What are "high-quality" shirts
?
What, if anything makes a shirt "higher-quality" over another shirt? Well, various factors going into determining the quality level of a shirt, and in this guide I will cover some of them.
Shirts, for the most part are made up of 2 things: the shirt itself, and the designs that are attached to them. For each of these 2 things, you will find that there are various levels of quality that may be associated with each of them.
The Shirt
Your typical shirt is more than likely made out of some combination of cotton and polyester. Nowadays, it's actually very difficult to find a shirt-manufacturing company that produces low quality shirts. The "standard" t-shirt is usually thought of to be constructed out of 5.3oz cotton, and it will look like most t-shirts that you see people wearing.
To improve on the "standard" shirt, some shirts add in extra features. For instance, some shirts include a"durable rib neckband", and other shirts have a pocket attached to the front. Some shirts are made of pure organic material which end up making them feel softer and smoother at the expense of durability. Some shirts have unique stylish traits like a "V-neck" cutoff at the top. Sometimes you will also find that companies will add a layer of cotton to the shirt to increase it's thickness. Hanes categorizes these shirts by calling them "beefy T's", while Gildan calls it a "Ultra Cotton T".
Besides features, other improvements on a standard shirt include the types of materials that the shirt is constructed out of. For instance, there are "tri-blend" shirts that are 50% cotton, 25% polyester, and 25% rayon. Basically, these shirts give the wearer a soft, silky feel while maintaining good durability and elasticity.
The Design (the print)
There are many shirt printers in the US, all which operate in very similiar fashions. Most shirts usually end up recieving their designs through either screen printing or digital printing. If you read the guide on print economics, you can learn more in depth information about each style of printing. Basically, with today's modern technology both screen printing and digital printing are going to give your shirt a high-quality design. Some custom t-shirt printers will print the ink extra thick to give your design it's own layer of artwork, and some will make it so it seems like the design and the shirt fit right in with eachother for a uniform texture all throughout.
Some shirts will have extra-pretentious designs by inbedding crystals or other small materials to the front to give a more physical design than just traditional ink. However, these are rare and often have bad drawbacks (like troublesome washing procedures).
As long as you live in a developed country, most shirts that you find should already be a high-quality shirt. Of course, there are always extra features you can add to the shirt like a fancy design and all-organic material, but even without them rest assured that even the cheapest shirts will suit you well.