Glossary of embroidery and printing terms

Embroidery means stitching a design, logo or text onto a textile surface with coloured threads — in industrial production using multi-head embroidery machines. Embroidery is the most durable way to apply a company logo to workwear or corporate apparel: it withstands hundreds of washes and does not fade like prints do.

Screen printing is a decoration technique where ink is pressed through a mesh screen onto fabric. It is the most cost-effective option when you are printing large quantities with the same logo (typically 50+ pieces) using a limited number of colours. Each colour requires its own screen, which makes set-up costs high but the per-unit price low on long runs.

DTF (Direct-to-Film) is a modern printing technique where the logo is first printed onto a special film and then transferred onto the textile with a heat press. It is particularly suited to small runs, photographic or multi-colour logos, and materials that other techniques cannot handle. Because DTF does not require separate screens like screen printing, the set-up cost is low.

DTG (Direct-to-Garment) is a digital printing technique in which ink is sprayed directly onto cotton fabric with a specialised printer. It is ideal for cotton T-shirts and photographic, highly detailed images in small runs. The result is soft and sits closely on the fabric, but wash durability is shorter than with embroidery or screen printing.

Sublimation printing is a technique where ink vaporises under a heat press and bonds inside the polyester fibre. The result is imperceptible to the touch — the colour becomes part of the fabric rather than sitting on top of it. This makes sublimation popular on team jerseys, sportswear and technical garments where full breathability must be preserved. It only works on polyester-based materials.

Digitizing is the process of converting a company logo into a file format the embroidery machine understands. The digitizer decides the direction the needle travels, which thread colour fills each area and how the details are executed. Good digitizing is decisive for the final quality — a poorly digitized logo looks blurry, bulky or puckered even on the best machine with the best thread.

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is an international colour standard that allows a company’s brand colours to be reproduced accurately across different printing methods and materials. The Pantone codes defined in the brand guidelines (e.g. "PMS 185 C") ensure that a red logo looks identical printed on a shirt as it does on a business card.

MOQ, or Minimum Order Quantity, is the smallest order size a supplier will accept. At Brandix the embroidery MOQ is 10 units of the same logo, and for screen printing typically 20–30 units depending on colour and size. DTF and DTG printing allow smaller orders. MOQ affects the unit price — a larger order reduces the per-piece cost.

GSM (Grams per Square Meter) indicates the fabric weight per square metre and is in practice the best metric for garment thickness and quality. The lightest promotional T-shirts are 140–150 g/m², quality corporate apparel is 180–200 g/m², and premium heavy hoodies are 280–350 g/m². A higher GSM usually means a more durable and substantial product — but also a slightly higher price.

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is an international certification that guarantees the organic cotton origin of a textile and a responsible supply chain — environmental and social criteria are met at every stage from fibre to finished product. The entire Stanley/Stella collection is GOTS-certified, and the certification is one of the strongest sustainability marks in the textile industry.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is a certification that ensures a textile does not contain chemicals harmful to people above permitted limits. It differs from GOTS in that OEKO-TEX focuses on the chemical safety of the finished product rather than the origin of the fibre. Most quality B2B apparel brands carry OEKO-TEX certification.

Softshell is a three-layer technical fabric that combines windproofing and partial waterproofing with breathability and stretch. Softshell jackets are popular as corporate workwear and representative apparel because they perform equally well stepping out of the office as on outdoor sites, without needing a separate shell layer over them. Softshell also embroiders excellently.