How To Fix Cracked Print On Shirt | 3 Methods to Ensure Print Stability

Fashion is not complete without screen printing on t-shirts, shirts, hoodies, and other clothing. One of the most fashionable attires is screen printing on clothing. After several washes, however, a shirt’s print may crack, making it not as pleasant to wear or look at. If the t-shirt or clothing is still in good condition, below are three options to keep the clothing wearable. One is about trying to fix the cracking in the print. while the other two are ways to remove the print, so you will have a plain, but still wearable, shirt.

Why Does The Print Crack?

As people are becoming trendy and always searching for something new and fashionable, printed shirts and t-shirts have become a fashionable clothing item. Usually, a printed shirt comes with lettering or design and even an image on it. The printing is usually applied to shirts and clothes made of durable fabrics.

Usually, the image or design of the shirt can crack for three reasons. These are as follows:

1. Prolonged Use

Anything you use for a long time will cause it to decrease its quality day by day. Similarly, the designs or images of the shirt start to fade away after prolonged use. If your shirt is good enough in quality, you actually don’t need to fix the cracked print. Because, the print only becomes cracked after long-term use, and you’ll never want to fix the print on an old shirt. In this case it is possible to remove the print entirely and still be able to wear the shirt.

2. Low Print Quality

In this case, the quality of the printing may be quite low. If this is the case, the print may start to be cracked after a few days of use, or only a few washing cycles. Though the print is cracked, the clothing may still be new. So, you need a fix for your cracked print in that case.

3. Improper Care

If the proper care of the clothing is not taken, the design or image of the shirt will start to crack. For instance, if you bleach or use a harsh chemical to wash your shirt that wasn’t meant for it, you may crack the print at some point. So, you may want to fix or remove the cracked print in that case too.

How To Fix Cracked Print On Shirt – Look at the Methods

In reality, a high-quality print on a shirt can also be cracked if you don’t treat it carefully. In this way, you can actually prevent the print from damaging, and if you can prevent further damage, this may be an altenative to trying to fix it. However, when fixing really becomes a necessity, you can use three basic techniques which will be now explained below.

Method 1: Using Hot Iron

Specifically, you can use a steam iron to fix the cracked print on a shirt. In this method, you actually remove the print from the shirt instead of correcting it. That means you can get a fresh shirt after getting rid of the print.

1. First, turn the shirt inside out and put a board inside just below the print. This board is to protect the other side of the shirt.
2. Put medium-sized papers on both sides of the print, which can cover the whole print. Don’t use cardboard or magazines as paper. It’s important to use plain white paper without lamination or any plastic coating. In doing so, the top paper will protect the fabric from the iron and the bottom paper will stick to the molten print after ironing.
3. Now, fill the water tank of the iron and use the iron on the maximum temperature that can be used for the fabric type that you have.
4. After that, turn on the steam function and iron the top paper. For ironing at the top, the print will melt into the bottom paper. Once you have run the iron over it a couple of times, remove the whole sticker carefully using a plastic card or a knife.
5. Perform all the tasks very carefully so that you don’t burn your fingers or damage the fibers. If you can’t scrape the whole print on the first try, you may need to repeat the whole process several times to remove it entirely.
6. When the entire print is removed, wipe the shirt using a nail cleaner. If the glue of the print is still not removed, you can use regular vinegar to wash that glue. And, after that, you will have a plain shirt which can now be washed and worn like new!

Method 2: Use External Paint

In this method, you need to paint over the previous design so that the shirt can get the same look again. So, this technique is known as paint masking. Because you are actually masking the cracked print to get a fresh look.

1. Select a paint mix to repair the cracked print. One mix is generally enough for one project.
2. Before painting the shirt, you should mix a volumetric medium into the paint. Adding this medium will allow the paint to get thicker, and the cracks can be filled in a better way, too.
3. After adding that medium, you need to add another usual medium, which will help the paint to stick to the fabric more securely. However, don’t forget to read the instructions since you may sometimes need to iron after painting the print.
4. When the paint is perfectly stuck to the fabric, let it rest for some time in a dry place. When the shirt is fully dried, your crack-repairing task is over.

Method 3: Using Medical Alcohol

Fixing cracked prints using alcohol is not very common. However, it is very effective in removing the textile print. Not to mention, thermal printing can suffer when using this type of agent. Because solid polymer-based printing is very reactive to alcohols.

1. First, clean your shirt carefully, and there should be no dust left on the fabric. Because the dust deforms when it gets in contact with the alcohol.
2. Remove the print by pouring alcohol into it. In this process, the print becomes so delicate and damp that you can simply remove it with scratches.

Conclusion

Ultimately, a small cracked or broken print part causes anyone to throw the whole shirt. However, sometimes the shirt remains good, but the print is cracked and brings frustration. In such a condition, you can use a steam iron or alcohol to remove the print entirely. And, when you just want to repair the print, use an external paint mix to print again.