A customer occasionally brings us a stack of shirts and asks a question that sounds completely reasonable:
“Should I wash these before you print them?”
Usually, no.
If you are ordering new garments for custom printing, we generally want them new, clean and unwashed when they enter production.
But there is a second question hiding behind the first one:
What happens when the shirt is washed after it has been printed?
That is much more important.
At Satellite PrintLab in Austin, we work with DTF, DTG, embroidery and a wide range of apparel. The garment itself is part of the production process. Fabric composition, shrinkage, surface treatments and how the shirt is cared for afterward can all influence the finished product.
Here’s what we want customers to understand.
New Shirts Usually Should Not Be Prewashed
If you’re ordering new blanks through a print shop, don’t plan on washing them before decoration.
Commercial blank apparel arrives ready for production.
Prewashing hundreds of garments would add another uncontrolled process before printing. Shirts could shrink differently, pick up lint, become wrinkled or be exposed to detergents and fabric softeners.
We would rather start with a consistent new garment.
If you’re choosing blanks for a custom apparel project, our Satellite PrintLab apparel catalog lets you compare T-shirts, sweatshirts, polos, headwear and other garments before production.
Customer-Supplied Garments Are Different
Sometimes customers provide their own apparel.
That might be a specialty jacket, workwear, an unusual garment we don’t source or something the customer already owns.
In that situation, tell us what the garment is and whether it has already been worn or washed.
A used shirt can contain things you cannot easily see:
deodorant,
body oils,
detergent residue,
fabric softener,
stains,
or other surface contamination.
Those variables matter when we’re applying heat, ink or transfers.
We evaluate customer-supplied garments individually rather than treating them exactly like new blanks.
Why Shrinkage Matters After Printing
This is where garment selection becomes important.
Different textiles can shrink differently.
Even two 100% cotton shirts can behave differently depending on the yarn, fabric construction, dyeing process and how the manufacturer prepared the garment.
If the shirt changes substantially in the wash but the decorated area changes differently, the relationship between the garment and graphic can change too.
That doesn’t mean cotton is bad for custom printing.
Far from it. Cotton is one of the most common materials we print.
It means the quality and construction of the blank matter.
This is one reason we don’t choose garments based solely on whichever blank has the lowest price.
Preshrunk Does Not Mean Shrink Proof
You’ll see many shirts described as preshrunk.
Customers sometimes interpret that to mean the garment can never shrink again.
That’s not what we assume in production.
Preshrinking is intended to reduce dimensional change, but the way the owner washes and dries the garment still matters.
High heat is particularly worth paying attention to.
If preserving fit is important, follow the garment manufacturer’s care instructions rather than assuming every printed shirt should be washed and dried the same way.
What Happens to DTF in the Wash?
DTF printing uses a printed transfer that is heat applied to the garment.
When the transfer is properly produced and applied, DTF can create a durable, vibrant print on a wide range of apparel.
But after the shirt leaves our shop, laundering becomes part of the life of that print.
Our general advice is straightforward:
Turn the garment inside out.
Wash with cold or cool water when appropriate for the garment.
Use a normal mild detergent.
Avoid unnecessarily aggressive washing conditions.
And don’t repeatedly subject the decorated area to extreme dryer heat if you want to maximize its life.
The care instructions for the specific garment should still take priority where applicable.
Why Turn a Printed Shirt Inside Out?
This isn’t an arbitrary print-shop ritual.
Think about what happens inside a washing machine.
Garments rub against other garments.
Zippers, buttons and rough textiles can move against the printed surface.
Turning a decorated shirt inside out reduces some of that direct mechanical contact with the face of the graphic.
It takes five seconds and is one of the simplest habits for caring for printed apparel.
What About DTG?
With custom T-shirt printing using DTG, ink is printed directly onto the textile rather than applying a finished DTF transfer.
That creates a different print construction, but laundering still matters.
Proper pretreatment, printing and curing are part of producing a durable DTG print. Once the shirt is in the customer’s hands, sensible washing helps preserve both the garment and artwork.
We generally don’t recommend treating a custom-printed shirt like a shop rag just because the print was professionally produced.
A good print should be durable.
That doesn’t make it indestructible.
Don’t Iron Directly Over a Printed Graphic
This one is easy to avoid.
If your printed shirt needs ironing, don’t place a hot iron directly onto a DTF or other heat-sensitive graphic.
Turn the garment inside out or otherwise protect the decorated area according to its care requirements.
The same principle applies to excessive direct heat from other sources.
The print was manufactured using controlled production conditions. Randomly putting a household iron directly on top of it is not improving anything.
Embroidery Is Different, But Garment Care Still Matters
Custom embroidery isn’t a printed surface.
Thread is physically stitched through the garment.
That means you aren’t caring for an applied graphic in the same way you would with DTF.
But the garment underneath the embroidery still has care requirements.
A beautifully embroidered polo can still shrink if the garment is treated incorrectly.
A cap can lose its shape.
A specialty jacket may have very specific washing instructions.
We tell customers to think of the finished product as a garment first and decoration second when deciding how it should be cleaned.
If the manufacturer says a jacket should not go through a hot dryer, adding embroidery to it doesn’t change that instruction.
Fabric Softener Isn’t Necessary for the Print
Customers sometimes assume fabric softener will help keep a printed shirt soft.
We wouldn’t add anything to a wash routine specifically for the benefit of the print unless the garment or decoration manufacturer calls for it.
Use sensible laundering practices and follow the garment care label.
More chemicals are not automatically better care.
The Dryer Is Often Where People Get Aggressive
Washing receives most of the attention, but drying can be just as important.
High heat can affect garments themselves, especially textiles susceptible to shrinkage.
If you’re trying to preserve a favorite piece of branded merchandise, gentler drying is an easy choice.
That might mean using a lower dryer temperature or air drying, depending on the garment.
Your favorite printed shirt does not receive a prize for surviving the hottest dryer setting.
Should You Wash a New Custom Shirt Before Wearing It?
Once your completed order has been delivered, washing before first wear is largely a personal decision unless specific instructions accompany the garment.
The important distinction is this:
Before printing: We generally want new garments unwashed.
After printing: Follow the care recommendations for the garment and decoration.
If we’ve given you project-specific instructions, follow those.
Different specialty applications can have different requirements.
What If You’re Selling the Shirts?
If you’re producing merchandise for a restaurant, brewery, gym, band or clothing brand, care information is worth thinking about.
You don’t need a novel printed inside the shirt.
Simple care guidance can reduce avoidable damage and help customers get more life from the product.
More importantly, choose a good garment from the beginning.
A great print cannot compensate for a blank that doesn’t meet the expectations of the person buying it.
If you’re creating merchandise, spend some time in the Satellite PrintLab catalog comparing garment options rather than choosing solely by price.
Test Important Merchandise Programs
If you’re planning an ongoing apparel program or selling a significant quantity of merchandise, testing is useful.
Produce the garment.
Wear it.
Wash it.
Look at the fit.
Look at the print.
Ask whether you would be happy if you had purchased it.
Real-world testing tells you things a digital mockup cannot.
This becomes especially valuable when you’re choosing between multiple garments for a long-term merchandise program.
Good Apparel Starts Before the Washing Machine
Customers naturally focus on print durability.
We do too.
But durability isn’t created by one thing.
It is the result of the artwork, garment, production method, correct application or curing, quality control and how the finished piece is treated afterward.
At Satellite PrintLab, we produce custom apparel in Austin using multiple decoration methods because different garments and projects call for different solutions.
We don’t expect customers to become textile experts before ordering shirts.
That’s our job.
If you’re trying to choose between garments or aren’t sure whether DTF, DTG or embroidery makes sense for what you’re producing, tell us what the finished apparel needs to do.
We’ll help you build the project around that.
Request a custom apparel quote from Satellite PrintLab and send us the artwork, quantity, garment information and deadline.