Having just launched a shop I got reading about your different print methods and wanted to know if I could select how my products were printed to ensure the right print is used when a customer buys.
If I upload an AI file that has 3 colours will this default my print of that design to flex printing or do I need to complete another step?
Thanks in advance.
Tom
The printing method is selected automatically and is by default with digital printing whenever possible. We are moving from offering Flex-printing to exclusively offering digital: the change is slow but sure. This move was annouced last November:
Not sure the list of products is up to date though 
Would have to double check…
Thank you very much the information. I had missed this.
It is disappointing that you are not offering those print styles, I understand that there is “man hours” involved in producing those types of print and it’s sad to hear that you are not investing in more team members to deliver this print type as I believe it is a much more premium and tactile finished product. Automation is great for delivery and demand but not quality, especially for T-shirt design is also important.
In fact I’m wearing a digital printed tee now and the design does not look smooth and crisp like you’d get on Flex or similar.
I’m not sure if digital print will deliver the quality I’m looking for. I will have to order a sample and make a decision.
This is a very complex topic for sure. The outcome however of extensive research and many other try-outs has been that offering Flex is simply not feasible. Personally I believe it’s suitable for smaller companies (like f.ex your local print shop or similar) that have a better possibility to control the incoming orders and delivery times.
Even with hiring more team members (believe me, we’ve tried it before making this decision), we were not able to keep up with the growing demand and seasonal peaks while of course keeping a consistent quality - without having to significantly increase the prices for Flex-printing.
Flex printing is not only manual labour but a very complicated task requiring expertise. Training a new employee takes weeks.
Now, digital printing is actually pretty awesome and comparing DD and Flex is a bit like comparing apples and oranges - in my opinion. Flex-printing has significant print technic limitations: DD can print pretty much any image in the world. The two are so different, I find it hard to even compare them. One is definitely not “better quality” than the other and we have the best Digital Direct machines in the market. We also did some research on this topic and a majority of customers in fact prefer Digital Direct: it’s soft, more breathable, better suited for thinner fabrics, and even larger prints will not “weigh down” the fabric. We also heard the argument that the quality will not suffer even if you leave it for a week in the washing basket 
But of course, if you are after the specific look & feel of Flex-print, DD might not be what you are looking for. I’d recommend for you to try out a colourful print on a light-ish background to see the how amazing & vibrant the colours can be 
Thank you very much for the time in explaining the difference and the reasons for moving to DD.
I have ordered some items and they are due to arrive this week at some point. I will assess the quality and if I’m happy to use DD while I grow my brand.
Happy to help! Let us know how they turn out 
Hello Spreadshirt team,
I opened my shop in April of this year. I have been having issues with the way the design prints on the white shirts verses the color shirts. The white shirts come out perfect, however the color shirts, the ink comes off after 1 wash. The shirts were replaced however, I would not want this to continue to happen. Is there a part of the process why this is happening? I love spreadshirt. Also the shirts have a vinegar smell to them. Can anyone help me? I do not want to leave spreadshirt for another company. Your customer service is excellent.
This is normal and goes away after the first wash. It’s part of the pre-treatment so the print holds longer to the shirt.
It is important to read washing instructions carefully. This doesn’t sound normal. How do you wash the shirts you ordered at Spreadshirt?
I turn them inside out machine wash. The print is different on the white shirt versus the color. Why is that? With the white it’s embedded into the shirt but with the color it’s on the shirt.
With the replacement shirts there is a white outline around the logo as well.
Ok, the colors are popping. Not sure exactly what the issue is here. If you are not happy with the slight white color below your design please get in contact again with customer service. They’ll be very happy to help you.
On the white shirt, no white color is put below the actual color, that’s the main difference
In the old shop version, you could choose if you want your design to be printed with flex, plot, or digital. I’ve noticed now that those options seems to no longer exists. So is there any way to make sure that my customers get flex printing instead of quickly worn-out digital print? The best thing in Spreadshirt is the flex printing, so I really would like to keep that option.
No you can not choose the printing type as our long term goal is to print as much as possible in digital printing. You will soon have the option to choose your prints in special flex as these colors are not possible to recreate in a digital print.
Okay. That’s bad news for many of us, I’m sure. The flex/plot printing have been the one thing that your competitors didn’t have.
Just to make sure, does all the shirts from now on come with a digital print no matter what? Even the ones with a vector graphics that have previously been flex/plot?
If you used normal flex color or flock color AND the shirt is printable in DD then yes, from now on all are printed in DD.
We still have products that are not printable in DD, our breathable sports shirts for example.
We are keeping the special flex foils (such as glitter and neon foils). So if you created products with these type of foils then they still get printed that way
Closing this thread as it’s a repetition of Questions regarding switch from flex to digital printing
