What Are Graphic Tees?

A graphic tee is a t-shirt with a printed design on it. That is the whole definition, and it covers everything from a single word across the chest to a full-color illustration. What makes the category interesting is not the definition but the differences hiding inside it: how the design got onto the fabric determines almost everything about how the shirt will look in a year.

Graphic tee versus plain t-shirt

Structurally they are the same garment. Same knit, same seams, same collar. The graphic is added after the shirt is cut and sewn, or occasionally printed onto the panels before assembly.

The practical difference is durability. A plain tee fails when the fabric fails. A graphic tee can fail when the print fails, which on a poorly printed shirt happens long before the cotton gives out.

How the printing works

Screen printing

The traditional method. A separate mesh screen is made for each color and ink is pushed through it onto the fabric. It produces excellent color density and holds up well over many washes. The setup cost per design is high, which is why screen-printed tees are made in large runs of a few designs rather than small runs of many.

Direct-to-garment (DTG)

Effectively a high-resolution inkjet printer for fabric, using water-based pigment inks that are absorbed into the cotton. It handles detailed, full-color artwork that screen printing would need a dozen screens for, and it has no setup cost per design, which is what makes a wide range of original artwork possible at all. The print is soft to the touch and does not crack or peel. It fades gradually with washing rather than splitting, so cold washing and low drying matter more than they would on a plastisol print. This is what we use.

Plastisol

A screen printing ink that cures into a plastic film on the fabric surface. Very bright, very opaque, and noticeably thick to the touch. It is what makes a graphic feel like a rubbery panel, and it is the print type most likely to crack.

Heat transfer and vinyl

A pre-printed film pressed onto the shirt with heat. Cheap and fast, and the least durable option. Transfers are what peel at the corners after a dozen washes.

What to look for when buying

Run a hand over the graphic. If it feels like a thick, separate layer, expect cracking eventually. If you can barely feel it, the ink has gone into the fabric and it will not crack or peel.

Then check the shirt itself, since the print is only half of it. A ribbed collar with a taped shoulder-to-shoulder seam holds its shape. Side seams rather than tube construction stop the shirt twisting. Combed ring-spun cotton pills far less than cheaper carded cotton.

Graphic tees for children specifically

Children's graphic tees have one extra requirement: the neck opening has to clear the head easily. Toddler heads are large relative to their bodies, and a neck cut to adult proportions means a fight every morning and a stretched collar within a month.

The other consideration is print softness. A stiff plastic graphic across the chest is uncomfortable in a way children will tell you about, usually by refusing to wear the shirt again.

Common questions

Are graphic tees still in style?

They have been continuously in style since the 1960s, which is about as settled as fashion questions get. The specific look changes — currently oversized and vintage-washed — but the category itself has never gone away.

Is DTG or screen printing better?

Neither, in the abstract. Screen printing wins on color density and on how many washes it survives. DTG wins on detail, on full-color artwork, and on making short runs possible at all. For a kids tee that will be outgrown in a year, the trade works out in DTG's favor.

Why are some graphic tees so much more expensive?

Print method, artwork complexity and the base garment. A screen print on combed ring-spun cotton costs several times what a single-color transfer on carded cotton does to produce.