Printing, embroidery and finishing on clothing made in Bangladesh
The decoration you choose changes the price, the lead time and how the garment lasts. Each guide explains how the method works, what artwork it needs, what drives its cost and where it fails.
Screen printing
Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen, one screen per colour. It is the most durable and cost-effective method for bold designs with a limited number of colours at volume. Water-based and discharge inks feel softest; plastisol is the most opaque. Cost is driven by colour count, not print size.
Embroidery
Embroidery stitches your design into the fabric, so it reads as premium and lasts as long as the garment. Cost is driven by stitch count, not physical size, and by how many positions you decorate. Fine detail and small text are its limits: below about 5mm, letters close up.
Digital printing
Digital printing puts full-colour artwork on a garment without screens. DTG prints directly into cotton and suits photographic designs and small runs; DTF prints onto film and transfers with heat, which works on blends and synthetics. Neither beats screen printing on cost at high volume.
Sublimation
Sublimation turns dye into gas that bonds into polyester fibres, so the print becomes part of the fabric with no hand-feel and no cracking. It only works on polyester and only on light bases, and designs are printed onto panels before the garment is sewn, which makes alignment the critical skill.
Garment dyeing and washing
Garment dyeing and washing happen after the garment is sewn, which gives the lived-in look and soft hand-feel buyers associate with premium basics and denim. The trade-off is shrinkage and shade variation, so patterns are compensated and garments are packed by shade batch.
Which method suits which job.
The quickest way to choose is to look at what drives the cost. Screen printing is priced by colour, embroidery by stitch count, digital printing by area and sublimation by coverage.
| Method | Best for | What drives the cost |
|---|---|---|
| Screen printing | Bold designs, limited colours, medium to large runs | Number of colours and print positions, not print size |
| Embroidery | Logos on polos, caps, workwear and outerwear | Stitch count and number of positions |
| Digital printing | Full-colour artwork on 100% cotton | Blends, polyester and performance fabrics |
| Sublimation | Polyester or high-polyester blends only | White or very light fabric |
| Garment dyeing and washing | Depth of colour and soft hand-feel on finished garments | Softening and worn-in appearance |
Every method is approved on a sample made from your bulk fabric before production starts, because a print or a stitch behaves differently on every substrate.
What to send with your artwork
Whatever method you choose, the same four things prevent most delays: vector artwork with fonts outlined, colour references as Pantone solid coated, the finished size in centimetres, and the placement measured from the high point of the shoulder. Tell us the garment colour too, since that decides whether a white underbase is needed and how the design will read.
Our free tech pack template has a branding section that captures all of it, and the tech pack guide explains what each field means.
How decoration is approved
Decoration development runs alongside sampling. Artwork is separated or digitised, a strike-off or sew-out is produced on the actual bulk fabric, and you approve it before bulk production begins. That approved piece becomes the standard every later inspection is judged against, and it is wash-tested so durability is proven rather than promised.
Choosing a decoration method.
Which decoration method should I choose for my design?
Start from the artwork, not from the method. A bold design with one to four flat colours, ordered in thousands, belongs in screen printing: it is the cheapest per piece and the most durable. A logo on a polo, cap or jacket where the garment should read as premium belongs in embroidery, provided there is no text below about 5mm. A photographic or many-coloured design, or a short run, suits digital printing, since there are no screen charges. An all-over pattern on a polyester sportswear piece belongs in sublimation, which is printed onto the panels before the garment is sewn. A worn-in look or a deep, soft colour comes from garment dyeing and washing rather than from decoration at all. Send us the artwork, the fabric and the quantity and we will tell you which method suits and what each would cost.
Can you combine more than one decoration method on the same garment?
Yes, and it is common: an embroidered chest logo with a screen-printed back graphic, a printed body with a woven label, or a garment-dyed piece with a discharge print applied afterwards. The thing to plan is sequence, because each process has its own constraints. Garment dyeing and washing happen after sewing, so decoration applied before them must survive the process, and often it is better to dye first and decorate after. Sublimation happens before the garment is assembled, so anything added later is a separate operation. Heat-applied transfers cannot be pressed over a raised embroidery. We set the sequence at the sampling stage and prove it on a pre-production sample, so the interaction between processes is tested on a real garment rather than assumed.
Tell us what you want to make.
Send a tech pack, a sketch or a photo of a garment you like. We reply within one working day with questions or a first costing.
- One merchandiser responsible for your order
- Certificates and audit reports shared before production
- AQL final inspection report before you approve shipment
- NDA signed on request before you share designs