What is puff print?
Puff print is a plastisol screen-printing ink mixed with a blowing agent. Printed like any screen print, it expands in the curing tunnel and rises one to two millimetres off the fabric with a soft, matte, slightly rubbery surface. Bold shapes only.
Why it matters
It is the finish behind most streetwear hoodies with raised lettering. Because it is a screen print, it carries screen setup and becomes economical from around 100 pieces.
On our floor
Printed through a coarser mesh with a surcharge over standard plastisol. A one-colour chest puff adds roughly $1.40 per garment at 100 from our current rate sheet; the rise is tuned and shown on the strike-off.
Common questions
- Does puff print crack?
- Cured properly and kept away from hot tumble drying, it lasts like standard plastisol.
- Can it be multi-colour?
- Each colour is a screen and registering raised colours is exacting. One colour is standard; two is the practical limit.
- What fabric?
- 200 gsm cotton at minimum; fleece ideally. Light fabric distorts under the raised ink.
- Puff print or 3D embroidery?
- Puff print for chest or back lettering above 100 pieces; 3D embroidery for caps, small marks and runs under 100.
Related terms
screen printing
Screen printing pushes ink through a fine mesh screen stencilled with your artwork, one screen and one pass per colour. Setup is per…
plastisol ink
Plastisol is the standard screen-printing ink: a PVC-based ink that sits on the fabric surface and cures under heat into a durable, opaque…
3D puff embroidery
3D puff embroidery lays a sheet of foam under the stitching so the thread wraps over it and the design stands two to three millimetres off…
strike-off
A strike-off is a single test print of your design on the real garment or fabric, produced before bulk so you can approve the colour, the…
Where this applies
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