How to Wash Screen Printed or Embroidered Clothes and Keep Them Looking Good

No matter whether it's a run of branded workwear, merchandise for a band, or garments you've had made for a special event, custom printed clothing can be a big investment. How you wash and care for your garments once they've been printed determines whether the print still looks sharp after fifty washes or starts to fade, crack, or peel after five.

This guide covers everything you need to know: the correct wash settings, what actually damages prints and why this happens, how different print methods behave differently in the wash and a few things most care guides leave out.

A Quick Wash Guide Reference

The instructions below apply to most garments and prints. The rest of the article explains the reasoning behind each point so you know how to get the best out of your custom clothing.

• Wash at 30°C or cooler
• Turn the garment inside out before washing
• Use a gentle or delicate cycle
• Use a mild, non-biological detergent
• Do not use bleach or fabric softener
• Air dry where possible; tumble dry on the lowest heat setting only if you have to
• Do not iron directly over a print or embroidery
• Do not dry clean

Why Wash Care Matters More Than Most People Think

Many printed garment failures that get blamed on print quality are actually washing failures. A well-produced screen print with properly cured water-based inks on a quality blank will last wash after wash after wash if you treat it right. On the flip side if you punish it with repeated hot washes, tumble drying on a high setting and ironing all over the design the same print will start to show wear a lot quicker.

There's a reason that all garments have a wash care label sewn inside them and following these instructions will not only look after your garment but the print too.

At Live Ink this matters to us from a sustainability perspective as well as a print quality. We print exclusively with water-based inks and work with certified organic and sustainable garment suppliers. The environmental cost of producing a garment is significant and a garment that gets looked after properly lasts longer, gets worn more and has a lower footprint per use. Proper wash care is a big part of the sustainability picture.

Wash Temperature: Why 30°C Is the Right Setting

The single most effective thing you can do to preserve a screen print or a DTG print is wash at a low temperature and 30°C is the sweet spot. 

Here's why, and what heat does to a printed garment:

Heat stresses the ink film. Screen printing inks are cured at high temperatures during production but repeated exposure to heat in a domestic washing machine is cumulative and different in character. Hot water causes the ink to expand and contract with each wash cycle. Over time this can lead to cracking particularly at the edges of bold graphic areas or across folds and creases.

Heat accelerates dye migration in polyester and poly blends. If your garment contains polyester hot washes can cause the dye from the fabric to bleed up through the ink layer shifting colours and muddying the design. This is especially visible on light-coloured prints on darker synthetic garments and although it can be mitigated with sublimation blocking underbases can still be an issue eventually.

Heat causes shrinkage. Even pre-shrunk blanks will continue to shrink incrementally with hot washes and a garment that shrinks pulls the ink layer with it stressing the print and distorting the design with every hot wash.

Heat fades colour. Both the fabric dyes and the ink pigments are affected by repeated high-temperature washing so cooler washes preserve vibrancy significantly longer in the print and the garment.

A 30°C wash with a good detergent cleans clothing perfectly well. The idea that you need a hot wash for hygiene is a legacy of old detergent chemistry and modern detergents are engineered to work at low temperatures which will protect your garment and your print.

Turn It Inside Out

This one is simple and makes a big difference. When a garment tumbles in a washing machine the outer surface rubs against other garments, the drum and itself. This mechanical abrasion is one of the main causes of print wear, surface dulling and the gradual loss of fine detail over time.

Turning the garment inside out puts the print on the inside away from direct friction. It only takes five seconds and it really does extend the life of the print.

The same logic applies when ironing so if the garment does need pressing just turn it inside out and iron from the back. You should always avoid applying an iron directly to a screen print, DTG print or embroidery.

Detergent: What to Use and What to Avoid

Use: A mild, liquid detergent without bleaching agents. Non-biological detergents are gentler on both fabrics and inks and liquid detergents marketed for delicates or colours work well.

Avoid:

• Biological detergents with enzymes, which can break down fibres and affect ink adhesion over time
• Powder detergents with optical brighteners which can dull print colours
• Bleach or chlorine-based products which will break down both the fabric and the ink
• Fabric softener, which coats fibres and can affect the feel and adhesion of DTG prints in particular

If you are washing printed garments commercially such as a hospitality business washing branded staff shirts regularly it's worth choosing a commercial laundry detergent specifically formulated for coloured clothing rather than standard industrial laundry products.

Drying: Air Dry Where Possible

Air drying is the best option for any printed garment. It eliminates heat stress entirely, causes no additional mechanical abrasion and is better for the garment's shape and the print's longevity.

If you must use a tumble dryer:

• Use the lowest heat setting available
• Remove the garment while it is still slightly damp and let it finish drying in the air to reduce the amount of time the print is exposed to heat
• Do not dry on high heat. The temperature inside a domestic tumble dryer on a high setting can reach 70–75°C which is high enough to damage water-based ink films and cause significant shrinkage in natural fibre garments

Avoid drying printed garments in direct intense sunlight for extended periods. UV light is powerful and exposure over time can fade both ink and fabric dyes athough this is a much slower process than heat damage from a dryer.

How Different Print Methods Behave in the Wash

Not all printed garments are identical and the print method affects how they need to be cared for.

Screen Printing with Water-Based Inks

Screen printing using water-based inks as we do at Live Ink  produces an ink layer that soaks more into the fabric fibres rather than sitting entirely on the surface. Once properly cured this creates a soft, breathable print that bonds well with the garment and is resistant to peeling.

Properly cured water-based screen prints are among the most wash-durable print types available. They handle the wash cycle well provided temperatures are kept low and the garment is not subjected to repeated high-heat drying. The main enemy of a water-based screen print is prolonged heat exposure rather than mechanical wash action.

Embroidery

Embroidery is more structurally robust than any print type because the design is stitched into the fabric rather than applied on top of it. That said embroidered garments still benefit from sensible wash care.

Aggressive washing can cause thread ends to work loose over time and it's still worth washing embroidered garments inside out to protect the stitching from abrasion. High heat  from washing or drying can cause the fabric around the embroidery thread to shrink around the design causing the stitching to pull against the fabric and give the bunched up effect you find on some embroidered garments over time. Heat an also be detrimental to sheen on metallic or shiny thread types. 

Do not iron directly over embroidery. The stitching creates a raised surface and an iron will flatten it and can scorch the thread. If pressing is needed just iron from the back of the garment with a pressing cloth between the iron and the fabric.

DTG (Direct to Garment) Printing

DTG prints sit on top of the fabric surface and use a pretreatment process to help the ink bond. They are more sensitive to washing than well-cured screen prints and there is less ink volume compared to a screen print so they are inevitably less robust.

For DTG printed garments the 30°C low-temperature rule is especially important. You should avoid fabric softener entirely as it can create a film over the print that affects adhesion. If the print feels slightly stiff after the first wash this is nothing to worry about and typically resolves after a couple of washes as the pretreatment settles into the fabric.

DTG prints on 100% cotton perform much better over time than DTG on polyester-heavy blends. If longevity is a priority for a high-wear frequently washed garment screen printing is usually the better choice for large runs.

DTF (Direct to Film) Printing

DTF prints involve a heat-pressed transfer film which means the ink layer sits on the surface of the fabric rather than within it. DTF prints are generally wash-stable but can be more susceptible to peeling at the edges if exposed to repeated high-heat washing and drying. They are also less breathable than a DTG print so if an issue does occur with the print it tends to affect larger areas.

The inside-out rule is particularly important for DTF prints and it's worth avoiding washing with abrasive fabrics like heavy denim. Low-temperature washing and air drying are strongly recommended.

Garment-Specific Considerations

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton garments  including the Stanley/Stella blanks we use for much of our screen printing  tend to be made from longer staple fibres than standard cotton. This makes them softer and generally more durable but they still benefit from low-temperature washing to prevent shrinkage and preserve the handle of the fabric.

GOTS-certified organic cotton is grown and processed without the chemical finishes used on conventional cotton. This can mean the fabric is slightly more absorbent and may take a little longer to air dry. It can also mean that you will notice a little more shrinkage on the first wash compared to a non organic garment as it has been through less processing by the time it reaches you.

Cotton/­Polyester Blends

Poly-blend garments need particularly careful handling with regard to wash temperature. High temperature washing on poly-blend fabrics increases the risk of dye migration where synthetic dye moves from the fabric into or through the ink layer. Keep washes cool and avoid prolonged high heat drying.

Hoodies and Sweatshirts

Heavier garments take longer to dry and are more tempting to put through a tumble dryer on a high setting. Resist the urge where possible and dry hoodies and sweatshirts on a flat surface or hanging from a clothes horse rather than pegged by the hood or shoulders which can distort the shape.

If your hoodie has a print on the chest and you are folding it for storage, try to fold so the print is on the outside of the fold rather than crease-folded inwards. Repeated crease pressure on the same point over months of storage can eventually cause cracking at that line.

Common Mistakes and What They Do

Hot washing. The most common cause of print degradation. Fades colours, stresses the ink film and  causes shrinkage.

Tumble drying on high heat. Second most common cause of print failure. The heat is sufficient to begin breaking down the ink layer and cause significant fabric shrinkage.

Ironing over the print. Destroys the print surface. Passing a hot iron over a screen print or DTG print can cause irreversible melting or distortion.

Using bleach. Bleach will strip colour from both the ink and the fabric. Even diluted bleach products and many "colour-safe" bleach products contain oxidising agents that damage prints over time.

Washing with heavy items. Washing a printed t-shirt in the same load as heavy denim jeans or towels can create unnecessary abrasion and wears the print surface faster.

Drying on a hot radiator. Draping a damp printed garment directly over a hot radiator concentrates heat on one area and can cause localised cracking or sticking of the ink film.

Wash Care Symbols: What They Mean for Printed Clothing

Your garment will have a care label, including all Stanley/Stella, Earth Positive and AS Colour blanks  and those symbols are the manufacturer's recommendation for the base fabric. For printed garments follow the label but also apply the additional principles in this guide.

• Washtub with 30: 30°C maximum. This is what you want to see.
• Crossed-out triangle: No bleach. This applies to all printed garments regardless of what the label says.
• Iron with one dot: Low heat only. For prints, treat all ironing as low-heat and never iron the print directly.
• Crossed-out tumble dryer: Air dry only. Respect this on any garment where it appears.
• Crossed-out circle: No dry cleaning.

A Note on Commercial Laundry

If you are a business washing branded garments regularly such as hospitality workwear, sports kits, or promotional clothing, commercial washing machines and dryers typically run at higher temperatures and for longer cycles than domestic machines. Standard commercial programmes are not suitable for printed garments.

Where possible use a lower-temperature programme (30–40°C maximum) and a cool or unheated drying cycle. Some commercial operators also use laundry bags for printed garments to reduce mechanical abrasion.

If you are sourcing printed workwear for regular commercial laundering it is worth discussing wash durability requirements with us before placing your order. Some print methods and garment choices are better suited to high-frequency washing environments than others.

Summary

Good wash care is not complicated, it just requires getting into the habit of sticking to the wash instructions in your garment. The rules that matter most are temperature (keep it at 30°C or below), heat (avoid it in drying) and protection (inside out, no direct ironing). Follow those three principles and a well printed garment will stay looking sharp through hundreds of washes.

If you have questions about care for a specific order from us,­ including print method, ink type, or garment recommendations for a particular use case  get in touch. We're always happy to advise.

Frequently Asked Questions