costs at 380 pieces (net, excluding garments): on the coloured shirt the single-colour chest logo needs 2 screens (€1.10 per piece) and the three-colour back 4 screens (€1.54 per piece), plus €120 setup (6 screens × €20) — about €2.96 per shirt, €1,123.20 in total for print and setup. Sponsor layout and Pantone pre-press sample on request. Delivery 9 working days.

Case 2 — Munich university, 600 Gildan 64000 Softstyle in four colours

University student group ordered 600 Gildan 64000 in four colours (royal, bottle green, white, heather grey) for fresher welcome. Finishing: single-colour screen print (logo centred chest). Because three of the four colours are not white, the order runs with a white underbase: the single-colour logo is charged as 2-colour, i.e. €0.94 net print per shirt at 600 pieces (for all 600, including the white ones), plus €40 setup (2 screens at €20, net). The volume ladder (32 % from 500 pieces) applies to the shirts only, not to print or setup. Tranche delivery in two waves.

Case 3 — Niedersachsen handball club, 220 Heavy Cotton tees with sponsor back

Handball club ordered 220 Gildan 5000 in royal blue for jubilee tournament. Finishing: chest screen print (three-colour club logo) + back (five sponsor logos). On royal blue the three-colour chest logo needs 4 screens: €1.93 net per piece at 220 pieces plus €80 setup; the back is priced separately by its own number of screens.

What we do better than competitors

• Print data stored for follow-up orders — repeat runs start faster. Setup (€20 per screen, net) is charged on every order, including reorders.
• Sponsor-layout service — for town-festival and club orders we lay out the sponsor back on request; price on request.
• Water-based ink for organic cotton — soft, breathable feel without the typical plastisol cardboard effect. Important for premium organic brands.
• EU production with 7–12 working days
• Pantone match service with pre-press sample — for brand-critical Pantone colours we provide pre-press samples; price on request.

Ready for your screen print order?

Design now → · Request consultation →

ShirtStore is your specialist for screen printing on textiles in Germany and Europe. We print club jerseys, event shirts, staff shirts, promotional items and fan merchandise in classic screen print with plastisol, water-based or special inks such as neon and metallic. Our production sits in the EU, every order is approved via mock-up before printing and quality-checked after production. Volume discounts on the garments apply from 3 pieces (3 % → 10 % → 15 % → 25 % → 30 % → 32 % at 3/20/50/100/200/500), from 100 pieces we offer best conditions with an individual quote. Pantone spot colours are deployed on request, which is particularly important for brands with binding CI requirements. We print t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, polos, bags and workwear from top brands such as Stanley/Stella, Fruit of the Loom, B&C Collection and B&C Pro. Standard delivery times are 7-10 working days, express is available on request. Benefit from secure checkout, a workshop that communicates transparently with you and personal advice with a reply by email by the next business day (Monday to Friday) at the latest. ShirtStore.de — screen printing with craftsmanship precision.

Further Reading

• Screen printing — Wikipedia — history, technique and applications of the method
• FESPA — European federation for screen, digital and textile print with industry studies and standards
• OEKO-TEX Standard 100 — harmful-substance testing for inks and textiles