Screenprinting

Screen printing is most commonly used for t-shirts, garments and other fabrics, but it is also used on all sorts of other substrates ranging from plastic to metal. Although small and intricate details can be captured, this technique is ideally suited for bold and graphic designs.

When a design is going to be printed on darker items, a base print may be required to ensure that the colors maintain their vivacity. A base color (usually white) is applied wherever the final print is desired; it is then flash-cured and the subsequent colors are printed on top. This flash-curing technique adds another step to the process, but ensures strong prints on dark or even black materials. If more colors are desired in the final design, the process is repeated with different screens. A design that requires four different colors would, therefore, require four different screens. There are some tricks to make new shades and/or colors from halftone percentages. For more information on this, see ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on page 14.

Heritage uses phthalate compliant plastisol inks to achieve vibrant colors and accurate Pantones.

Artwork Requirements:

Spot Color and Simple Halftoned Art

  • We accept the following vector based formats: Adobe Illustrator (up to CS6), Corel Draw (up to X4), vector EPS, or vector PDF.
  • Convert all text to outlines/curves. For more information on this, see ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on  page 15.
  • Convert all colors to spot colors with Heritage Color Chart colors or Pantone colors indicated in the file.
  • Keep stroked paths to a minimum of 1 point. Anything less is not guaranteed to print clearly.
  • Make sure the art you submit is sized correctly to the desired printing size.

4 Color Process*

  • We accept the following vector based formats: Adobe Illustrator (up to CS6), Corel Draw (up to X4), vector EPS, or vector PDF. We can also work with Adobe Photoshop files and .JPGs that are at least 200 pixels per inch (ppi). However, we recommend 300 ppi for maximum print quality.
  • Make sure the art you submit is sized correctly to the desired printing size.

*Please note that this method of printing only works accurately with white garments.

Simulated Process*

  • We accept the following vector based formats: Adobe Illustrator (up to CS6), Corel Draw (up to X4), vector EPS, or vector PDF. We can also work with layered Adobe Photoshop files (200-300 ppi) with a transparent background.
  • If you art submitting a .PSD file, please have all of your colors separated into channels with Heritage Color Chart colors or Pantone colors indicated. Alternately, you can submit each color separation as individual .TIFs (600 ppi). Include both an underbase and highlight white for best printing results.
  • Make sure the art you submit is sized correctly to the desired printing size.

*This method of printing is best suited for complex photorealistic designs meant for colored and dark goods. If you cannot provide color separations with the requirements above, we can separate the colors to the best of our ability for additional fees. 

If any of the above requirements are not met and you are unable to make the necessary adjustments, heritage will be happy to adjust your files for our art charge fee of $55.00 per hour, 1/2 hour minimum. 

We Accept Files:

  • Via flash drive, DVD/CD, e-mail, Dropbox folder sharing, or through our online system at www.hsp1.com.