Direct to garment, straight from Bryson’s brain and onto custom shirts

Alabama artist Bryson Thurston was kicked out of his high school art class. Now he’s a self-made, full-time artist, known for his bright, poppy colors, whimsical characters, and uplifting spiritual themes. Bryson has been using Blankstyle.com for a little over a year now, printing his colorful illustrations onto equally colorful hoodies and sweatshirts with direct to garment (DTG) printing.

Artist Bryson Thurston surrounded on a river bank by his whimsical art

“I love seeing people wearing my designs and the reactions they get! 

I use my custom printed shirts to promote my art and people just love wearing it! It makes people so happy!”

What is direct to garment shirt printing vs screen printing?

You probably already know the basic idea behind screen printing. Simply put, a design is added to a garment in layers using a separate screen for each color in the design. But, when producing designs with many colors, more layers/screens are needed. When more screens are needed, the production cost increases.

In contrast, DTG works much like your at-home printer, printing the complete design in one pass. Because of this one-step process, DTG t shirt printing can be more cost-effective for our customers like Bryson who want to create apparel with very colorful designs.

Artist Bryson Thurston wearing his art as Direct to Garment print on Cotton Heritage MC1082 Vintage White T Shirt
Artist Bryson Thurston wearing his art as Direct to Garment print on Champion T137 Raglan Baseball Tee

(Bryson is wearing Cotton Heritage MC1082 and Champion T137 above.)

We’re all here for a short time yet we can plant so many seeds in our lifetime.

I use my art to plant seeds of joy, love, healing, and hope, among many others! Those seeds have the potential to grow into something far more beautiful than we ever imagined!

Bryson’s favorites for custom printed sweatshirts?

“I really like the brands Cotton Heritage and Independent Trading Co. They’re both of superb quality and worth every penny.”

Bryson used direct to garment printing on the Cotton Heritage U2690 hoodie and the Independent Trading Co PRM3500 crewneck sweatshirt, both shown here.

Artist Bryson Thurston wearing his art as Direct to Garment print on Cotton Heritage U2690 Sponge Fleece Hoodie
Man on bike wearing beanie and Bryson Thurston art as Direct to Garment print on Independent Trading Co PRM3500 Crew Neck Sweatshirt

Is direct to garment printing right for you?

DTG printing is great for large designs with many colors and is great for printing photographic images onto apparel. However, it’s not without its limitations. Most importantly, DTG must be used with 100% cotton or 100% cotton-faced fabric. Because the ink used is water-based, it cannot adhere to unnatural fibers like polyester.

Which is better, DTG or screen printing?

Learn more about the pros and cons of both printing options HERE. Still have questions? Reach us via chat or by calling 866-792-5265. Our team is available to answer any of your custom printing questions!

Show Bryson some love!

Custom Logo Face Masks by Blankstyle

“Wallet, keys, phone…facemask”

This is the new morning mantra before leaving the house. Now that we find ourselves in this new normal, where face masks are an everyday essential wear, we should also have the option to design our own custom logo face masks right? Customized face masks are great for small businesses, apparel companies, and grocery stores. We have even helped supply custom face masks to US Treasury Banks. Making your own custom printed face mask could not be any easier when you shop at Blankstyle.com

Your Logo, Your Customized Face Mask

Have a logo already? Awesome! Simply visit Blankstyle Face Masks to view your mask options. You may add your choice of face mask to the shopping cart and select Add Decoration. From there you will be able to upload your own graphic for your face mask. Blankstyle’s art department will generate a digital mock-up for your custom logo face mask and we will not print until you are 100% satisfied with your digital mock up. This way we know that you will be 100% satisfied with your custom face masks. Check out some of these custom face masks we have recently done!

Wholesale Custom Face Masks – Which Do I Choose?

With so many mask options, you might be unsure of which mask to use for your custom printed face mask. At Blankstyle we’re happy to throw you a bone! You might consider this face mask fan favorite ST2020 Face Mask. We have seen a great number of our customers use this mask style time and time again as their go-to for wholesale custom face masks. The ST2020 Face Mask is a 100% cotton 2-ply cloth face mask, which is the perfect selection for those looking to customize face masks themselves. However, Blankstyle is always happy to do the printing for you!

American Apparel Bankruptcy–What We Know

American Apparel Bankruptcy

Courtesy of American Apparel

UPDATE 4/21/2017

Limited stock for select styles is now available for drop ship from the American Apparel warehouse! Drop shipped items will take 24-48 hours to process prior to shipping. Items included in the new stock wave are the infamous kids raglan tee BB253, the 8369 Sleeveless Crop Top and the women’s tri-blend TR301.

The American Apparel wholesale website is back up and revamped, giving anxious buyers a sneak peek into what the future holds for the collection. Ordering is disabled for now but some popular items host a “Coming in May” title.

The popular 2001, BB401, F497, TR401 and BB453 all made the cut! And with new stock available, you’ll want to order ASAP.

Categories for US Made, Unisex, Kids, etc. show a scaled-back version of the line, featuring only the top heavy hitters that customers know and love.

UPDATE 2/27/2017

In a conference call on Feb. 23rd, Chief Executive Officer Glenn Chamandy announced that the American Apparel brand will begin production soon using a mix of contracted US producers and Gildan’s own manufacturing plants outside the country.

The new owners plan to continue producing some key wholesale styles in the US, while other items offered in the line will be produced at their facilities in the Caribbean and Central America. Distribution will be handled via Gildan’s vast network of warehouses.

Chamandy, the head of the company, is optimistic about the future of American Apparel, and looks forward to expanding the brand into new international markets. “We have huge interest from all of our international customers to carry this brand,” he said. “We’re going to continue to support our core Made in the USA business, but we’re also going to offer product where they couldn’t compete before.”

In a statement released on the brand’s wholesale website, Gildan elaborates:

“Gildan and American Apparel share a vision that owning the factories and building responsible practices and sustainable solutions into the manufacturing process is the way to do it right.”

“We anticipate [the transition] to be completed late February.”

1/26/2017

If you haven’t noticed, the American Apparel Bankruptcy has put production on a temporary hiatus. The iconic brand has filed for bankruptcy and is in the process of being bought out by another company. Manufacturing of all items has been suspended for now and with no ETA on when production will pick up, there’s still a lot of questions left unanswered. But here’s the good news–American Apparel will still be around for all your screen printing needs going forward, and stock is still available for the time being.

The popular US-Made brand sold the company in January after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in November 2016. With over $177M in debt, the company was unable to turn things around after persisting legal battles and another bankruptcy back in October 2015. The sale brought retail giants Amazon and Forever 21 to the table, and in the end a bid for $88M was accepted from Canadian-based Gildan Activewear.

American Apparel Bankruptcy

Courtesy of the Center for Latin American Studies

Gildan, another big name in the wholesale market, has indicated they will assume some of the current manufacturing operations. The company recently acquired Alstyle apparel and has since kept the brand’s manufacturing in Los Angeles. More specific plans are set to be released during a conference call on Feb. 23rd. They expressed no interest in purchasing the company’s retail stores, and with no other buyers on the horizon, doors are closing for good at brick-and-mortar locations across the globe.

With industry experience spanning spanning 30+ years, Gildan is expected to fully pivot the brand towards the wholesale market and dedicate it’s resources to serving that consumer base. It’s unsure how much of the current line will remain after the American Apparel Bankruptcy, but if you’re a wholesale buyer or screen printer who’s had trouble buying American Apparel in the past, things just might get a little easier.

American Apparel Bankruptcy

Courtesy of Teen Vogue

Warehouse closures for both retail and wholesale products have already begun in Southern California–including massive layoffs at the famous American Apparel factory in Downtown Los Angeles. Because of this, stock levels represented on your distributor’s website may not be 100% accurate or up-to-date. Only one thing’s for sure–if you need popular shirts like the 2001, BB401 or BB453–be sure to stock up now while you can!

Stay Tuned for more Updates on the American Apparel Bankruptcy!

 

See More from Chelsey on Google+

 

Sources

Gildan will Continue Manufacturing some American Apparel Lines in the US

American Apparel Wholesale

Forbes: American Apparel Agrees To Gildan Activewear Acquisition

Fortune: Bankrupt Retailer American Apparel Begins Laying Off Thousands of Workers

Gildan: Company Overview

Blank T Shirt Templates 6 Must-Haves

Blank T Shirt Templates must have vector packs!

2001 imageso, you’ve got your t-shirts ready to sell on your website but you’re missing one important thing–the product shots and mock-ups. Stop right there! Well rounded images are the number one way to sell your products online because shoppers really depend on the pictures. Cutting corners will only hurt you. Using Blank T Shirt Templates to create free mock-ups of your designs is the first step to start selling your products!

Maybe you’re waiting on the printed shirts to arrive. Maybe your screen printer drop ships to all your customers and you never actually have any tees on hand. Either way, using a t-shirt template is a great way to get a head start on selling. Simply place your vectored design onto the template and edit the t-shirt to match your colors! You can even add a custom background!

Once you’ve designed your mock-ups, put them together in a look book or line sheet to showcase your tees to potential wholesale buyers. Or post them to your website and start pulling in those orders—all before you print your first run!

Vector Blank T Shirt Templates

Blank T Shirt Templates

Spec’d Illustrator Template Pack

[download id=”1037″]

Spec Pack Details:

-Includes a free AI file for 1) classic men’s crewneck tee spec’d to the American Apparel 2001 2) classic women’s crewneck tee spec’d to the Next Level 3300L and 3) classic youth crewneck tee spec’d to the Gildan G500B 4) blank polo template spec’d to the Ogio OG122

-Edit file in Illustrator or save as a PDF to edit in other programs

-Change the t-shirt color & layer your designs onto the file

-Ideal for look books, line sheets & catalogs

-Offers a technical view of your product

-Must Have Adobe Illustrator

Realistic Blank T Shirt Templates

Blank T Shirt Templates Anvil 779

Realistic PNG Pack

[download id=”1040″]

PNG Pack Details:

-Includes free font & back PNG images for 1) classic men’s crewneck tee Anvil 779 2) classic women’s crewneck tee BELLA+CANVAS 6004

-Edit file in various programs

-Change t-shirt color, layer your designs & add a background

-Ideal for product images, promotional material, look books, line sheets & catalogs

-Offers a more realistic depiction without measurements

Design Tool

Create your own Blank T Shirt Templates in the Design Tool Next Level 3900

For those of you looking for a screen print price quote but want to see the mock up first, visit our Design Tool! There we’ve got dozens of styles and designs to choose from and you can even upload your own artwork to get a realistic view of how your designs will look. Spend some time toying around with your ideas, then get your price quote when you’re ready. You can even get a 10% discount for checking out through the design tool!

 

Stay tuned for our next blog–Free Blank Hoodie Templates for Starting Your Clothing Line!

Chelsey on Google+