Very Very Soft Prints

Danger Press
Very Very Soft Prints

In an earlier post I talked about user experience and it’s importance to your brand. That was the theory of why soft matters, this is the practical application to achieve a soft printed garment.

The softest ink you can put on a T-shirt is Water Based Ink. The best fabrics to showcase its softness are triblend and poly-cotton blend shirts because they’re the softest. Why are they the softest kind of T-shirts available? Let us give you a little science.

First, some good examples of these shirts are Alternative Apparels Pre-Game Cotton Modal T-Shirt, Canvas’s Unisex Triblend Short Sleeve Tee (3413) or their Unisex Poly-Cotton Short Sleeve Tee (3650).

Blend fabrics have a softer hand than 100% cotton due to the synthetic fibers being smoother and more pliant than natural cotton fibers. Because of this, the surface they create in a weave is more uniform. Synthetic blends drape more closely to the body, giving them a luxurious feel.

If you look at the individual fibers of these fabrics under a microscope, the reason for their behavior becomes apparent.

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Cotton Fibers

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Cotton fibers, which are a single elongated plant cell, are flat and twisted like a ribbon. They have a hollow, kidney-shaped cross-section. When water comes in contact with cotton, it fills the inside fold of its ribbon structure and stays there. This is why cotton is such an absorbent material and can feel heavy with perspiration. This structure gives cotton fabrics an open, slightly puffy, and semi-rough texture.

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Polyester Fibers

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Polyester fibers, on the other hand, are smooth, solid, straight, have a round cross-section, and are narrower than cotton fibers. The uniform design has a tighter structure and easily passes moisture. This property will transport sweat away from the skin to the outer surface of the garment where it can evaporate. This is why many wickaway performance fabrics are made of polyester. This structure gives polyester fabrics a closed and smooth texture.

If you have any blended T-shirts in your closet, you’ll probably find yourself consistently choosing them over other shirts because of how fantastically soft and easy they feel on your skin. This is the user experience in action.

Very Very Soft Prints
J.Gilman