In my approach to t-shirt design, the first consideration is the blank or base-product as this informs so many of my decisions (color, techniques, ink selection, print placement, etc.)  throughout the design process.  I’ve done it this way for so long that I’m virtually incapable of working on a t-shirt design without this critical piece of information in place.  And I’m okay with this, I believe it’s the correct way to think and work.  Of course this all assumes that I have some sort of in-depth knowledge of the characteristics and constraints of the base-product, ie: fabric content and weave, construction, discharge-ability, potential for dye-migration, etc.  This is where product testing and/or test results are of tremendous benefit to a designer and should be leveraged throughout the design process.  It was with this thought in mind that I decided to searched the archives…

The following is from the IK Archives, originally posted on Mar 31, 2016

Sanmar asked us to do some print testing on the new tri-blend tee from District Made®, the Mens Perfect Tri™ Crew Tee DM130.  First we tested each color in the style for both dye migration and discharge reactivity (images and results below).  Once testing was complete we proceeded to develop a vintage styled surf print to compliment the ridiculously soft substrate in Maritime Frost color.  Here are the results…