When it comes to printing custom designs on shirts at home, finding the right shirt is essential. Bella+Canvas has long been recognized as one of the leading top brands of great quality apparel for DIY printing.
With their range of fabrics, styles, and colors, it can be hard to know which Bella+Canvas shirt is best for your needs.
In this blog post, I’ve put together a comparison of the top 7 different styles of Bella+Canvas shirts to help you choose the perfect one for whatever you’re making.
No time to read the whole post? Here are my top 3 choices
Types of Blank T-shirts for Custom Printing
There are several types of t-shirts available on the market today from popular brands. A high quality shirt can be the difference between a good project or a fail.
Choosing the Right T-shirt for DIY Projects
If you are looking for a good blank shirt, there are several things you should consider before whipping out that credit card.
First, you need to determine whether you will use the shirt primarily for only sublimation or a mixture of sublimation and heat transfer vinyl or glitter.
Second, you need to decide how many you plan to design.
Third, you need to consider what materials work with your heat press.
Finally, you need to make sure that the machine has enough power to handle the job.
1.The Perfect T
The first style is the Bella+Canvas Perfect Tri-Blend Fashionable T-Shirt. These polyester blend t-shirts are lightweight, soft-textured, and true to size. They are made from a combination of polyester, regular cotton, and rayon. This makes them a great option for dye sublimation printing.
The fabric is specifically designed to allow for vibrant, long-lasting prints, while still retaining its shape and color.
You can get a classic white shirt or other light colors. Any which one you pick, it’ll probably become your new favorite shirt for sublimation prints.
- Pros: available in different colors and unisex sizing good for all body types
- Cons: slightly transparent
2.Flowy Rolled Cuff shirt
The second style is the Ladies Flowy Rolled Cuff Muscle T-Shirt. This stylish, lightweight shirt is made from a blend of 50% polyester and 25% combed ringspun cotton, making it a great option for sublimation printing.
The fabric has a softer feel and is designed to provide long-lasting results. You don’t have to worry about the sublimation design fading. The Ladies Flowy Rolled Cuff Muscle T-Shirt is available in a variety of colors and styles, so you can find the perfect look for your design.
- Pros: soft and comfortable
- Cons: really thin
3.Kids T-Shirt
The third style is the Youth Triblend Tee. This lightweight, comfortable shirt is made from a combination of 50% polyester, 25% combed
ringspun cotton, and 25% rayon.
This blend of materials makes the Triblend Tee an excellent choice for gifts and costumes that you make for kids.
It’s long-lasting and available in a variety of colors, making it the perfect option for girl’s and boy’s sublimation ink designs
- Pros: fast drying
- Cons: really thin
4. Crop top
Looking for a crop top that’s not too cropped and hangs just right?! They’ve got you covered with this one. This one has more cotton than polyester though. You might need to use a sublimation spray on it to get the best results.
Here are the other shirts that are on my list.
7. Men’s shirt in neutral colors
Why Pick Bella Canvas Shirts?
Bella + Canvas offers a wide selection of polyester shirts that are perfect for sublimation printing. Their colors, and sizes, so you’re sure to find the perfect shirt for your project.
Cotton t-shirts are not great for sublimation printing. You can use them in a pinch but they require a bit more care and preparation than polyester shirts. Cotton shirts must be pre-treated with a sublimation coating spray before they can be printed.
This process allows the inks to bond to the fabric, which ensures that the design won’t fade or peel off over time.
Pro Tip: A high quality shirt can be the difference between a good project or a fail!
How to Get the Best Results
When it comes to the best Bella + Canvas shirts for sublimation printing, there are a few things to keep in mind.
You’ll want to use a white color or light color shirt with a short sleeve or long sleeve option, as these are the best for sublimation designs. Heather colors are great because they don’t hide the sublimation image. Save the solid black shirts for vinyl projects.
You’ll also want to look for shirts that are either 100% polyester, have high polyester content, or a poly blend fabric, as these fabrics are best for sublimation printing. Different blends will give you different results.
Finally, you’ll want to choose a shirt with side seams, as this will ensure that the design is applied properly and won’t stretch or distort over time.
Conclusion
No matter which Bella+Canvas shirt you choose for your sublimation printing project, you can be sure that you’ll get a good quality product at a good price.
Need more ideas? Check out my post on what materials make good sublimation blanks.
