T-shirt printing in Singapore is so popular. Almost every class in every school in Singapore has a class t-shirt to call their own. Almost every company has a cool tee for its staff. And even events have a special and unique t-shirt to represent them! But many people get stuck when they need to print their t-shirts. They don’t know the different methods of printing, the costs, the printing suppliers to trust and where to design their t-shirts. Sometimes they make mistakes that can be avoided with a bit of care. So we are here with 19 awesome tips for anybody looking to design and print their tees. Here goes!
1. Avoid physical printing shops
Yes. People here still like visiting printing shops in places like Queensway Shopping Centre. Physical shops pay rent, utility bills, staff costs, and many other things that drive up the price you’ll pay for your tees. Avoid them at all costs if you want low prices and high quality!
2. Design your t-shirts with minimal colours for large quantities.
Designing with minimal colours ensures you can use a high-quality method of printing, Silk Screen Printing, for large quantities(Above 20) at low prices.
3. Design your Tees using free t-shirt designing web applications
No idea how to use Adobe Photoshop? Don’t worry! You can use t-shirt designing tools such as The Noteway’s online t-shirt design lab to design your own t-shirt for free!
4. Look out for spelling and grammatical errors in your design.
It’s so embarrassing when this happens, but we have all seen errors on printed items (Road Signs, Bumper stickers, etc!) that should never have happened. So double check and triple check before you send your designs for print.
5. Have a professional designer to design your tee.
We know what you are thinking. Professional t-shirt designing is expensive. But that’s not really true! T-shirt printers such as The Noteway, offer their professional designing services of $99 value for free when you print more than 25 tees with them. 
6. Choose your t-shirt material wisely.
There are mainly 2 materials: Cotton and Dri-fit. Dri-fit tees allow sweat to evaporate quickly and keeps you cooler in sunny Singapore. 
7. Know the 5 different t-shirt printing methods.
There are mainly 5 types of methods for t-shirt printing: Silk Screen Printing, Heat Transfer Printing, Dye Sublimation Printing, DTG Printing and Embroidery. Each printing method has its own benefits and pitfalls.
8. Choose a suitable printing method for your design and material.
Yes, it’s hard to choose if you don’t know the limitations and pitfalls of the different printing methods. So our next few tips will break down the key info you need to know!
9. Dye Sublimation Printing can only be done on white Dri-fit t-shirts.
But the positive? You can print colourful designs on your t-shirt with dye sublimation printing at no extra cost.
10. DTG Printing can only be done on cotton materials.
Unfortunately, DTG Printing can be nearly twice as expensive on black or darker cotton as compared to white cotton tees. But colourful photos can be printed with DTG printing and its economical for small quantities!
11. Heat Transfer Printing is also good if you have colourful designs.
Heat transfer printing is very economical and does not cost extra for colourful designs. But you will have your design on a thin vinyl sticker layer on your tee.
12. Embroidery and Round Neck Tees don’t go well together.
Only consider embroidery if you are getting polo tees and if you would like to create a more professional look. We doubt students would want that!
13. Silk Screen Printing is the most popular!
Silk Screen Printing is the most popular as it’s long lasting and economical in large quantities, especially if your design is just 1 colour!
14. You can consider personalising your class tee too.
If you and your team members want your tees more personalised, you can customise them with your names and even numbers. Costs a bit more, but often worth it! 
15. Don’t assume high price means higher quality.
The most expensive t-shirt printers aren’t necessarily the best. All professional silk screening is done in about the same way, so why help your printer pay rent on his building when there are capable, professional online printers who offer the same products at a better price? If you have a printer and a lot of toners, selling some of them to Sell Toner can also add to your business revenue.
16. And don’t easily trust too cheap pricing either.
Especially if you are getting cotton tees, cheap pricing may mean cheap quality cotton. And cheap quality cotton tears easily. You don’t want your t-shirt tearing a few weeks after you buy them. So be careful who you print with.
17. Look out for transparent pricing.
Few printing companies in Singapore offer transparent pricing. Most require you to email them and wait for a price quote. And pricing is not clearly explained too. Worst of all, sometimes it even comes to the point where different customers get quoted differently for similar designs. Doesn’t all that unnecessary waiting and lack of transparency frustrate you?
If it does, check out what I found to be one of the most transparent online printers in Singapore, The Noteway. They offer instantaneous price quotes for your tees on their sites here. It literally took me less than 1 minute to know the price of my t-shirt printing. And it was cheap!
18. Check the reputation of the printer you choose
Use external customer reviews to see if a printing supplier is a reliable one. Turn to transparent sources like FB to do this!
19. And don’t commit your money before you receive your products
We all have heard stories of people paying for goods, and the goods turning up defective. Or worse. Not turning up at all. So better be safe than sorry!
We hope you enjoyed our 19 tips for t-shirt printing. Thank you for reading and happy printing!
