How to Make Custom All-Over Print Shirts: The Art of Personalization

Are you tired of your designs being limited to standard print areas? Are you bursting with creative ideas that deserve more than just a small corner of a t-shirt? If so, it’s time to consider all-over print shirts.

Imagine your designs spanning from sleeve to sleeve, without boundaries or restrictions. All-over print shirts open up a world of possibilities, allowing you to showcase intricate details and bold designs. Whether you’re into vibrant patterns, striking landscapes, or clever pop culture references, this method lets your creativity shine.

Custom shirts with all-over prints are gaining popularity and becoming a staple among trending t-shirts. If you’re ready to create your first designs, follow along as we explore how to make custom all-over print shirts.

Sounds good? Let’s roll.

What’s an all-over print shirt?

All-over printing is a technique that covers the entire surface of a product with a design or pattern. It can be created with various methods, like screen printing, transfer printing, and sublimation.

Popular for their eye-catching look, all-over print shirts, hoodies, and other garments offer a unique way to showcase patterns, logos, photos, and graphics.

All-over print shirts aren’t your typical tees. They’re more like wearable canvas, where the design isn’t confined to a small space but spans the entire garment—front, back, and sleeves.

Source: Printful

How do all-over print shirts differ from other custom tees?

Traditional printing methods, such as direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, are limited to a square area, leaving margins around the collar and hem.

In contrast, all-over print uses a unique sublimation printing technique. The design is first printed onto large sheets of paper and then heat-pressed onto a synthetic fabric. Afterward, the printed fabric is cut and sewn together. This complex process ensures vibrant colors and durability against heat and wash, with the ink being fully integrated into the fabric.

What are the positives and potential downsides of all-over t-shirt printing?

Advantages:

• Complete customization of shirt printing area without any blank spaces

• Durable prints with inks fully integrated into the fabric for long-lasting quality

• Vibrant and striking color options

Disadvantages:

• With dark prints, there’s a risk of white spots appearing when the fabric is stretched 

• Both DTG and all-over prints need high-resolution image files to create high-quality prints 

Make your custom all-over print shirt in 4 steps

Now that we understand the basics of all-over print shirts, let’s learn how to make one.

Managing production in-house can require a substantial investment, not to mention storage and shipping costs. That’s where print-on-demand services like Printful come into play, making the whole process hassle-free.

1. Set up a Printful account

Let’s start by creating a print-on-demand account. Signing up for Printful is simple and won’t cost you a dime. Head over to Printful’s signup page or simply click the red Let’s go button waiting for you on the homepage.

Source: Printful

For your convenience, you can log in using Facebook, Google, or Apple. Once you’ve created your account and logged in, you’ll be greeted with a handy onboarding checklist to help you get started.

Pro tip: Add a payment method. This ensures that when a customer makes a purchase, we can swiftly charge you for order fulfillment, avoiding any delays in order processing. It’s a seamless process that keeps both you and your customers satisfied.

2. Pick your product

We use white fabric made of 100% polyester, polymer-coated materials, or polyester blends to ensure optimal design results. Our extensive catalog includes a diverse range of products perfect for customization with AOP, including shirts, sweaters, leggings, bags, home decor, and much more. 

Source: Printful

Our made-to-order production model means that all-over print products are only manufactured once you or your customer place an order. This minimizes waste and overproduction while ensuring that each item is created with care and attention to detail.

So, what are the best t-shirts for printing? Let’s look at some of our top picks for all-over print designs.

All-Over Print Men’s Athletic T-Shirt

Upgrade any athletic apparel collection with our dynamic sports t-shirt, designed to ensure dryness and comfort. Made of 92% polyester and 8% spandex, this lightweight shirt provides durability and flexibility for any activity.

Featuring MaxDri moisture management and MicroBlok anti-microbial fabric, this sports t-shirt effectively wicks away moisture and prevents the growth of odor-causing bacteria, ensuring a fresh and confident feel even during the most intense workout sessions.

Source: Printful

Add an all-over print design and you’ve got the complete package for stylish activewear that’ll leave you comfortably confident in the gym.

All-Over Print Men’s Crew Neck T-Shirt

Crafted from a luxurious cotton-touch polyester jersey, this tee offers unparalleled comfort and style that lasts wash after wash. Made of 95% polyester and 5% elastane, thispremium knit mid-weight jersey stands the test of time.

Its four-way stretch fabric allows for unrestricted movement, stretching and recovering on both the cross and lengthwise grains for a comfortable and flattering fit every time. Plus, with OEKO-TEX 100 standard certification, you can trust that our fabric meets rigorous safety and environmental standards.

Source: Printful

All-Over Print Men’s Tank Top

Crafted from high-quality materials, this tank top offers style and comfort, making it the perfect choice for hot summer months.

Made of 95% polyester and 5% elastane, this tank top has a luxurious feel. Whether you’re soaking up the sun on a warm day or layering up for added warmth, our tank top’s comfortable, relaxed fit is sure to keep you cozy.

Source: Printful

All-Over Print Recycled Hockey Fan Jersey

When it comes to all-over prints, you can’t forget the classic hockey jerseys. Our All-Over Print Hockey Jersey is carefully made to meet the demands of die-hard hockey enthusiasts. With a blend of cutting-edge athletic fabric and classic hockey construction, this jersey offers the perfect combination of style, performance, and comfort.

Crafted from 100% recycled polyester fabric, its two-way stretch material provides unrestricted movement, allowing you to maneuver effortlessly on the ice or in the stands. Our jersey features moisture-wicking material that keeps you cool and dry even during the most intense games. Plus, with UPF50+ protection, you can stay protected from the sun’s harmful rays.

Source: Printful

Here are some of our top picks from other categories:

All-Over Print Backpack

All-Over Print Leggings

All-Over Print Recycled Unisex Hoodie

3. Create your designs

Once you’ve picked your product, it’s time to design. Creating it from scratch can seem daunting at first, but don’t worry—we’re here for it all.

Source: Printful

For t-shirt design ideas you can use platforms like Pinterest or Etsy. A lot of Etsy sellers specialize in custom all-over print shirts, so you can easily browse through collections to identify trending designs that catch your eye. On Pinterest, you’ll find a wealth of design inspiration, from font combinations to artwork styles, providing endless opportunities to spark your creativity and develop original ideas.

If you have a complex design or require specific editing tools, using graphic design software may be the best choice. Options range from professional-grade software like Photoshop to beginner-friendly alternatives like Canva. 

Printful’s Design Maker also offers a user-friendly solution for creating impressive designs without complex software. There, you can easily add clipart, craft text designs, and create patterns for your all-over print tees. 

Regardless of your design experience, you’ll need to use the Design Maker to adjust your all-over print designs. 

Source: Printful

Within the Design Maker, you can upload and place your custom design onto the shirt template. Navigate through different views to ensure your artwork covers every side of the garment—front, back, and sleeves. Lastly, adjust the color of the collar, hems, cuffs, or the entire shirt to match your vision.

Pro tip: Before uploading your image file, pay attention to the optimal file type, resolution, and dimensions outlined in the file guidelines section.

To fine-tune your design, use features like rotation and background color adjustment. Include custom text for captions or slogans and use the zoom-in feature to make precise pattern fixes, ensuring your design seamlessly aligns with the correct sections.

Want to learn more? Check out our guide on How to Create Designs for All-Over Products in Printful’s Design Maker.

4. Order samples

Once you’ve finalized your designs and saved your products, it’s time to ensure that they meet your expectations before presenting them to your customers.

By ordering a sample, you can assess various aspects, such as the final product’s design, quality, and overall appearance. It’s an opportunity to see how the all-over print shirt looks after a wash cycle, ensuring that your patterns are properly sewn and maintain their integrity.

Printful’s sample program offers ecommerce store owners a convenient way to order products with a 20% discount. Sample orders provide valuable insights into how your designs translate into real-life products. Additionally, ordering samples enables you to create unique marketing photos and engage in social media giveaways, boosting your brand’s visibility and appeal.

Source: Printful

Each registered Printful customer qualifies for one sample order per month, with a maximum of three items per order. Upon reaching monthly accumulated sales of $300 or more, you’ll be eligible for up to five items per sample order in the following month.

Things to keep in mind

It seems you’re all set to create full-print shirts from the comfort of your home. Before we part, here are a few tips to consider.

Use full-bleed images

Full-bleed images extend to the edges of the page, filling the entire base canvas and leaving no border or margin around the image. To achieve this seamless look, it’s crucial to incorporate a bleed line or area into the artwork or image setup.

But what exactly is a bleed line/area? It’s an additional space beyond the trim line, serving as a safeguard against visible lines or white borders when the print project is cut to its final size. Essentially, bleed lines show where artwork or images should extend past the trim edge to ensure a seamless look across the entire product.

Source: Printful

If your design only occupies a portion of the print area, consider creating a transparent background and saving it as a PNG file. This prevents the print area without the design from getting printed white, ensuring a seamless and professional finish.

Save design files in PNG or JPEG

When submitting files for your designs, pick the right format to achieve the desired look. For designs requiring a transparent background, PNG is the way to go. This format preserves transparency, allowing you to select any print area background color using the Design Maker.

However, if you intend for your design to cover the entire product, JPEG is the way to go. JPEG files provide full coverage without transparency, making them ideal for designs meant to cover the whole product.

Source: Printful

Avoid wraparound designs

While wraparound designs can be visually captivating, they might not always be suitable for all-over prints. These designs extend beyond the edges of the print or product, creating an eye-catching effect. 

Our AOP products are hand-sewn from multiple fabric panels, meaning any lines or elements that connect at the seams might not align correctly. Although a wraparound design might look great in the Design Maker, we can't guarantee it will appear as expected in the final product. Therefore, opting for simpler designs without wraparound effects can ensure your final products look as envisioned.  

Choose the right colors

To achieve maximum impact with your AOP products, aim for high contrast in your designs. If you’re unsure how to create contrast, turn to the trusty color wheel for guidance. 

Complementary colors, positioned on opposite ends of the wheel, offer the highest level of contrast. Consider incorporating pairs like red and green, orange and blue, or yellow and purple into your design to achieve eye-catching results. For an added pop, don’t overlook the classic combination of black and white, which creates a stark contrast sure to turn heads.

Source: Canva

For more tips, check out our dedicated page on how to create the perfect all-over print design.

Creating designs to dye for

And with that, you’re all set to create stunning all-over designs that’ll transform your fabrics into stylish, wearable garments.

With Printful by your side, your products will meet the highest quality standards no matter the fabric type. Forget about upfront investment, product fulfillment, storage, or delivery—we’ve got you covered.

Take advantage of our sample orders to ensure your final product represents your vision and start selling your all-over print shirts today.

That’s a wrap. Good luck!

Read next: How to Create Designs for Print-on-Demand Even If You’re Not a Designer