Screen printing for large runs of flat colour.
Screen printing runs through vetted partner units, managed by our QA team. The specification, the strike-off approval and the inspection standard stay with Zorixo, and you deal with one accountable supplier.
Partner managed, not outsourced and forgotten
Say this plainly first, because it matters to how you plan a drop. Screen printing is the one decoration method we do not run on our own floor. It goes to vetted partner units in Tirupur, managed by our QA team.
That is still a controlled route, for three reasons. The specification is locked before anything runs: ink system, colour standard, placement, mesh and cure temperature are written into the work order, not left to the unit to decide. The quality control is the same as ours: we approve a strike-off on your bulk fabric, then inspect the finished garments to AQL 2.5 like every other line we ship. And there is one accountable partner: you raise a problem with us, we carry it, we re-run it. There is no second invoice and no second contact.
How we inspect →// At a glance
What screen printing actually is
One screen per colour
Artwork is separated into flat colours. Each colour gets its own mesh stencil, and each stencil is pulled across the garment in sequence. Colour count, not artwork size, drives the setup work.
Thick ink deposit
Ink sits on the surface in a controlled film. That is what gives screen its opacity: a bright graphic on a black hoodie stays bright, where a thin print would go grey.
Cured, not air dried
The ink film has to reach and hold its cure temperature. Undercuring is the most common cause of cracking, so cure is a checked parameter, not an assumption.
Ink systems
Plastisol for opacity and edge definition. Water-based and discharge for a softer hand. Puff and high-density variants for raised effects.
Halftones and gradients
Continuous tone is faked with dot patterns. A photograph can be screen printed, but it costs colours and never matches a direct print. For photographic artwork, DTG is the better answer.
Strike-off first
We print your artwork on the actual bulk fabric before the run starts. The same ink reads differently on jersey, terry and fleece, so approving on paper is not approval.
When to choose it
Screen printing wins on three conditions together: a decent quantity, a low colour count and a flat graphic. Hit all three and nothing else comes close on cost per piece or on the look. A bold two colour chest print across several hundred tees is the textbook case.
It loses when any one of those conditions breaks. A six colour photographic graphic on 60 pieces means six setups spread over almost nothing, and the result still will not look like a photograph. In those cases DTF or DTG lands cheaper and looks better.
- Choose screen for volume runs where the same graphic repeats across a size curve.
- Choose screen for maximum opacity on dark grounds.
- Choose screen for puff and high-density effects on hoodies and sweatshirts.
- Choose screen for a soft discharge print on 100% cotton, where the ink replaces the dye.
- Do not choose screen for photographic artwork or per-piece personalisation.
// Fabrics it suits
What you need to supply, and what you get back
Durability
A correctly cured screen print is one of the most durable decorations available, holding colour through repeated domestic washing. Two things shorten its life. An undercured film cracks early, which is why cure is a controlled parameter in the work order. And an over-deposited ink film on a stretchy fabric will split, which is why we keep heavy deposits off stretch panels and off the fold line at cuffs and hems. Cool wash and no hot tumble drying goes onto your care labelling.
Artwork requirements
Send vector artwork with the colours already separated into flat shapes, text converted to outlines, and a spot colour reference for each shade. If you only have raster art, it needs to be high resolution at the intended print size with clean edges, and it will need re-drawing.
Keep the colour count honest, because every added colour is another screen and another registration point. Very thin reversed-out detail is the first thing to close up on a textured fabric.
Minimums
From 50 pieces per style per colour, with sizes splitting freely inside a colourway. That is the factory minimum rather than the efficient minimum. At 50 pieces the setup has few units to sit across, and DTF or DTG usually comes out lower. We will say so rather than sell you screens you do not need.
How cost behaves
Cost splits in two. A fixed part is paid once per colour per placement, covering separation, screen preparation and press setup. A variable part is paid per garment for the ink and the pull. The fixed part does not change with quantity, so the cost per piece falls steeply as the run grows and then flattens out.
Practically: adding quantity makes each piece cheaper. Adding colours or a second placement adds a whole new fixed block. If you need to cut decoration cost, cut colours before you cut quantity.
We quote decoration inside your unit cost once we know the artwork, the placements and the quantity. Nothing on this page is a price.
Screen printing: common questions
Because Tirupur already has deep, specialised screen printing capacity, and a thin in-house line would give you a worse print. We use vetted partner units managed by our QA team instead. We lock the spec, approve the strike-off, inspect to AQL 2.5 and carry the accountability. You never contact the partner unit.
Three controls. A written specification covering ink system, colour standard, placement and cure. An approved strike-off on your bulk fabric. And final inspection by our own QC team to AQL 2.5 under our ISO 9001 quality management system, with reports on request.
Enough for almost any brand graphic. The real limit is commercial rather than technical: each colour adds a screen, a setup and a registration risk, so past a handful of colours a direct print method usually costs less and looks better.
Not if it is cured properly and the deposit suits the fabric. Cracking comes from undercuring, too thick a film, or rigid ink across a panel that stretches. We control all three.
Yes, with blocker inks that stop the garment dye migrating into the print. It is workable but fussy. For polyester, DTF is cleaner, and for all-over graphics sublimation is better again.
From 50 pieces per style per colour, sizes split freely. Bulk lead time runs 25 to 55 days depending on the product and the decoration load. See how low MOQ production works.
Send the artwork and the quantity.
We will tell you whether screen printing is the right call, or whether another method costs you less for the same result.