[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNxgJVPGr_Y[/youtube]
For anyone who’s ever wondered how t-shirts are made, one of our favorite handlebar-mustached designers is here to show you. Now being that Jamie is from Ryde, a company that prides itself on one-of-kind creations, what you’re about to witness is a bit out of the norm. You see, Ryde is a very small company with all of their clothing made right here in Southern California. Some of the shirts are screened by local screen printers, but most are made right when you order them (by Jamie, unless he’s on vacation.). How do they do this? By using their direct-to-garment printer. What is direct to garment you ask? It means that the water-based ink is printed directly onto the blank tee shirt, much like the head on your desktop printer lays ink onto paper. The ink is still wet on the cotton afterwards, so they have to cure it by running the tee through a heat press for about 30 seconds. If this sounds like a lot of work and commitment, it is. Here are some of Swell’s top sellers:
