Gildan Heavy Cotton Long Sleeve #5400

Learn More about Gildan 5400 Long Sleeve T-shirt

This is a quality, standard fitting long sleeve t-shirt. Nothing fancy here. This long sleeve t-shirt is the standard for the industry. Smooth cotton, cuffed sleeves and double stitched neck line. The fabric on this t-shirt is a lighter weight than the 2400. It is not very noticeable on dark colours, however, if you wish to print on white shirts, we suggest spending the little bit extra and use the Gildan 2400 long sleeve instead. The extra little bit of cotton in the shirt will be worth it.

This shirt prints and embroiders very well. In fact, it is designed with printing in mind. Read below to find out our best decorating suggestions.

Best Decorating Methods

Standard Plastisol Screen Printing is a great option for this t-shirt. Plastisol will make bright colours and opaque whites and colour matching can be exact.

Reduced plastisol is also a great option. This is where the ink is thin and pushed into the shirt. It cannot be felt by your hand, however the colours are muted and transparent with the colour of the shirt below showing through them. It is often described as a vintage print.

Discharge inks are also an option with this shirt. Discharge is a chemical reaction where the shirt is bleached and re-dyed in the printing process. It has a great look to it and has a very light hand to it. (meaning it doesn’t sit heavy on top of the garment.)  There are some disadvantages to discharge that you should consider though. Due to the chemical reaction, colours can be imprecise. We can try to match your colours, be will never be exact, plus ink colours can vary a little during the print run.  For example, red ink may be darker on the medium shirts than the large. This is due to dye lot differences. Also, some colours of shirts don’t discharge well. Like royal blue or kelly green.  So bear this in mind before you choose discharge inks. Great feel – but it comes with some risks.

Embroidery is another great option and always works well this t-shirt. We suggest small you keep your embroidered areas small when stitching on a t-shirt. Due to the light weight fabric of a t-shirt, and the propensity of a shirt to shrink, large areas will pucker and become wavy. Left chest embroidery is the best option for this Gildan 5400 long sleeve shirt..

Applique,  is a possibility, but we suggest felt fabric and single layers or single colours. Twill can be stiff and heavy which is not a great feel on a t-shirt.  Embroidery and applique and printing can be mixed for great results.