FAQ: Ink vs Vinyl

One of the most common questions to date is which is better: ink or vinyl? Well, they both have their own benefits. When you think about it, the vinyl sits on top of the clothing so it can adhere to a variety of fabrics & colours whereas ink fuses into the clothing, so it isn't prone to crack, peel or wrinkle like vinyl.

Ink will fade a bit with the first wash, then stays at the slightly faded level for the duration of its life. The ink is made to fuse into the fabric of the shirt, so it has a longer life and appears as part of the shirt. After testing a bunch of different coloured and varieties of shirts, I found that the brighter coloured shirts don't take the ink well at all. 

Vinyl, on the other hand, sits very well on bright coloured shirts and is good for 50+ washes. After the washes it can begin to crack, peel or wrinkle but 50+ washes is a lot. It can go on more types of fabric or surfaces in general. Vinyl comes as a heat transfer (for clothing or materials) as well as for decal on your phones, vehicles, or anything you'd like to stick if on like a sticker. There is a method to getting it to stick properly, so I will do a separate post on that. Get your credit card, rubbing alcohol and sticker/vinyl ready as it's a great way to smooth out the vinyl onto a surface without buying extra items and help it adhere.

Image example: Vinyl (heat transfer vinyl) on left vs ink on right.