Cotton
Fiber — one of 29 in the glossary
A natural fibre taken from the seed pod of the cotton plant, and the default fibre for printable blanks. Decorators favour it because it is absorbent and holds dye and ink well: plastisol grips it, water-based and discharge inks need it, and direct-to-garment printing bonds to it. Its weaknesses are shrinkage, wrinkling and slow drying, which is why so much of the catalogue is blended with polyester. How a cotton garment feels and prints depends less on the plant than on how the yarn was made — see ring spun, combed cotton and open-end yarn.
Why decorators default to it
Cotton is cellulose, and cellulose is what water-based and discharge inks bond to. Plastisol grips it, DTG needs it, and discharge destroys its dye rather than sitting on top. No other common fibre accepts that range of methods.
It also absorbs, which is why a cotton tee feels comfortable dry and heavy wet, and why it takes dye deeply rather than holding it at the surface.
And it is forgiving at the press — no dye migration, no scorching at normal cure temperatures, no finish to interfere with adhesion.
What it does badly
It shrinks, unless preshrunk or garment-processed, and it shrinks mostly in the length.
It holds water rather than moving it, which makes it the wrong fibre for anything worn during exertion.
It creases, it is heavier wet than dry, and it is weaker wet than dry — the opposite of most synthetics.
The qualities that actually differ
Staple length is the big one: long-staple cottons such as Pima spin finer, smoother yarn with fewer loose ends, so they pill less and hold colour better.
Spinning method matters as much. Ring spun is smoother than open-end at the same weight, which is what decides how well fine print detail holds.
Combing removes short fibres before spinning and compounds both effects. "Combed ring spun" on a spec sheet is the shorthand for a retail-feeling blank.
Common questions
- Why is cotton best for printing?
- Because it is cellulose, which is what water-based and discharge inks bond to, and DTG needs it. It also carries no dye-migration or scorching risk at normal cure temperatures.
- Does cotton shrink?
- Yes, three to five per cent untreated and one to two per cent preshrunk, almost all of it in the length rather than the width.
- What makes one cotton better than another?
- Staple length, spinning method and combing. Long-staple, combed, ring spun cotton is smoother, stronger and pills less than short-staple open-end cotton of the same weight.
- Is cotton good for sportswear?
- No. It absorbs and holds moisture rather than moving it, so a wet cotton shirt stays wet. Polyester is the fibre for anything worn during exertion.
See also
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