Vintage and Distressed T-shirt Printing Vancouver
The classic vintage t-shirt look is very trendy these days. Distressed images, worn-out looks, and cracked ink, all give the appearance of an old, well-loved, shirt. At GetBold we are experts at creating vintage t-shirt prints for custom t-shirt customers.
Vintage distressed prints can be achieved in several different ways, but the first step to creating the best-loved vintage t-shirt look is to start with the right t-shirt. Lightweight t-shirts are the best option. We would also recommend something that has a bit of stretch to it, so that means a blend of some sort. A 50/50 Polyester and cotton blend or even a tri-blend that would have some rayon in it. These blended shirts are typically more lightweight and fitted and look great with a vintage-style print.
Light weight printing is the key. So don’t expect super bring colours. We are going to try and make it look like it has been washed one hundred times, so the colours need to be faded.
Another trick is to add a distressed filter to the art. Chunks of you are removed to simulate bits of ink that have washed away over time. We have dozens of different distressed filters. If you want us to add one to your art just ask and we can show you how it will look.
Popular Items for Vintage or Distressed T-shirt Printing
M&O 65/35 Poly Blend Tee #3541
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- $9.23 ea
- 6 colours
- Small – 2XL
M&O Ladies 65/35 Poly Blend Blend Tee #3540
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- $7.94 ea
- 6 colours
- X-Small – 2XL
Vintage and Distressed Prints Checklist
Choose Your Opacity
This picture shows you the way white ink looks printed on a 50/50 black t-shirt. We have reduced it by weight to show you how it can look for your vintage print. The most commonly used reduction is 30%.
Blended Garments are Best Printed Vintage Style
It is perfectly fine to print vintage style on a 100% Cotton t-shirt, but if you decide you want to print on a blended, lightweight fabric. We would recommend using the vintage style of printing. Standard plastisol print can feel too heavy on a blended shirt. Especially because dye blockers need to be added to the ink to prevent polyester t-shirt dye from migrating into the ink. These dye blockers make the ink feel rubbery. To keep your lightweight blended shirt feeling lightweight, it’s best to print vintage style and let the dye migration be part of the desired look.
Vintage Prints Can’t Match Pantones
Since it’s supposed to look muted, and the shirt colour blends into the ink, matching a Pantone is not possible. We can mix the Pantone exactly in the bucket and then see what we get after we print it. It will look like a worn-out version of the Pantone colour. We would call that Pantone -ish.
Add Distress to Your Art
Distress in your life is not something you would ever want. But distress on your art can be very cool! We have lots of distress filters that we can drop on your art to give it a washed-out look. Ask us to show you the options we have available.
Minimum 12 Pieces
Since we are printing this vintage art with standard inks, that means we can re-use the left-overs. Reduced waste and simple setups mean we can offer a low minimum order for vintage t-shirt printing.
Custom Vintage or Distressed T-shirt Printing in Vancouver.
Below are some of our favourite t-shirts printed in the vintage or distressed style.
We take pride in what we print. If you need some custom printed t-shirts done in the vintage style we have the skills to make them look great. Check out the images of vintage t-shirts we printed below for some inspiration
Happy customizing!
Gentle distress, 30% reduced 
No Distress. 50% reduced on one white screen, 30% on a second white screen 
Lots of distress, 50% reduced ink.