When people apply to take part in charity events, they do so because they want to feel part of a cause that is actively working to help people in need or to solve a problem. Charity events of this kind raise money, but they also raise awareness.

One way you can raise awareness for your chosen cause, and make participants really feel part of something special, is to arrange for a batch of printed T-shirts to be made up. Simply choose plain T-shirts in the charity’s colours from a wholesale clothing seller, and send in the logo to be screen-printed onto the T-shirt.

You can order these T-shirts in bulk, and get lower prices and better discounts the more T-shirts you order. This way, you can save your charity some money.

These printed T-shirts can then be sent out to participants as part of their application pack. Then, on the day of the event, they can proudly wear them when they take part.

The types of charitable events for which printed T-shirts can be useful include:

• Sponsored marathons, walks or bike rides
• Bake sales, fairs and car boot sales
• Children’s sports days

Over the last two articles, we have looked at how the screen printing process works. It can be useful to know this when arranging for your wholesale T-shirts to be printed with your custom designs.

The first few steps were as follows:

Step 1: The artwork is prepared
Step 2: The film positives are made to create a stencil
Step 3: The screen is made
Step 4: The films are burnt onto screens

Now, let’s look at steps 5 and 6.

Step 5: The ink is laid onto the T-shirt

This is where the T shirt printing process properly begins. The mesh is laid onto the garment and ink is pushed through it onto the fabric using a squeegee. The ink is then left to dry, and then the next colour of your design can be pushed through the mesh and laid down. The process continues until the design is completed.

Step 6: The ink is cured

You may think that your printed T-shirts are now ready to wear or to sell. However, before this can happen, the ink needs to be cured, which means that it is dried and set using very hot tunnel dryers so that the garment can be worn, washed and tumble dried. You can now wear your T-shirts.

In the first part of this guide on how screen printing works, we looked at the first two steps. These were:

Step 1: Preparing the artwork
Step 2: Making the film positives to create a stencil

Now let’s look at a few more of the steps involved in printing your design onto a piece of fabric.

Step 3: The screen is made

The screen printing team will choose a particular kind of mesh in order to make a screen, and this will be chosen depending on how detailed the design is and what kind of ink is being used. Next, a photosensitive emulsion is spread onto the mesh surface and left to dry off completely. This often happens overnight.

Step 4: Burning films onto screens

What happens next is that a separate film and screen are used for each colour of the design you want printed on your wholesale T-shirts. So, if you have 4 colours, you will need 4 different screens. The stencil is placed on each screen (still covered in photosensitive emulsion) and intense light is useful to burn the design onto it. The screens are rinsed and all you are left with is open mesh. This is used to pass the ink onto your T-shirts.

See part 3 of this guide for the last few steps in the screen printing process.

When you want your images and designs printed on clothing items, you will need to find a company that offers screen printing services. It is also preferable to find a wholesale clothing company that offers such a service, as you this will allow you to buy wholesale T-shirts cheaply and customise them to your own unique designs.

In order for your designs to be printed onto T-shirts, a relatively complicated process will need to be followed. In the following guide (continued in parts 2 and 3), we will look at the different stages of the screen printing process.

Step 1: Preparing the artwork for printing

When you send in your design to the screen printing company, or use its creative design team to come up with one, a quality check will be done. This may mean tweaking the image or design using computer software, to make the file entirely ‘print ready’.

Step 2: Creating the film positives

In order for the actual design to be printed onto the garment, the screen printing team will need to create a stencil. This will be burnt onto the screen. You make a stencil by using special film positives, along with thick, black ink and a special printer.

See part 2 of this guide for the next couple of steps.

Getting T-shirts printed with your own customised designs is not only easy and quick; it is also relatively cheap. If you buy from a wholesale clothing website, you will often find that a printing and embroidering service is offered.

Before you get your designs printed up, however, there are a few tips you will need to bear in mind:

• Make sure the most important information is the most visible. This could be the name of your business or club, or a recognisable logo or piece of branding. Make sure this stands out the most in the design.

• Choose colours that contrast against each other and the colour of the T-shirt, instead of those that can’t be seen clearly.

• Choose your font and text size very carefully, ensuring all text is readable.

• Bear in mind that getting more than one colour printed on your wholesale T-shirts may be more expensive than choosing a one-colour design.

• Make use of the printing company’s design team if one is available. Explain your ideas and let the experts turn them into a great design.

• Order your T-shirts in bulk to make the most savings.

If you love bowling with your friends, you might decide that you want to start doing it competitively. Many towns and cities have bowling leagues, where players at different levels compete for regional trophies and honours. It can be a fun and exciting way to spend your free time, and starting your own team is easy.

All you need to do is find out where your local bowling league is based, and if there are any requirements for entry. Find the specified number of team mates by asking your friends or colleagues, and then sign up.

Of course, no bowling team worth its salt is without a team uniform. Something as simple as a games shirt, T-shirt or polo shirt printed with the team name will be effective in cementing you as a team and making your competitors take you seriously.

The best and cheapest way to get bowling shirts made up for your team is to order from a wholesale clothing website, many of which will print or embroider your team name on the garments for you. You will have to meet a minimum order requirement to benefit from the discount prices, so you might want to bulk up your order by ordering printed caps or spare T-shirts.

Printed T-shirts are often used by businesses, either as promotional T-shirts or as staff uniforms, but we mustn’t forget just how fun they can be. You can get virtually anything you like printed on any style or colour of T-shirt.

As you can be as creative as you like with the design, you can even use printed T-shirts for hen and stag parties, holidays and weekends. In fact, they have become a hugely popular choice for brides and grooms to be and their closest buddies when it comes to planning their last few days of freedom.

Tips for designing printed hen or stag T-shirts

• Choose an image. This should be a picture of the bride or groom, possibly an embarrassing one from when they were younger and maybe even one that you have ‘doctored’ slightly.

• Include some bright, bold text. Make sure this contrasts with the colour of the T-shirt so it will stand out

• Remember to include the date of the hen or stag party, so that everyone who gets a T-shirt can keep it as a nice memento of the amazing time you will doubtless have

If you are planning to get a bulk order of plain T-shirts printed with logos, images or other details, such as those of your business, brand, team or party, you will need to bear a few points in mind. These are as follows:

• The size, colour and placement of graphics, plus the colour, size and font of text. Think carefully about how you want your T-shirts to look and the impact you want them to make. Ensure that all important information is highly visible (and legible), and choose colours that stand out against each other rather than blending in.

• How many T-shirts do you want? Most companies require a minimum order (usually of around 25), and you may want to order a number of different sizes and colours.

• Remember that multiple colours cost more. In most cases, it is more expensive to get more than one colour printed on your T-shirt.

• Only order from companies you can trust. The website you use must specialise in screen printing on plain T-shirts, with the facilities and resources to make up large orders in a short period of time. They should also offer good rates on delivery (or free delivery, preferably).