Best Fabrics for Screen Printing
Want your design to look bold, clean, and last? This guide walks you through which materials work best for screen printing—and which ones to avoid.
Why Fabric Matters for Screen Print
Screen printing presses ink through a mesh stencil, one color at a time. Smooth, stable fabrics create cleaner lines and better registration. Rough or stretchy fabrics can distort your design or cause colors to misalign.
Cotton
100% cotton is the gold standard. It absorbs ink evenly and gives your design sharp, vibrant color. Great for tees, tanks, and long sleeves. Light-colored cottons are especially screen-print friendly.
Blends
Blended shirts (like 50/50 or triblends) are softer but can sometimes resist ink or show faded results. We recommend testing or sticking to known styles that screen print well.
Polyester
Polyester is trickier. It doesn’t absorb ink like cotton, so plastisol ink sits on top and may need additives or underbases to bond well. Avoid ultra-thin or high-stretch performance fabrics unless designed for printing.
Fleece & Hoodies
Most fleece hoodies, crewnecks, and joggers screen print great—especially if they’re cotton-heavy. Just avoid printing over seams or ribbing, which can cause uneven prints.
Stretch & Problem Fabrics
Stretchy, textured, or water-resistant materials can cause serious issues with ink adhesion or registration. Stick to smoother, stable fabrics unless you’re using a specialty print method.
What We Recommend
Stick to 100% cotton for best results. Blends and fleece can also work well when selected carefully. We’ve flagged screen-print-friendly products in our catalog to help you choose confidently.
Next Steps
Designing for Screen Printing · Logo Requirements · How to Order · Screen Printing Pricing
Explore Our Guides
Whether you're setting up your first store or fine-tuning your design process, our step-by-step guides cover everything you need to know. From pricing and production to decoration methods and store setup, each guide is crafted to help you get the most out of Exclaim.gg.
Store Setup
Step-by-step walkthrough for launching your custom merch store.