How to Care for Custom Printed and Embroidered Apparel
27th Feb 2026
How To Care For Screen Printed Apparel
When you’ve put in the effort to create merchandise that you love and represents you well, taking care of it is just the thing to do. Whether you have screen prints, direct to garment prints (DTG), direct to film prints (DTF) or embroidery the care instructions will be essentially the same. Treating your branded merch with care will ensure it looks great for as long as possible.
Quick Guide – The Essentials
Here’s a quick rundown of the most important things to remember.
| The Absolute Do’s (Always Try To…) | The Big No-No’s (Things to Always Avoid) |
| Give a fresh start: Wash before wear on a gentle cycle. | Harsh chemicals: DO NOT use harsh detergents like bleach or softeners. |
| Turn it inside out: Before washing, drying or ironing. This protects the design! | Dry in direct sunlight: DO NOT leave your merch in direct sunlight for hours. |
| Wash cold: wash with cold water only. | Tumble dry: DO NOT dry your merch in a tumble dryer. |
| Air dry: Line dry inside out in indirect sunlight. | Iron prints directly: DO NOT let a hot iron touch the print (DTG, DTF, screen print) or embroidery. |
Remember to read the care instructions for the garments you have, as it will provide extra information about the washing and drying that is specific to the fabrication.
What Happens When Your Shirt Reaches the End of Its Life?
Your printed shirt has worked hard to represent you, and it’s now worn with your creases. What now? It would be a shame for your favourite shirt to end up in a landfill, so we recommend donating it, whether that’s to a second-hand clothing store or a garment recycling facility, repurposing it into something else or even dyeing it to give it new life.
Of course, all garments will age over time as they’re exposed to sun, heat, chemicals, wear and physical activity, but with the right care, you can extend the lifespan of your print and fabric.
Detailed Care Steps – Do’s and Don’ts
Here’s a more detailed look at each step of caring for your custom apparel.
Washing Your Custom Merchandise
| What To Do | What NOT To Do |
| Hot Water Do not wash your printed garments in hot water, as this will cause colour to run and fade not only in the print but in the fabric as well. |
Dissimilar Items & Colours If you choose to wash your printed garments with dissimilar items and colours on the first few washes, this might attract unwanted colour fading and bleeding from the different items in your load, and your brand-new white tee may turn a pale shade of pink instead. |
| Cold Water Unless your garment is heavily soiled, for most of your washing needs, a cold water cycle will be more than enough to clean your laundry. The cold water will help to prevent colour fading from both the print and the fabric. |
Right Side Out Leaving your printed garments right side out will also increase the risk of it being damaged in the wash due to friction, pulling or catching. |
| Like Colours and fabrics For the first few cycles, we definitely recommend washing your branded merch with like-colours. Washing with like fabrics will also help to prevent pilling or other damage. |
Right Side Out Leaving your printed garments right side out will also increase the risk of them being damaged in the wash due to friction, pulling or catching. |
Remember to use gentle detergents only and do not use bleach, softeners or harsh detergents/chemicals as this might cause your print to crack, peel, fade or wear faster as well.
Drying Your Custom Merchandise
| What To Do | What NOT To Do |
| The ideal way to dry your printed merch is to air dry in indirect sunlight. This method will help to avoid damaging the fabric and print altogether. | If you opt to tumble dry your garments, the heat from it could cause your print (whether it’s DTG, DTF, Screen Print or embroidery) to crack, peel or shrink, which is not ideal. |
When it comes to sunlight, we have to remember that the Australian sun is quite strong and will cause fabrics under typical conditions to fade instantly, so imagine what it could do to your prints! In other words, don’t leave your prints drying in direct sunlight, as you will definitely notice colour fading.
Ironing Your Custom Merchandise
| What To Do | What NOT To Do |
| If you find yourself needing to iron your prints, make sure to turn your garment inside out and adjust the iron to a gentle/low heat setting. Steaming will work in a similar fashion, always apply the head to the reverse side of the print so that heat is not touching it directly. | Do not iron or apply heat directly on your prints at a high setting as this will likely cause them to melt, crack or peel. |
Storing Your Custom Merchandise
| What To Do | What NOT To Do |
| Folding your garment along the seams of the edge of the print works best for storage, as this will prevent creasing in the print itself. If that is not possible, we do recommend hanging it on padded hangers or rolling it up! The methods that help to reduce the pressure on the print will work best in preserving it. | Don’t cram your printed merch into drawers and wardrobes, as this will cause creasing along your design. Make sure that the garments are clean before you store them to avoid unwanted stains and odours. Using wire hangers or narrow hangers may also cause your garment to stretch in unwanted places. |
Enjoy Your Merch Longer!
A little extra effort when it comes to maintaining the quality of your print will go a long way in helping it look fresh and new for years to come. Then, once it gets to the stage where it’s starting to feel worn, you can enjoy its second life as a vintage-style tee.
There’s a common thought that pops into people’s minds when they start to think about custom printed merch. We find a fair few will mention screen printing straight off the bat, though not everyone will know what it is, or how it differs from other print methods.