How we do it...


We have a variety of methods and technology which we use to help get you the finished result you deserve. Our overview to the right gives a step-by-step guide to the entire production process, while below is some information on just a few of the machines we use to enable us to process your order quickly and efficiently.
M&R Textile Printing Presses
	We have several different models of M&R’s high-performance automatic textile presses at T-Formation. Designed for quick setups and high-speed production, they're loaded with timesaving, output-enhancing features and range from 4 color to 14 color models. All models feature servo-driven indexers, electric printheads, and multiple print-stroke capability. Standard features like independent squeegee & floodbar speed adjustments, adjustable rear screen holders, independently-set angle and calibrated pressure adjustments, and independent print, reset, and print/flood speed controls on each printhead further simplify setup.
Kiwo I-Jet (Computer-To-Screen Imaging System)
	Inkjet-based computer-to-screen (CTS) systems - devices that eliminate the need to generate film positives by directly imaging emulsion-coated screens from digital design files - are emerging as the go-to technology for achieving accuracy, consistency, and efficiency in stencil production. The Kiwo I-Jet is a CTS system which speeds up the time it takes for our screenroom to produce finished screens and get them to the presses. One of the key benefits of the KIWO I-Jet in this process is its ease of use and its plug-in and use design. It has a user-friendly interface featuring simple mouse click or function key operation, and its 256-nozzle piezo printhead images a typical T-Shirt screen in 2 minutes.
Brother GT-541 Direct-To-Garment Printer
	The Brother GT-541 uses ink jet technology that prints on many garments in high quality color directly from a computer. This ink jet garment printer is as simple to operate as a desktop printer, which can be networked with multiple units, to deliver great print quality and still remain cost-effective for short-run apparel graphics applications. The GT-541 is faster and less expensive to operate than traditional screen printing machines because there is minimal set-up, tear-down, clean-up, screens, squeegees, or pallet adhesive. The GT-541 water based ink can be cured by a standard heat press, eliminating the need to purchase a conveyor dryer, and significantly reducing operating space requirements.
SWF Embroidery Machines
	We have several different SWF models in our Embroidery department, both single and multi-head units. The multihead machines allow us to embroider the same design on several garments at once, giving us higher production capabilities and faster turnaround times. We also have an SWF Dual Function machine. An SWF exclusive, this patent technology allows us to embroider two different designs on the same machine simultaneously! The SWF 1506DF Dual Function Automatic Embroidery Machine operates as a traditional 6-head machine to handle large orders, or as two independent 3-head machines for smaller orders, all through a single touch-screen control panel.

When printing shirts at T-Formation, the first step is to work with your sales or customer service representative to choose the appropriate t-shirt blank for your needs. By choosing shirt color and style, we can ensure that the art file you sent or we have designed will work for your needs. We are experts in sourcing goods, and have a department dedicated to that very purpose. We will send you a quote based on the parameters of your order.

Next, we need to prepare the artwork for your order. We can work with your files, or recommend to your designer the necessary technical aspects for the graphics. T-Formation also has an outstanding art department that can assist you in designing anything you need.

If you have submitted art to T-Formation for printing, we will evaluate your file for the best method of reproducing your art onto the t-shirt style and color that you have chosen. The two main methods that we employ are spot color printing, and 'simulated process' printing. Spot color printing involves mixing an exact hue of each color that you need to print your design. These are specified using the Pantone Matching System (PMS), which is the graphic industry standard for specifying exact color.

Due to limitations in the technical aspects of four color process printing, we have found that altering the file to print with spot colors will achieve better printed results on the shirt. This technique involves printing a range of colors on the shirt to emulate the four color process (or CMYK) image. The industry term for this is 'Simulated Process'... as we are simulating the results of CMYK with regular spot color ink. Typically we will need more screens to achieve the final image, but the results far exceed how CMYK images appear on a shirt.

Our artists then 'separate' the file for printing, by outputting each color to its own screen. Previously we used standard clear film or translucent vellum to print our seps onto, but we have now switched to a CTS system using the Kiwo I-Jet. All of our seps are stored digitally on our server by job design number, and we can archive these seps easier than with the traditional method of storing film in a massive collection of oversized envelopes.

Each color of your t-shirt design is then exposed to a high-intensity light onto an ultra-fine mesh screen that is coated with a photosensitive emulsion. (This type of screen was historically made from silk, thus the origin of the term silkscreen. Today we use a polyester blend.) When the emulsion is exposed, it hardens and becomes insoluble to water. The areas of artwork on the screen will prevent light from exposing the emulsion, and those sections will not dissolve in water. Each screen is then placed in a large 'wash-out' tank where a high-pressure water jet removes the unexposed areas of emulsion on the screen. What's left is basically an intricate stencil for that particular color of ink.

While the Art Department was working on your image, the blank t-shirts were being ordered from our key wholesale vendors. When your goods arrive, they are checked in and counted against the order to ensure accuracy.

Your order will be scheduled for a particular time and day. The blank shirts, screens and all specially mixed inks are brought together to one of our presses to produce your order. The blank t-shirts are loaded onto a 'platen', and the platen rotates around the press...and with each stop receives a different color of ink. The ink is transferred to the shirt by 'pulling' a squeegee across the screen, shearing the ink through the stencil and onto the shirt.

When the shirt has received all of the ink colors for the design, it is removed from the press and placed onto a large belt that feeds into a high-temperature dryer - textile inks cure by heat, not by air or time like paint. As the shirts come off of the dryer, they are each inspected for quality and then counted again for accuracy.

Any post production for your order such as hang-tagging, pricing, custom folding or poly-bagging is done at this time. After this step, the shirts are re-counted and packaged ready for the Shipping Department.

We can ship via any method you prefer, but we commonly use UPS, DHL, FedEx, SAIA, Pilot, & many others.

Once shipped your order is marked complete and is ready for invoicing. After you receive your order, if you have any discrepancies regarding what you have received, you have 5 business days to notify T-Formation concerning the problem, so we can outline a solution for you.