The direct-to-garment technique lays water-based ink straight into the 100% cotton of the garment, the way a printer lays ink on paper. There is no plastic layer on top, so the image moves with the fabric and photographs keep their detail. On a black garment a white base goes down under the image first, then the colour.
How does the ink get into the fabric?
The garment is laid flat on the printer's platen, the chest smoothed out, and the print head passes over it laying water-based ink into the cotton itself. Nothing is pressed on and nothing is cut out: the image is in the fabric, not on top of it, which is why it moves with the garment.
Every Magic Wear piece is made this way, one at a time, from the design you approved. The whole specification is on the materials and process page.
Why does a black garment take a white base?
Ink is see-through on dark cotton. So on black and the other dark colours, the printer first lays a white base in the shape of your image, then sets the colour on top of it: two passes. On bone and the other light colours the colour goes straight into the cotton in one.
What comes out well, and what does not?
- Photographs, with their detail and their smooth gradients
- Drawings in pencil, ink, crayon or felt tip
- Any number of colours
- Not well: very fine lines, tiny text and neon colours
A sharp, well-lit source makes the finest piece. There is more on choosing one in the guide to the picture that comes out best.
What is a Magic Wear piece, part by part?
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| Garment | A 100% cotton tee, crewneck sweatshirt or hoodie |
| Colour | Black, bone or fifteen more colours |
| Ink | Water-based, set into the fabric |
| Base | White, under the image, on dark garments only |
| Placement | Large, in the centre of the chest |
Questions this leaves
Is there a plastic layer on the image?
No. The ink goes into the cotton itself, so there is nothing sitting on top of the fabric.
How many colours can the image have?
Any number. A photograph keeps all of its colours and its gradients; a pencil sketch keeps its greys.
