“Endless Tribute” Tees  for the band’s new tour. Check out Endless Tribute on Facebook!

1 color print on Gildan 5000 tees with waterbased discharge inks.

We’re pretty impressed with how discharge savvy Gildan 5000′s heathers/polyblends have become, and the new colors Tweed and Antique Cherry Red are further proof!

The Basics of Waterbased Discharge Inks:

One of the biggest issues we run into with our customers is when they really want to use light colored water-based inks on dark cotton polyester blend tees. Usually we recommend that clients select 100% cotton tees, because blended tees have synthetic fibers that will not discharge. This results in a muted or vintage look that some people really like and others don’t. If you want your colors to pop and your design to remain crisp, we recommend that you select tees with all natural fibers.

(American Apparel & Gildan Dark Heather: Rare exception to the heather discharge problems, these brands typically discharge much better than expected.)

Unfortunately not all 100% cotton garments discharge equally well.  Discharge printing has some mixed results on colors in the cobalt blue dye family, specifically Royal Blue, Kelly Green, and a few purples. Through experience we have determined that these colors do not discharge completely. You may see a powder blue tint on discharged royal garments, a lavender tint on discharged purple garments and a mint green tint on discharged kelly garments. However final results vary by garment manufacturer and color. Sometimes it’s an tinted effect people really like, and sometimes it’s a deal-breaker. There’s some more info about discharging and color limitations here.

Ultimately it often comes down to your priorities. If you really want to use polyblend tees, go for it! As you can see in the last photo posted, sometimes a heathering effect really adds a nice touch to your designs. But if you want the softest brightest most opaque print possible, you’ve gotta stick with waterbased discharge on 100% cotton.

Rad seven color print with water-based discharge inks for our friends at Life in Aggro.

Congrats on the successful kickstarter!

Company: BROKENTIER
Year Founded: 2010
By: Paul Kugler
Website: http://www.brokentier.com/

Favorite garment model: AA #2001, AA #BB401
Favorite video game: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 & Guilty Gear XX series

How did you get started in T-shirts? After spending years playing all sorts of arcade games competitively, I had settled into a 60 hour a week burnout finance job. Without the time to compete and travel, I wanted to find a new hobby that would allow me to reconnect with the fighting gaming scene I loved so dearly, while providing a creative outlet. BROKENTIER was the result.

"Clockwork" design

What is your major influence or inspiration for your designs? Arcades, graffiti, neon lights, trash talk, and streetwear.

"Excellent Adventure" design

What’s your favorite tee in your store? From an artistic and technical stand point, “Napalm” is my favorite. It parodies everyones favorite NES box art with a fighting game character reference. It’s also 6 colors and makes extensive use of halftones.

"Napalm" - Paul's fave.

What is the greatest reward you get from creating your own products? Being able to see how happy customers are when they get one of my shirts, and knowing that I’ve created an amazing quality product.

"Bombs Away" design

Do you have any big plans for the future? Expanding into different types of garments, cut and sew, and more sponsorships for gamers.

Go learn more about Broken Tier at their site.

Hot Off The Press: “Invisible Monsters” by Kevin Tong, for The Cult, the official Chuck Palahnuik website

4 color waterbased discharge inks on American Apparel Aqua/Black Polycotton 50/50 tee

I feel like this print is the perfect follow up to our last instructional article on waterbased discharge on polyblend fabrics: mostly because this is a great example of using the vintage muted effect to your best advantage. We love printing Kevin’s work, because it just works so well with fabric inks, and the folks at The Cult made a risky choice with their garments that really paid off.

Unfortunately the bright sunlight in the photos doesn’t really do justice to the garment color; the Aqua/black BB401 is a pretty cool tee with a vintage cut that really sets off the vintage looking print. Truly a rad tee worthy of an amazing author! We’re really stoked with how this turned out and can’t wait to see what The Cult’s next project is!

HOT OFF THE PRESS: “Double Tap” by Hungry Human. Waterbased inks, 5 colors, on American Apparel 2001 fine jersey tees. Larger version below.

I’m seriously freaking out over how great this design turned out. HH is bringing the heat: I can’t wait to see what other video game inspired hotness comes our way from that guy!

HOT OFF THE PRESS: “Planet Spirit Thunder” for AJ Fossum, Blue Metallic Foil plus 1 color print with waterbased discharge ink on American Apparel 2001 Fine Jersey Tees in Sunshine!

This print has us looking forward to summer: these colors our customer picked are so amazing together. This tee is flashy as hell, and I love it! Blue Foil is the new Gold.

(Ink Guy Kevin says “GO WARRIORS!”)

Planet Spirit Thunder by AJ Fossum

“Lion” by Legana Inc.

Here’s a 5 color print with waterbased inks on custom garments that truly demonstrates how a great separation job can bring a print to life. The Legana website is not up yet (coming soon! March 2012) , so consider this a taste of rad things to come. 

Shooting Gallery by KillerBob Graphics

Here we’ve got a 4 color chest print and 1 color sleeve print with waterbased inks.  Sadly this tiny photo does not do justice to the rad color combo of inks and the tee fabric. I don’t think I’ve seen too many prints on on Gildan’s Blue Dusk, but it might be my new favorite. Great subtle alternative to boring old Navy Blue. Way to be a trendsetter, Bob!

New Ladies tees we printed for our friends at Do Know Harm! This is a 2 color print with water-based inks on custom garments.

“Sustainability is a global issue and we strive to make sure all of our products are produced in as environmentally friendly manner as possible… Our screen printing avoids the use of harsh solvents… when you dress and drink responsibly, show the world how they can do it too!” – DKH website