With the Heart Tee, we press each heart onto the fabric individually. The edges don't land quite the same way every time, and the ink settles a little differently from one impression to the next. Those small differences are part of the shirt you end up holding.
Other drawings in the shop are screen printed in our San Francisco studio. Both are hands-on ways of putting an image onto a tee, but the tools work differently. If you've been looking at the designs and wondering what “block printed” or “screen printed” means for the finished shirt, this is where the distinction begins.
A heart, one impression at a time
The Heart Tee is block printed by hand. Each heart is pressed separately, so the individual marks don't become identical just because they share a shape.
Look closely at the printed lines in a photograph and you'll get a sense of that character. The overall design is there, along with the particular way an impression has taken. Another tee will have its own small differences in those edges and areas of ink.
It's a detail we enjoy about this way of making. You can recognize the heart immediately and still find something to look at when you get closer.
Drawing through a screen
For the Strawberry Tee, we use a screen to apply the design. Ink passes through the screen's image area onto the fabric, rather than arriving from a separately pressed block.
That describes the process; the particular ink, fabric and finishing still belong to each design. When you compare shirts, look at the actual print and the making details together. “Screen printed” by itself doesn't mean every tee will have the same feel or care instructions.
You might prefer the large strawberry, or the way the smaller heart impressions vary. It's fine for the choice to begin with what you want to look at and wear.
The color underneath is part of the drawing
Our San Francisco Tee puts a lineup of city landmarks onto undyed cotton with water-based ink. The warm base color stays visible around the design, and it becomes part of how the blue looks on the shirt.
“Undyed” refers to that base fabric. A print still adds color. It's a small distinction, but a helpful one if you're trying to understand the materials or choose a tee that goes with clothes already in the drawer.
For a gift, the making detail can be a nice thing to pass along: these hearts were individually pressed, or this drawing was screen printed in the studio. It gives someone a particular thing to notice when they open it.
Keep the garment's care information too. Printing is one part of the finished shirt, along with the fabric and finishing, so we'd use its own label rather than one washing rule for every printed tee. Our organic cotton graphic tee guide brings fit and materials into the choice as well. There's quite a bit going on in a simple shirt, once you start looking.
Leave a comment