Another frequently asked question at The Tee Spot is “what is the difference is between a regular cotton and ring-spun cotton tee-shirt?”

The long answer is the process for creating the fibers used and the process for making the two fabrics is completely different.

The short answer is, ring-spun cotton is a stronger fiber and feels softer.

The biggest difference is how much you enjoy the feel of the tee-shirt against your skin when you wear it.

In a nutshell, cotton is made from the soft vegetable fibers from the inside of the cotton pod, that are then twisted together to make yarn, which is then woven to make the fabric.

Most of the industry standard tee-shirts are sewn from Carded Open End (COE) cotton because making this standard cotton is less labor intensive.

The bottom line cost for standard COE cotton is cheaper, making it a bigger seller for bulk orders.

Ring-spun yarn, on the other hand, is made by twisting and thinning the cotton strands to make a very fine, strong, soft rope of cotton fibers.

The ring-spun process produces a fabric with a more high-end feel to the touch that is also stronger.

Another big plus for tee-shirt shoppers is the lack of shrinkage in a ring spun tee-shirt.

Since you wont see as much shrinkage in a garment made with ring spun cotton, sizing is less of a guessing game.

Trying to estimate the fit of a garment after it is washed, dried and shrinks is a frustrating game!

Ring-spun cotton t-shirts, as a result of that extra step, will be a bit more expensive but are also more durable than their standard cotton counterparts.

So which is better, ring spun or regular cotton?

It’s hard to say definitively, because like most choices, the answer depends on what YOUR goal is and at The Tee Spot we respect that!

For a softer, more durable t-shirt, go with the ring-spun.

For a cheaper price point, go with the regular cotton weave.

The bottom line becomes preference and the end use of the product; most of our customers express that the price difference isn’t significant enough to make the comfort and accuracy in size of the ring-spun garment a deal breaker.

What about the print process?

Which works best depends on the process being used.

Direct to Garment (DTG) is the process that most closely parallels an ink-jet printer , meaning the ink is sprayed INTO the fabric.

The screen print process lays the color ONTO the fabric, so the fabric isn’t as crucial to the end result.

At The Tee Spot we use DTG on single order shirts which are requests with under 6 items being printed.

Because Direct To Garment inks are water-based and unlike screen-printing, where the image lays on top of the fabric, DTG requires a 100% cotton fabric to grab the ink.

Long story short, the smoother the fabric, the nicer the DTG print.

In our experience, the prints on ring spun cotton generally look better than prints on standard or “carded” cotton t-shirt because the fabric is smoother.

The smoother the surface the cleaner the image…..

Still have questions or concerns?

Give us a call because we are HERE to HELP!

Call Us @ 865-539-8220

Visit us at 264 N. Peters Road Knoxville, TN 37923

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