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I’m sure there must be an appropriate term for this. It’s a T-Shirt with an embedded subtle flower print. http://imgur.com/a/UGqvV
Any one the best term or descriptive phrase to put in my tile.
Thanks.
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Having been in the screen printing business for over 30 years.. the best way to get an over all print on t-shirts and even large bolts-rolls of fabric that you buy at fabric stores is done by Sublimation Dye Transfer or also called heat transfer. Material is Sub. Heat Transferred at the mill in large rolls then broken down into bolts and sold to fabric shops. Thus we have the phrase woven printed fabrics.
On pre-made goods such as shirts and even ceramics [plates, mugs and cups] depending on the chemical composition of the actual dye and substrate printed on [also a “mirror” [backwards image], the transfer is done by using a heat press and pressing the material in between two heated “platens” [rubber coated] plates.
At the mill the mirror image is using printed by large web presses [just like large newspaper printing presses]. Then that material is, at high speed, unrolled out onto various fabrics and then the two pieces are run through heated, pressure rollers pressing the sub. dye top sheet against the lower layer ofg fabric, then as they come out of the press-transfer roller the paper image is rolled up on a “take-up” roll and the fabric, peeled away and rolled on the lower take up roller. this then printed material is broken down into the “bolts” you buy or is sent to mills to make into mostly women’s printed dresses and blouses.
now that process is the same for heat transfer of decal like images to ceramics. Many plates that you see, even by companies like Limoges, Staffonshire, even Tiffany will use a pre-printed decal and mechanically transfer that sublimation dyed decal image by laying it in contact with the ceramic-porcelain object and apply heat and dwell time, then peel away and the image is transferred, onto that non-porus surface. Many mugs, cups, plates, vases are done this way. Even J&R mugs they sell are done this way.
Now in today’s world you can even buy heat transfer paper for your home printer, buy heat transfer sublimation dye ink cartrideges and create your own “Iron on Heat Transfer” and create your own custom images in Photoshop and make and sell your own T-Shirt designs.
I believe your T-shirt was probably done by the heat transfer method.
Unlike a older “silk screened” image, the dye transfer has a “soft hand” or in other words, feels very soft since the dye is impregnated “into the fibers”. With “silk-screened” items the ink layer is very thick and you can “feel” the ink layer and it feels thick and if “plastisol” inks were used, even feels rubbery. Many athletic garments use silk screen printing and the thick Plastisol inks for the jersey numbers and names. Many of these garments thugh will begin to crack after a period of time and going through the laundry [process numerous times.
A tip on determing if your ceramic item was done as a heat transfer is to look at the image with a magnifier or loupe and see if you can see if the image is composed of tiny dots [half-tone screen]. If you see tiny dots, then it was printed on a printing press or digital printer and then fused by heat onto your object. Even when something says hand painted, it is usually meant that the original was hand painted, then photographed [a reproduction made in to a transfer], then that substrate material applied with pressure and heat and the final reseult is a dye transfer onto porcelain-ceramic objects.
Hope this helps you with your shirt, but everyone as to identifying real hand painted work, real silk screen printed garments from the high production heat transfer process.
take care… mike at MDC Galleries in Atlanta
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