Turn your graphic tee inside out, machine-wash it cold on a gentle cycle with similar colours, and hang it inside out in the shade. Skip the tumble dryer and keep the iron off the print. That’s how I’d wash one of our tees. If yours came from somewhere else, start with the care label and any instructions from the printer.
I’m Warwick, the founder of Lonely Kids Club. We print tees at our studio in Artarmon, Sydney. I took some customer feedback about our printing on board in 2023 and went a bit down the rabbit hole. I bought another printer, learned how to distil water and redid our print setup. I care a lot more about how a tee looks after you’ve actually worn and washed it a bunch of times than how it looks for five minutes out of the parcel.
How I’d wash a graphic tee
- Turn it inside out before it goes in. That keeps the print from rubbing directly against everything else. If the load’s full of heavy towels and jeans with zips, I’d save the tee for another wash.
- Pick cold and gentle. Use a regular, mild laundry detergent at the dose on the pack and wash with similar colours. For a brand-new black tee, I’d put it in with the darks.
- Go easy on stains. If you’ve dropped lunch on the print, blot it with a damp cloth before you wash it. I’d keep bleach and a scrubbing brush away from the artwork.
- Hang it in the shade. Leave it inside out while it dries and follow the label if it calls for flat drying. AS Colour gives the same cold-wash, shade-dry advice for the Staple tee we use for our regular fit.
Can you tumble-dry or iron a graphic tee?
I’d skip the dryer. The heat and the tumbling both add wear. If yours went through once and the print still looks fine, just hang it out next time. An airer indoors works fine if it’s bucketing down. If the label allows ironing, turn the tee inside out and iron around the artwork.
Does it matter how the tee was printed?
We use direct-to-garment printing (DTG). The ink goes straight onto the fabric and we use heat to set it. I like it for all the little bits in an illustration, like a fine line or a tiny bit of lettering. A transfer is made separately and pressed onto the tee. If you’re washing a transfer, a raised puff print or a foil design, check whether the maker gives you specific care instructions. There’s more on the ink and curing in our piece on how we print tees.
What’s that pale mark on a brand-new printed tee?
A faint, damp-looking patch around a fresh print can be leftover pre-treatment. When we print white ink on a dark tee, we put a liquid on the fabric first to help the ink stick. That white layer helps the other colours show up on the dark fabric. We treat a slightly bigger area than the design, so sometimes you can see a trace on the fabric around the artwork.
I get why you’d see a mark on a brand-new shirt and think, “Well, that’s annoying.” Try the tee on first. If you’re keeping it and the artwork looks intact, take a photo, give it one cold wash and let it air-dry. Then check the same spot in the same light. A light pre-treatment mark on one of ours usually comes out in that first wash. Epson also covers this in its guide to caring for direct-to-garment prints.
If you can already see ink missing, a lifted edge or a mark you’re unsure about, send us a photo before you wash it. If a pale patch is still there after the first wash, get in touch and we’ll take a look.
How can you tell if the print is cracking, fading or peeling?
Lay the dry tee flat near a window and look at where the change is. If you can find the original product photo, pull it up next to the shirt. Our Bread Tee is still my favourite. I drew the lettering by hand, so those little wobbles were there from day one.
- Cracking. Look for new little splits through the ink where the fabric shows through. Compare those spots with the original photo, especially if the design already had a worn-in look.
- Fading. The colours in the artwork look duller. Check the fabric next to it as well. If both have gone lighter, some of what you’re seeing may be the shirt colour fading too.
- Peeling. A lifting edge is something you might see on a transfer print. Leave it alone and show the printer a photo before trying to press it back down.
I quite like it when an old tee looks a little lived in. Once bits of ink have come away, a wash can’t put them back. I’d stick with cold washes and air-drying to go easy on what’s left. If the artwork has visibly changed after one cold wash, I’d want to see it. How the print was cured, the fabric and how it was washed can all play a part.
What to send us if you’re worried about a print
Email mail@lonelykidsclub.com with your order number, one photo of the whole tee and a close-up of the bit you’re worried about. If you’ve washed it, tell us which cycle you used and how you dried it. A photo from before the wash is handy if you have one. We can usually get a much better idea of what’s going on from those photos.
Cheers,
Warwick
