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Glossary

Apparel Terms,
Decoded

Custom apparel comes with its own vocabulary. Here are the terms you'll hear from us (and from any other shop) and what they actually mean. If we use a term that's not in here, ask us — there's no such thing as a dumb question in this business.

Decoration methods

Embroidery — stitching thread directly into the fabric to form the design. Best for logos, hats, polos.
Screen printing — pushing ink through a mesh stencil onto the fabric. Best for high-volume tees and hoodies.
DTF (Direct-to-Film) — printing the design onto a film, then heat-pressing the film onto the garment. Best for full-color art at low quantities.
Sublimation — dyeing the polyester fibers directly with heat-activated ink. Best for athletic jerseys.
Vinyl heat transfer (HTV) — cutting shapes out of colored vinyl and heat-pressing them. Best for athletic numbers + names.
Leather patches — laser-cut leather pieces stitched onto hats. Premium look for trucker caps.
Laser engraving — burning a design into wood, leather, or metal. Best for drinkware, plaques, and gift items.
UV printing — printing UV-cured ink directly onto hard goods like tumblers, phone cases, signage.

Art + design

Vector art — math-based graphics that scale infinitely. File extensions: .AI, .EPS, .SVG, .PDF.
Raster art — pixel-based graphics. File extensions: .PNG, .JPG, .TIFF.
DPI (Dots Per Inch) — resolution measurement for raster art. Print needs 300 DPI minimum at final size.
CMYK / RGB / Pantone (PMS) — color modes. CMYK for printing, RGB for screen, Pantone for spot-color matching.
Digitizing — converting your art file into stitch instructions an embroidery machine can read. One-time fee per design.
Vectorization — redrawing a low-quality raster file as clean vector art so it can be printed at any size.

Production terms

Mockup — a digital preview of your design on the garment before production starts.
Setup fee — one-time cost for preparing screens, digitizing, or vectorization.
Per-piece price — what each finished item costs you.
Run-time — the actual time spent printing or embroidering each piece.
Plastisol — thick, durable screen-print ink. The industry standard.
Water-based ink — softer-feeling screen-print ink. Sits inside the fabric instead of on top.
Stitch count — total number of stitches in an embroidered design. Drives embroidery cost.

Ready to Get Started?

Two ways to order — design it yourself online in minutes, or send us your project for a custom quote. Free mockups either way, no minimums, no setup fees.

Design Yours Online → Get a Custom Quote →

or call (208) 954-9492

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Apparel Terms,Decoded

Decoration methods

Art + design

Production terms

Ready to Get Started?

Apparel Terms,
Decoded