Garment printing services in Bangladesh

Much garment printing in Bangladesh is done on cut panels before sewing, in a factory's own print floor or a specialist print unit nearby: panels go out flat, are printed and cured, and return to the line. Garment printing services in Bangladesh therefore follow the garment. The method is chosen by fibre, ground colour, number of colours and run length, and it is settled before cutting, not after sewing.

Factories on the bench quote the print with the garment, so the print is part of the unit price rather than a separate bill. The print is checked against your approved strike off at the inline and final inspections, and photographed at each. The printed t-shirt page goes deep on one garment; this page is the reference for any printed garment.

Kinds of garment printing

Plastisol screen print

PVC based ink that sits on the fabric surface. Opaque and bright on dark grounds, heavier on the hand. Suits cotton and blends in runs where each colour's screen pays for itself.

Water based and discharge print

Water based ink soaks into the fibre for a soft hand on light grounds. Discharge removes the dye from a dark cotton ground and replaces it with colour. Both need high cotton fabric.

Heat transfer

Printed film or vinyl pressed on with heat. Suits names, numbers, small runs, many colours and synthetics that resist screen ink. Edges lift if pressing is uneven.

Sublimation

Dye turned to gas and bonded into polyester, for all over prints with no hand feel and no limit on colours. Works only on white or light polyester or high polyester blends.

Direct to garment

Inkjet printing straight onto a sewn garment, usually cotton, with a pretreatment for dark grounds. No screens, so it suits short runs and photographic art, but it is slow per piece.

Puff and specialty inks

Puff ink rises when cured for a raised effect; high density, foil, glitter and reflective inks add texture or shine. Each needs its own strike off and wash test.

What to send for a garment print

Artwork files

Vector files such as EPS, SVG or PDF for screen and transfer; high resolution images, usually 300 dpi at print size, for DTG and sublimation.

Colours and separations

Number of colours, with a colour reference for each. Screen print needs one screen per colour, so separations decide the set up cost.

Print size and placement

Width and height in centimetres for each garment size, and the position measured from a fixed point such as the high point of the shoulder.

Ground colour and fibre

The garment colour and fibre under the print, which decide the method, the ink and whether an underbase is needed.

Hand feel and finish

Soft, matt, gloss, raised or distressed, with a reference if possible, so the strike off is judged against intent.

Durability target

How many washes the print must survive and at what temperature, so the ink and the curing are chosen to match.

Tests for garment printing services in Bangladesh

ISO 105-X12 or AATCC 8

Crocking of the printed area, tested dry and then wet. Pigment and plastisol prints on dark grounds are where it usually fails.

ISO 105-C06 or AATCC 61

Colour fastness to washing, including staining from the print onto white areas of the same garment.

ISO 6330 wash cycles

Repeated home washing by ISO 6330 procedures, after which the print is checked for cracking, peeling and fading against the agreed number of washes.

US CPSIA

For children's products, lead in paint or surface coatings at most 90 ppm, which takes in prints, tested at a CPSC accepted laboratory.

EU REACH Annex XVII

Limits that reach inks: azo dyes releasing listed amines above 30 mg/kg, and the CMR substances of entry 72. Ask the print unit for ink declarations.

What moves the price of a garment print

• Number of colours, since each screen print colour needs its own screen and set up.
• Print size and the number of placements per garment: chest, back, sleeve and neck each count.
• Method: sublimation and DTG need no screens, but their cost per piece stays flat as runs grow.
• Specialty inks such as puff, foil, high density and reflective.
• Run length per design, because short runs spread the set up over fewer pieces.

Lead time for garment printing

Printing adds two steps to a garment timetable. A strike off on the real fabric usually takes three to five working days and must be approved before bulk printing starts. Bulk printing of cut panels then sits between cutting and sewing and usually adds several days, more for multi colour or specialty inks. With final artwork, samples keep to the usual 7 to 14 days; late artwork changes restart the strike off.

What we check in garment printing

• Placement tolerancePrint position and size are measured on each size, usually to within 0.5 to 1 cm of the spec.
• Adhesion after washPrinted pieces are washed and checked for cracking, peeling and lifting edges before the lot is passed.
• Rub check on dark printsA white cloth rub on dark and bright prints flags ink that will mark skin or other garments.
• Register and colourMulti colour prints are checked for alignment between colours, and for colour against the approved strike off.

Questions buyers ask about garment printing