Discharge printing is a screen printing process where the same techniques and equipment are used but instead of normal ink, discharge inks are used, which remove the shirt’s dye instead of putting a color on top of the shirt.

It is somewhat similar to bleaching in a design, except it doesn’t damage the fibers like bleaching would. It results in an extremely soft print, and shows the weave of the shirt.

It can be used by itself, as an underbase for other colors to be put on top, or with pigments added.

Pigmenting discharge can be difficult to achieve exact color results, as the discharge efficacy affects the color, and what you see is not what you get when mixing the pigments, but it can still be a great way to achieve colors on dark garments.

Discharge Printing Advantages

• Softer look and feel. Everybody loves those super soft cotton tees that make groggy Monday mornings just a little less terrible. Custom t-shirts made with discharge printing have a softer look and feel than t-shirts made with plastisol ink.
• Lighter weight. Discharge printing is also great for big prints, so you can have that huge design you want, without all the heavy weight. Large print design and plastisol ink don’t mesh very well, especially if you prefer lightweight, airy clothing.
• Vibrant colors. Want bright, vibrant colors for your custom t-shirt design? Although discharge printing is typically done with darker materials, you can still get those bright, awesome colors your design needs to pop.