How to design a great Christian Tshirt

How to design a great Christian tshirt

When designing a Christian tshirt for a group event like a youth camp or mission trip, several factors should be considered before starting the design project.

First, the overall price of the end product or tshirt will be a major factor. You don't want to waste your time creating a killer design and then be shot down when you're screen printer tells you how much it will cost. So, start out with a price point in mind. If you have no clue as to how much a screen printed tshirt costs, then ask your screen printer for a range of prices for a specific design.

Next decide what color of tshirt of would like your design to be printed on. This is also an important factor upfront. Creating a Christian tshirt design that is going on a black tshirt versus one that goes on a light colored shirt is totally different. Nothing is more frustrating to a designer or a screen printer than putting together a design that looked great on a black shirt and now a client wants it to go on a lime green tshirt. Creating a design that goes on a black shirt or a dark colored shirt involves an additional layer of ink called an underbase. The underbase is necessary for colors to pop on darker shirts as well as keeping colors from bleeding in darker color garments.

The style of the tshirt will be a consideration as well. There are many, many different styles of tshirts in todays tshirt market. Styles also will a budget matter as well. Fitted tshirts that are super light weight are going to cost considerably more than a regular boxy tshirt.

The fourth item to consider in designing a great Christian tshirt is font selection. Most every Christian tshirt has some type of lettering or message on the front or back of the tshirt. Consider using a large heavier type font that a very thin font. Remember you want it seen and read. Also, nothing is more distracting in a tshirt design that using multiple fonts, unless the design calls for an eclectic blend of speciality fonts.

The overall design should be produced in a vector format. Graphic vectors can be produced with software products like Illustrator or CorelDraw. Some clients find it difficult to understand that using a raster image will not produce a "screen ready" design and must be converted to vector adding to the overall price of the product. It is a lot simpler to design it the tshirt in a vector format from the start.

The colors of ink and the number of those color are also a determining factor in the overall cost of the tshirt. Number of locations that a client wants the design or designs printed on the tshirt also adds to the price. A one color design printed in one location on a white tshirt is going to cost considerably less that a 3 color design on the front and back of a black tshirt. Screen printers will price your project to you based on these initial factors.

Other factors determining price from your screen printer will include, setting up the job, number of screens needed, speciality inks, unusual placement of design on the tshirt, and speciality printing processes like discharge printing or 4 color process, all will increase the pricing of your tshirt project.

Some churches and ministries choose companies that have Christian tshirt templates. These templates can be customized with a name drop or additional text to give the client an easier and less expensive alternative to a one off design.

The last consideration in your project would be quantity. Quantity also is a determining factor in your price. The more tshirts you buy, the less the printing will be per piece. The fewer tshirts you buy the more the cost per garment. Some clients do not understand the tremendous amount of set up involved in a 4 color front and 2 color back design and they want 12 shirts. It's just not cost effective for the printer to spend the hour or so to make the screens followed up another hour or so in setting up the job for 12 tshirts.

The success in producing a great Christian tshirt design is wearing the tshirt longer than the event it was produced for. Good designs can and will be worn for years to come. Take your time, consider the costs before you start.