Editing T-shirt (section)

==Decoration==
[[File:Ringer t-shirt.png|frame|right|Ringer T-shirt]]
[[File:WLA T shirt visual.pdf|alt=Black T-shirt|thumb|Wikipedia round neck T-shirt]]

In the early 1950s, several companies based in [[Miami, Florida]] started decorating T-shirts with different resort names and various characters. The first to do so on an extensive scale was Tropix Togs, founded by Sam Kantor. After meeting [[The Walt Disney Company]] in a Miami airport in 1976, Kantor's company became the original licensee for Walt Disney characters including Mickey Mouse and Davy Crockett. The T-shirts were sold when [[Walt Disney World]] first opened.

Later, other companies expanded into the T-shirt [[Textile printing|printing]] business, including Sherry Manufacturing Company, also based in Miami. Founded in 1948 by owner Quentin H. Sandler, Sherry initially screen printed souvenir tourist scarves. It quickly evolved into one of the largest US screen printed resort and licensed apparel companies, and by 2018, was running automatic screen print presses and producing up to 20,000 T-shirts each day.

In the 1960s, the ringer T-shirt appeared and became a staple fashion for youth and rock-n-rollers. Ringer T-shirts are a solid-color shirt with bands of a second color around the collar and the lower edges of the sleeves, with or without an additional front decoration.

The 1960s also saw the emergence of [[tie-dye]]ing and [[screen printing]] on the basic T-shirt, which became a medium for wearable art, commercial [[advertising]], [[souvenir]] messages, and [[protest art]] messages. Psychedelic art poster designer [[Warren Dayton]] pioneered several political, protest, and pop-culture art pieces, printed large and in color on T-shirts featuring images of Cesar Chavez, political cartoons, and other cultural icons in an article in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' magazine in late 1969 (ironically, the printing clothing company quickly cancelled the experimental line, fearing there would not be a market).

In the late 1960s, Richard Ellman, Robert Tree, Bill Kelly, and [[Stanley Mouse]] set up the Monster Company in Mill Valley, California to produce fine art designs expressly for T-shirts. Their designs often featured emblems and motifs associated with the [[Grateful Dead]] and [[marijuana]] culture.<ref>''Monster T-shirt ART'', Monster Corporation catalog #3, Mill Valley 1974</ref> Additionally, one of the most popular symbols to emerge from the political turmoil of the 1960s was the T-shirt bearing the face of [[Marxist]] revolutionary [[Che Guevara]].<ref>[http://www.sojones.com/news/1465-the-most-famous-statement-T-shirts/ The Most Famous Statement T-shirts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702111537/http://sojones.com/news/1465-the-most-famous-statement-T-shirts/ |date=2017-07-02 }} by SoJones Asmara, September 10, 2009</ref>

Today, many notable and memorable T-shirts produced in the 1970s have become ensconced in [[Popular culture|pop culture]]. Examples include bright yellow [[Harvey Ball|happy face]], [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]] "tongue and lips"<ref>File:The Rolling Stones Tongue Logo.png</ref> logo, and [[Milton Glaser|Milton Glaser's]] iconic "[[I Love New York|I ♥ N Y]]” designs. In the mid-1980s, the white T-shirt became fashionable after the actor [[Don Johnson]] wore it with an Armani suit in the ''[[Miami Vice]]'' series.<ref name="Harris" />

=== V-Neck ===
A V-neck T-shirt has a V-shaped [[neckline]], as opposed to the round neckline of the more common crew neck shirt (also called a U-neck). V-necks were introduced so that the neckline of the shirt does not show when worn beneath an outer shirt.<ref name="mw">{{cite dictionary|title=Crew neck|dictionary=Merriam-Webster Online|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crew+neck|access-date=2 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=25 August 1957|title=Sweaters Go Bulky|page=2|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZTEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=7240,1997423&dq=crew-neck+sweater+college&hl=en|access-date=2 August 2010}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="kirby">{{cite web|last=Kirby|first=Michael B.|date=Spring 2008|title=90th IDPG History of the T-shirt During WW2|url=http://www.90thidpg.us/Equipment/Articles/Tshirts/index.html|access-date=2 August 2010|publisher=90th Infantry Division Preservation Group}}</ref>

===Screen printing===
[[File:0 Venise, Dame portant un tee-shirt à motif architectural.JPG|thumb|A woman wearing a T-shirt with an architectural motif]]

The most common form of commercial T-shirt decoration is [[screen printing]], in which a design is separated into individual colors. [[Plastisol]] or water-based [[ink]]s are applied to the shirt through mesh screens partially coated with an emulsion, which limits the areas where ink is deposited. In most commercial T-shirt printing, a limited number of [[spot color]]s (typically one to four) are used to print the design. To achieve a wider color spectrum with a limited number of colors, process printing (using only [[CMYK|cyan, magenta, yellow and black]] ink) or the simulated process (using only white, black, red, green, blue, and gold ink) is effective. Process printing is best suited for light-colored shirts<ref>{{cite web|title=CMYK Printing|url=http://www.impressionzprinting.com/services/color-printing/|publisher=ImpressionzPrinting.com|author=Steve Rhodes|quote=CMYK is a widely used technique to replicate full-color images on light colored backgrounds. The full-color process originated to accurately reproduce artwork on white paper.}}</ref> while the simulated process is best suited for dark-colored shirts.

The invention of [[plastisol]] in 1959 provided a more durable and stretchable ink than water-based inks, allowing much greater variety in T-shirt designs. Very few companies continue to use water-based inks on their shirts; the majority prefer plastisol because it allows printing on varying colors without the need for color adjustment at the art level.

Specialty inks trend in and out of fashion and include [[Screen printing#Garment printing inks|shimmer]], [[Screen printing#Garment printing inks|puff]], [[Screen printing#Garment printing inks|discharge]], and chino-based<ref>{{cite web|title=Subject: Re: chino ink??|url=http://forums.screenprinters.net/viewthread/2/405410|publisher=ScreenPrinters.Net|access-date=13 January 2018|first=Lance|last=Huston|quote=Chino is a special Rutland INK BASE mixing system.… While on the surface it looks similar to a reduced base, it does have a unique print quality to it that offers a waterbase feel, without the hassles of waterbase inks.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923025320/http://forums.screenprinters.net/viewthread/2/405410|archive-date=23 September 2013}}</ref> inks. A metallic foil can be heat pressed and stamped onto any plastisol ink. When combined with shimmer ink, metallics give a mirror-like effect wherever the previously screened plastisol ink was applied. Specialty inks are more expensive to purchase and screen, and tend to appear on boutique garments.

Other methods of T-shirt decoration [[airbrush|airbrushing]], [[appliqué]], [[embroidery]], impressing or embossing, and the [[ironing]] on of either [[Flocking (texture)|flock]] lettering, [[Iron-on#Iron-on transfers|heat transfers]], or [[dye-sublimation]] transfers. [[Laser printing|Laser printers]], using special [[toner (printing)|toners]] containing [[Dye-sublimation printing|sublimation dyes]], can print designs on plain paper which can then be permanently heat-transferred to T-shirts.

In the 1980s, [[thermochromatic]] dyes were used to produce T-shirts that changed color when subjected to heat; [[Hypercolor|Global Hypercolour]] was one of the most popular youth brands to do so in the US and UK. One downside of color-change garments is that the dyes are easily damaged by [[laundry|washing]] in warm water, and can also stain other clothes during washing.

===Tie-dye===
[[File:TieDyeShirtMpegMan.jpg|thumb|An example of a [[tie-dye]]d T-shirt]]

[[Tie-dye]] originated in India, Japan and Africa as early as the sixth century.<ref name="iml.jou.ufl.edu">{{cite web |title=Peace, Love and Tie-Dye |url=http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring09/blake_e/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130927022337/http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring09/blake_e/history.html |archive-date=2013-09-27 |access-date=31 October 2017 |website=Iml.jou.ufl.edu}}</ref> Forms of tie-dye include [[Bandhani]] (the oldest known technique), used in Indian cultures, and [[Shibori]], primarily used in Japanese cultures. It was not until the 1960s that tie-dye was introduced to America during the [[hippie movement]].<ref name="iml.jou.ufl.edu" />

===Heat transfer vinyl (HTV)===
Another form of T-shirt decoration is [[heat transfer vinyl]], also called HTV. HTV is a polyurethane material that allows apparel designers to create unique layered designs using a specialized software program. Once the design is created, it is then cut through the material using a vinyl cutter (or Cut n Press) machine.

There are dozens of different colors available, as well as glitter, reflective, and now even unique patterns (such as mermaid skin) which come in rolls and sheets.

After the design is cut, there is a process called “weeding” whereby the areas that do not represent the design are picked away from the transfer sheet and removed so that the intended design remains. HTV is typically smooth to the touch and does not feel rubbery or stiff. The edges are typically clean-cut and produce high contrast.

Designers can also create multiple color designs, or multi-layered designs, using HTV. This process is done in the design software before the design is sent to the cutter for the different materials. A heat press is then used to apply pressure and heat to the vinyl so that the material permanently adheres to the garment. The temperature and pressure vary according to manufacturer specifications.

=== Dye-sublimation printing ===
[[Dye-sublimation printing]] is a widely used direct-to-garment digital printing technology using full-color artwork to transfer images to polyester and polymer-coated substrate based T-shirts. Dye sublimation (also commonly referred to as all-over printing) came into widespread use in the 21st century, enabling some previously impossible designs. The technology allows unlimited colors using large CMYK printers with special paper and ink, unlike screen printing which requires screens for each color of the design. All-over print T-shirts have solved the problem with color fading, and vibrancy is greater than most standard printing methods, but the process requires synthetic fabrics for the ink to take hold. The key feature of dye-sublimated clothing is that the design is not printed on top of the garment, but permanently dyed into the threads of the shirt, ensuring that it will never fade.

Dye sublimation is economically viable for small-quantity printing; the unit cost is similar for short or long production runs. Screen printing has higher setup costs, requiring large numbers to be produced to be cost-effective, and the unit cost is higher.

[[Sublimation (phase transition)|Sublimation]] uses heat and pressure to [[Phase transition|change solid ink into a gas]] without first passing through a [[liquid]] phase. The design is first produced in a computer [[image file format]] such as jpg, gif, png. It is then printed on a purpose-made [[computer printer]] ({{As of|2016|lc=y}}, most commonly Epson or Ricoh brands){{citation needed|date=February 2021}} using large heat presses to vaporize the ink directly into the fabric. By mid-2012, the method had become widely used for T-shirts.

=== Other methods ===
Other methods of decorating shirts include using paints, markers, fabric transfer crayons, dyes and spray paint. Some techniques that can be used include sponging, [[stenciling]], [[wikt:daub#Verb|daubing]], [[wikt:stamping|stamping]], [[screen printing]], bleaching, and many more.<ref>Taylor, Carol. The Great T-Shirt Book!: Make Your Own Spectacular, One-of-a-kind Designs. New York: Sterling Pub., 1992. Print.</ref> Some new T-shirt creators have used designs with multiple advanced techniques, which includes using glow-in-the-dark inks, heat-sensitive fabrics, foil printing and all-over printing. Fashion designer [[Robert Geller]] created a T-shirt collection featuring oversized graphic T-shirts made from extremely soft jersey materials. Designer [[Alexander Wang (designer)|Alexander Wang]] released variations of T-shirts from oversized scoop necks, tanks to striped, slouchy rayon jerseys.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nymag.com/fashion/09/fall/58330/index1.html|title=T-Shirt by Darwin|website=NYMag.com|date=12 August 2009 |access-date=2017-05-23}}</ref> [[Terence Koh]] T-shirts featured an upside down portrait with a real bullet hole in the head.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/terence-koh-t-shirt-collection|title=Bullet Hole Tees: Terence Koh's Capsule T-Shirt Collection for Opening Ceremony|website=TrendHunter.com|access-date=2017-05-23}}</ref>