Why do old screen printed shirts look faded?
(Q) Why do the images on older screen-printed t-shirts in my closet or drawer look “faded?” When you have a t-shirt where the printed image looks “faded” – take a very close look at it. Cured ink will typically have retained its same vibrancy and color as the day it was screened onto your shirt. Chances are, you will notice thousands of tiny fabric strands sticking up – perpendicular to the shirt. So in reality, you are witnessing an optical illusion; the image is not faded. Over time, your shirt has simply become “fuzzy” and is beginning to drown out the silkscreened image! This phenomenon is called “fibrillation.” All shirts have a fibrous “nap” that gets matted down during the printing process. As time elapses and wear sets in – those tiny fibers begin to break free and once again, stand straight up. Realistically speaking, there is no way to prevent this from happening. But through employing proper garment care techniques, you can drastically slow the process.
