screen printING
Santa Barbara Screen Printing Services
Screen printing remains the most trusted method for producing high-quality custom apparel. Known for its durability, vibrancy, and cost efficiency at scale, screen printing is ideal for businesses, brands, events, and organizations throughout Santa Barbara and the Central Coast.
Whether you’re producing retail merchandise or promotional apparel, Foundation Press delivers professional-grade results with precision and consistency.
Built for Quality & Volume
All screen printing is produced in-house at our Old Town Goleta facility. From design assistance and digital color separations to film output, screen burning, and print production, every step is handled under one roof to ensure maximum quality control.
We’ve invested in top-of-the-line automatic screen printing presses, allowing our master printers to produce thousands of shirts per day. From small local runs to large-scale production orders, we’re equipped to handle volume without compromising print quality.
Order Minimums & Scaling
We print as few as 24 pieces, making screen printing accessible for smaller projects. As order quantities increase, the cost per print decreases, making it one of the most economical options for bulk custom apparel.
Have a large order? Volume is our specialty. We regularly manage production runs in the thousands for brands, businesses, and events.
Guided From Start to Finish
Whether you’re experienced with custom apparel or new to the process, we’ll guide you every step of the way. Together we’ll determine:
Garment style and product selection
Artwork optimization for print
Print locations and sizing
Ink colors and finishes
Quantity breakdowns
Production timelines
Our goal is to make the process seamless while delivering a finished product you’re proud to wear.
Fast Quotes & Reliable Turnarounds
Ready to get started?
Send us your quantity and due date, and we’ll provide a fast quote along with next steps to move your project into production.
1. Choose Your Garments
Start by selecting the product you want to print on. We offer access to hundreds of premium blanks — from everyday basics to retail-grade apparel — available in a wide range of colors, fits, and fabric weights. If you need guidance, we’re happy to recommend options based on your brand, budget, and print style.
Browse our favorite blanks →
2. Submit or Develop Your Artwork
Have artwork ready to go? Send it our way. If not, our team can assist with design development, refinements, or preparing your files for print. We’ll make sure your graphics translate cleanly and effectively onto the final garment.
Learn more about artwork services →
3. Define Print Specifications
Next, we’ll dial in the production details — including print placement, sizing, ink style, and specialty effects. Whether you’re going for a bold graphic hit or a soft retail finish, we’ll help you choose the best print method for your vision.
Explore print techniques →
4. Ink Colors & Custom Mixing
Select from our curated stock ink library, or let us create something entirely custom. We specialize in precise color matching and custom ink mixing — included as part of our service. This ensures your prints align perfectly with your brand palette without added fees. We can also match Pantone references or brand color standards to maintain consistency across production runs.
View ink color options →
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Printing Techniques & Specialty Finishes
Spot Color Printing
Spot color printing is the most traditional screen printing method, using individual ink colors applied through dedicated screens. This approach produces bold, opaque prints with exceptional color accuracy — ideal for logos, typography, and clean graphic designs.
Halftones & Gradients
Halftone printing uses microscopic dot patterns to simulate shading and tonal variation. By adjusting dot size and spacing, we can create smooth gradients, depth, and photographic effects while still using screen printing inks.
4-Color Process (CMYK)
4-color process printing blends cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks to reproduce full-color artwork. This method is commonly used for highly detailed images and photographic prints where a wide color spectrum is required.
Simulated Process Printing
Simulated process combines spot colors with advanced halftone techniques to achieve photo-realistic results. Typically using 6–8 ink colors, this method delivers vibrant, high-detail prints while maintaining the durability and feel of traditional screen printing.
Vintage & Distressed Printing
Vintage printing techniques are designed to create a soft, worn-in aesthetic. By reducing ink opacity, eliminating underbases, or distressing artwork, we produce prints that feel broken-in from the first wear — perfect for retail and lifestyle brands.
Specialty Inks & Finishes
We offer a range of specialty inks to add dimension and unique visual effects to your prints. Options include puff ink for raised texture, metallic and shimmer finishes, neon pigments, silicone inks, and eco-friendly algae-based formulations — allowing brands to push creative boundaries beyond standard prints.
Water-Based & Discharge Printing
Water-based and discharge inks are ideal for achieving an ultra-soft, breathable print feel. Water-based inks absorb directly into the garment fibers, while discharge removes the shirt’s dye and replaces it with pigment — resulting in vibrant prints with little to no surface texture. These techniques are especially popular for retail and fashion applications.
High Density & Specialty Texture Prints
High density printing builds ink up in multiple layers to create a raised, dimensional surface. This technique adds a bold tactile element to designs and works well for statement graphics, premium branding, and specialty merchandise.
Oversized & All-Over Printing
For designs that demand maximum visual impact, oversized printing expands beyond standard print boundaries. Whether spanning across seams or covering large print areas, this approach is commonly used in streetwear and fashion collections.
Sleeve, Neck & Custom Placement Prints
In addition to standard front and back prints, we offer specialty placements including sleeve prints, inside neck tags, outside labels, and other custom placements. These details elevate garments and reinforce brand identity in subtle but impactful ways.
Screen Printing FAQs
I’m not sure my artwork is print-ready. Can you help?
Of course. We’ll evaluate your files and let you know if adjustments are needed. Our team can assist with artwork cleanup, recreation, or optimization to ensure the best possible print results.
Do you offer design services?
Yes — we provide in-house design support ranging from simple file prep to fully custom artwork and branding. Design services are quoted based on scope, either hourly or at a flat project rate.
What file formats do you accept?
Vector artwork is preferred for screen printing.
Accepted formats include:
.AI
.EPS
.SVG
.PDF (Illustrator compatible)
Layered Photoshop files may also work if built to print size at 300 DPI or higher.
If you’re unsure about your files, send them over — we’re happy to review.
Will I see a mockup before printing?
Yes, every order includes a digital mockup for approval prior to production. This allows you to review artwork placement, sizing, and print details before we move forward.
Physical pre-production samples may be available for an additional cost depending on the project scope.
How many ink colors can my design include?
We can produce multi-color prints across a wide range of complexity levels. While higher color counts increase setup time and cost, we’ll always recommend the most efficient approach based on your artwork and quantity.
What ink colors can I choose from?
We offer a curated library of stock ink colors — and we also specialize in custom ink mixing at no additional charge. This allows us to match brand palettes and achieve precise color results without added fees.
Can you match Pantone colors?
Yes. We can match Pantone references to ensure color accuracy and brand consistency across production runs.
What is Pantone color matching?
Pantone is an industry-standard color system used to maintain consistency across print and manufacturing. Each shade is assigned a unique code, allowing us to reproduce colors as accurately as possible during ink mixing and production.
What are color separations?
Color separation is the process of breaking artwork into individual print layers — one for each ink color. This step is essential for achieving clean registration, accurate color reproduction, and high-quality final prints.
Do you source the garments?
Absolutely. We handle garment sourcing in-house through our network of wholesale apparel distributors. This ensures product consistency, reliable delivery, and competitive pricing across a wide range of blank apparel options.
We’re also happy to recommend styles based on your budget, brand positioning, and print method.
Can I provide my own garments?
Customer-supplied garments are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Factors we consider include:
Fabric composition
Print surface suitability
Garment organization and counting
Risk of spoilage during production
Because we can’t replace customer-supplied goods if damaged, we maintain a standard spoilage allowance (typically up to 2%). Additional handling fees may apply depending on complexity.
If you’re considering providing garments, send us the product details first so we can confirm print compatibility.
What is your minimum order?
Our screen printing minimum starts at 24 pieces per design. This allows us to maintain production efficiency while offering competitive pricing. Larger quantities reduce the cost per print.
What are your turnaround times?
Our standard production timeline is typically around two weeks from final artwork and order approval.
Please note: production begins only after artwork proofs are approved and your order is fully confirmed. Additional time may be required for revisions, garment sourcing, or complex print specifications.
If you have a firm deadline, let us know early — we’ll build the schedule around your in-hands date whenever possible.
Do you offer rush printing?
Yes — rush production may be available depending on our current schedule. Share your due date when requesting a quote, and we’ll let you know what’s feasible. Expedited orders may include additional production fees.
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A custom quote is required for each job since there are so many variables to consider. Once we have the basic info of your job we’ll get you exact pricing.
Certain costs however are fixed:
Screen setup (including films) - $40 / color
Design time - $175 / hour
Setup is waived on all orders 1-5 colors
6-8 color job setup is 50% waived OR require a 48 piece minimum
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Minimum order is 24 pieces total in any size breakdown you like. Print size, location, color, garment style number, and ink type must be the same for at least these 24 pieces.
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We welcome picky clients. If you know exactly what you want then we know how to make you happy. However, when it comes to the size and placement of your print, it’s often best to let us help. You may provide us with exact size and placement specifications and we’ll nail it with laser alignment precision, or better yet, sit back and trust the professionals to make your job look awesome.
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When determining what shirt is right for your project, material is the first essential element to consider. Once a client determines what kind of material they’d like to go with we are happy to recommend brands that we love.
Basic Cotton: All cotton fabrics are soft and breathable. Cotton isn’t clingy so it will have more of a looser fit. Basic Cotton is durable and inexpensive, these are our go-to garments when ordering in bulk.
Ring spun Cotton: A higher quality more fashion forward option that is highly durable and has a softer more luxurious-feel compared to Basic Cotton.
Cotton/Polyester Blends (50/50): Blending the softness and breathability of cotton with the flexibility and durability of polyester Moisture-wicking, lightweight and generally softer than 100% Cotton.
Tri-Blends (50/25/25): Super soft, loose weave with a lightweight feel and moisture-wicking properties. Tri-Blends have the durability of polyester, the comfort of cotton, and the drape of rayon. We recommend thinner, softer ink deposits for this fabric giving the print a softer vintage look and feel.
Eco-friendly Fabrics: For our clients looking to go with an environmentally friendly clothing option. Each eco-friendly fabric has a different hand feel and can be made with a variety of materials including bamboo, rayon and recycled polyester.
There are so many options available to you when it comes to choosing a garment and dozens of brands to choose from. We have our go-to brands we use when ordering in bulk and our favorite boutique brands that we recommend when a client has specific requests or needs.
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Plastisol ink and Water Based ink are the two main types of ink that are used in screen printing. They’re recognizably different in nature, both very effective and with their own advantages. It all depends on what your need is…
Plastisol Ink:
The most common type of screen printing ink. It has been the industry standard for garment printing for almost to a century. It’s vibrant, opaque, and durable. Plastisol is our go-to ink at Foundation Press because it’s great to work with and versatile. With different additives and techniques we achieve a wide array of textures and styles with this ink It’s is extremely opaque and can retain a bright image for many years.
Water Based Discharge Ink:
Discharge ink is a type of water based ink. It’s a special type of water based ink that has a discharge agent mixed into it. It removes any dye on the fabric and replaces it with the pigment in the ink yielding a very custom, supremely soft result. So unlike Plastisol, discharge ink essentially re-dyes the fabric instead of sitting on top of the fabric. The end result is a super soft print that almost can’t be felt. Discharge ink is more labor intensive to print since proper humidity, longer cure times, and weight based color mixing are all variable that must be closely managed. As a result, it’s priced a bit higher and a method we recommend only when the job really calls for it!