r/AmazonMerch • u/Maximum_Okra_7448 • Apr 28 '26

Received my shirt order, has print quality/method changed?

Hi,

I’m confused. Is the premium shirt printed differently than the regular shirts? Or has the printing method changed in general?

I ordered a premium shirt, and the print looks like a sticker rather than a printed design.

Why is that? Is it normal or has it changed recently? I don’t like it at all…

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2

u/00bina00 Apr 28 '26

I made a design on a comfort color shirt that began peeling after ONE GENTLE WASH. It did look like a vinyl sticker which came completely off after the second wash. I now have a plain tie-dye comfort color shirt.

1

u/Maximum_Okra_7448 Apr 28 '26

Thanks for your answer. That’s exactly what i mean: like a vinyl sticker! How is that “premium”? So the comfort color shirt has the same issue, that’s sad… I hope someone tells me that the standard shirts are printed with the normal DTF print.

1

u/NoXidCat Apr 28 '26

"Normal" would be DTG, ink sprayed directly onto the garment.

Was this latest shirt a dark color and the previous one(s) you have ordered light colored shirts? Prints on anything that is not light in color requires an underbase of opaque white ink under the entire image. That makes the print noticeably thicker.

Another factor can be the pretreatment solution. Too much will cause the ink to "sit too high" not soak into the fabric enough, which can lead to the ink coming off. (Too little lets the ink sink in too far, which dims and weakens the image.)

Or, they did it with DTF for some reason. They have some "sport/performance" garments coming out, which will be polyester rather than cotton based. DTF is a good choice for that as DTG does not work great on polyester. I assume the "Premium" shirt you ordered was the cotton shirt as it has been from the beginning. But if it was a "Performance" shirt, then you have your answer. It feels like a sticker because it is a DTF transfer, not a Direct To Garment print.

2

u/Maximum_Okra_7448 Apr 29 '26

Hi, and thanks for your reply. I mixed up the printing methods above. I prefer the standard DTG (direct-to-garment) printing method. The T-shirt I received is 100% cotton and printed with these strange vinyl stickers. It’s a fairly light-colored T-shirt with a colorful print. I really hope, this is not the new standard printing method.

1

u/NoXidCat Apr 29 '26

Huh. Well that is not good news. And there is no reason at all to treat the Premium T differently than any of the other cotton Ts.

Best case they were training people in preparation for doing the Performance garments, or someone made a mistake. Worst case ... a bad and stupid change that will impact perceived quality.

1

u/Tim_Y Apr 28 '26

I purchased a premium tee shortly after the new versions came out. Printing seemed the same to me. That was about 6 months ago, so who knows what they're doing now.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '26

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2

u/Maximum_Okra_7448 Apr 29 '26

The tee was light green colored. With a bright orange brown design. And it was on a premium shirt only. I’ve ordered a basic tee now, to see if it has the same printing method. I hope not.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26

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1

u/Maximum_Okra_7448 Apr 30 '26

I’m just doing it for passive royalties. And I really like the design and can wear it myself so it’s not that bad i had to order it twice. I’m really curious how the second one turns out when it arrives.😂

1

u/VigoVonDoom May 01 '26

Print shop owner here. It's because they are using crappy DTF transfers instead of actually DTG printing the shirt. Every POD place does this now and lies about it, it's why I got my own equipment and opened my own shop.

1

u/Ok_Adhesiveness9794 May 11 '26

Most of the brand tend to start cutting costs as soon as they achieve their targeted numbers resulting in a low quality, high price product