How We Make Custom Graphic Tees: DTF, Sublimation, and the Details That Matter

Custom graphic tees are one of the most requested products at Floorboard Findings, and they've become a core part of what I do alongside hand ice-dyed apparel and crystal jewelry. Whether it's a seasonal design for the boutique, branded camp store merchandise for Pine Ridge Campground, or fundraiser shirts for a local fire department, every graphic tee that leaves my studio in York, PA goes through the same careful process. I want to pull the curtain back and show you exactly how these shirts get made — from the blank selection to the final press.

It Starts with the Blank, Not the Design

Most people think a graphic tee starts with the artwork. For me, it starts with the blank, the shirt itself before anything is printed on it. The blank determines how the final product feels in your hands, how it fits on your body, and how the print looks and lasts over time. A great design on a cheap blank is still a cheap shirt.

The two blanks I reach for most are the Comfort Colors 1717 and the Bella Canvas 3001. They serve different purposes, and knowing which one to use for a given project is part of the craft.

Comfort Colors 1717 is a heavyweight, garment-dyed cotton tee with a relaxed fit and a soft, lived-in feel right out of the box. The garment-dye process gives it that slightly washed, vintage texture that customers love. It's the same blank I use for my ice dye apparel because the cotton fibers accept dye and ink beautifully. When you press a DTF transfer onto a garment-dyed Comfort Colors blank, the print has this embedded, premium quality to it. It doesn't look like a sticker slapped on top of a shirt.

Bella Canvas 3001 is a lighter weight, modern-fit unisex tee with a smooth cotton-poly surface. It drapes differently than Comfort Colors, more fitted, more retail-feeling. The smooth surface makes it ideal for designs with fine detail, small text, or photographic elements where you need crisp lines. If a customer wants something that looks and feels like it came from a high-end brand, this is the blank.

For crewneck sweatshirts, I use the Comfort Colors 1566. For hoodies on a tighter budget (fundraiser merch, event giveaways) the Gildan 18500 heavy blend hoodie delivers solid DTF print adhesion at a price point that makes sense for bulk orders.

Choosing the Right Print Method

I work with three print methods, and which one I use depends entirely on the design, the blank, and the end use. There's no single "best" method. There's only the right method for the job.

DTF (Direct-to-Film) Transfers

DTF is my primary print method and the one I use for the majority of graphic tees. The process starts with printing the design onto a special PET film using CMYK ink plus white ink. A powder adhesive is applied to the wet ink and cured, creating a transfer that I then press onto the garment with a heat press at a specific temperature and pressure calibrated to the blank.

What makes DTF so versatile is that it works on any fabric color: darks, lights, garment-dyed, everything. The white ink layer acts as a base beneath the color, so a full-color design pops just as vividly on a black Comfort Colors crewneck as it does on a white Bella Canvas tee. The finished print is soft, flexible, and rated for 50+ washes without cracking or peeling when cared for properly.

DTF is also what I use for our wholesale partners. The custom graphic tee program for businesses, campgrounds, and fire departments runs almost entirely on DTF transfers because the print quality is consistent and the turnaround is fast. I can produce test prints, get approval, and run a full batch without the setup costs that come with traditional screen printing.

Sublimation Printing

Sublimation works differently from DTF. Instead of laying a transfer on top of the fabric, sublimation uses heat and pressure to convert solid ink into gas that permanently infuses into polyester fibers. The result is a print with literally zero texture. You can't feel it at all. The ink becomes part of the fabric.

The catch is that sublimation only works on polyester or poly-blend fabrics in white or very light colors. There's no white ink layer, so the shirt color shows through. That limits where I can use it, but for the right application (like an all-over print on a white poly-blend tank or a vivid design on a light performance tee) sublimation is unbeatable. The colors are extremely vibrant and they never crack, peel, or fade because there's nothing sitting on top of the fabric to degrade.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is the traditional method. Ink is pushed through a mesh screen stencil directly onto the fabric, one color at a time. For simple designs (one to three colors, bold graphics, text-heavy layouts) screen printing is cost-effective at high volumes because the per-unit cost drops significantly once the screens are made.

I use screen printing less often than DTF and sublimation because most of the designs I work with are full-color, multi-layered, or photographic, and DTF handles those better. But for a large-run fundraiser tee with a two-color design, screen printing still makes sense from a cost perspective.

The Production Process, Start to Finish

Here's what actually happens when a graphic tee order comes through, whether it's a custom design for a wholesale client or a seasonal release for the boutique.

Design review and prep. Every design file gets reviewed for resolution, color accuracy, and printability on the selected blank. If the artwork needs adjustment (resizing, color matching to the blank, background removal) I handle that before anything gets printed. For wholesale clients who come in with a rough concept instead of a finished file, I work with them to develop the design into something print-ready. Artwork assistance is included; I don't charge hidden setup fees.

Test print. Before running a full batch, I produce a physical test print on the actual blank that will be used for the order. This is where I check color fidelity, print placement, adhesion quality, and how the design looks on the specific fabric color and texture. A design that looks perfect on screen can look completely different pressed onto a yam-colored Comfort Colors crewneck versus a white Bella Canvas tee. The test print catches those differences before they become problems.

Production press. Each shirt is pressed individually on my heat press. Temperature, pressure, and time are calibrated based on the blank and the print method. Comfort Colors blanks with their thicker, textured fabric need different settings than the thinner, smoother Bella Canvas. Getting those variables right is the difference between a print that lasts 50 washes and one that starts peeling after five.

Quality check. Every single shirt gets inspected before it's folded and packed. I'm checking print alignment, color accuracy, pressing consistency, and the overall finish. If something doesn't meet the standard, it doesn't ship. My name is attached to everything that goes out the door, and so is whatever brand or organization the shirt represents.

Why the Details Matter

I could use cheaper blanks. I could skip the test print step. I could press shirts in bulk on automated equipment instead of one at a time. A lot of print shops do exactly that, and the price reflects it, but so does the quality.

The reason I operate the way I do is the same reason behind everything at Floorboard Findings. Whether it's a hand ice-dyed crewneck or a custom-printed graphic tee, the quality of the product is the reputation of the brand. When someone puts on a shirt I printed, I want it to feel like something worth wearing — not just something with a design on it.

That philosophy applies to every graphic tee I make, whether it's a one-off seasonal design for the boutique or a 200-piece order for a wholesale partner.

Get Custom Graphic Tees Made

If you're a business, organization, or brand looking for custom graphic tees printed on premium blanks with real attention to quality, check out the custom graphic tee wholesale page for details on minimums, turnaround, and how to get started. And if you just want to browse what's currently available for yourself, the graphic tee collection is always being updated with new seasonal designs.