Dye Sublimation vs. Screen Printed Bandanas: Which Should You Order?

Most custom bandana orders come down to two methods: screen printing and full-color dye sublimation. They look, feel and price very differently, and the right one depends on your artwork, your quantity and your deadline. Here's how they compare, with real prices from our pricing engine.

The short answer

• Screen printing is best for a logo or design in a few solid colors on a classic bandana in one of 23 colors, and it's the cheapest per piece at volume.
• Dye sublimation is best for full-color artwork (photos, gradients, all-over patterns) printed edge to edge on polyester, from just 12 pieces and with the fastest turnaround.

How screen printed bandanas work

Ink is pushed through a mesh screen onto the bandana, one screen per color. The result is bold, solid color with crisp edges on a 100% cotton or poly/cotton-blend blank. You choose from 23 bandana colors and print areas of 19″ × 19″, 20″ × 20″ or full-bleed, with up to 5 ink colors matched to Pantone.

Each extra color is another screen, so it raises the minimum: 1 color from 24 pieces, 2 colors from 48 pieces, 3 colors from 100 pieces, 4 colors from 144 pieces and 5 colors from 288 pieces.

How dye-sublimated bandanas work

Your design is printed onto transfer paper, then heat and pressure turn the ink into a gas that bonds into the polyester fibers. Because the color becomes part of the fabric, there's no texture and nothing to crack or peel, and there's no limit on colors: a photo costs the same as a one-color logo. The print runs edge to edge on a white 100% polyester blank, so any background color is printed as part of your design.

Dye sublimation prints one side. The back shows a lighter version of the design, as in the photo below. If you need it equally strong on both sides, look at double-sided bandanas.

We offer three dye-sub tiers: Standard, the fastest (from 12 pieces, 6–7 business days); Premium, a higher-end finish with crisper edges (from 50, 7–11 days); and Superior, the sharpest edges with color fully saturated to the hem (from 12, 7–10 days).

Price: 50 to 1,000 bandanas

Here's the per-bandana price for a one-color 19″ × 19″ screen print versus a full-color Standard dye-sub bandana:

• 50 pieces: screen print about $8.84 each; dye sublimation about $8.32 each.
• 100 pieces: screen print about $4.99 each; dye sublimation about $6.69 each.
• 250 pieces: screen print about $3.94 each; dye sublimation about $6.20 each.
• 1,000 pieces: screen print about $2.81 each; dye sublimation about $5.81 each.

At 50 pieces the two are close, and only dye sublimation gives you full color for that money. Screen printing gets cheaper faster as the order grows: at 1,000 pieces a one-color screen print is about $2.81, well under the $5.81 dye-sub price. Extra screen print colors add to the price, so a design with several colors narrows the gap.

Turnaround

Standard dye-sub bandanas take 6–7 business days after you approve your proof, the fastest of our bandana methods. Screen printed bandanas take 8–12 business days. Shipping is added on top, and you'll see your delivery date before you order.

Which should you pick?

• Full-color art, photos or gradients: dye sublimation.
• Fewer than 24 pieces: dye sublimation, from 12.
• A one- or two-color logo on a colored bandana: screen printing.
• 250+ pieces of a simple design: screen printing, for the best price.
• A tight deadline: Standard dye sublimation.

Still deciding? Order a sample of each to feel the difference, or price both in the bandana builder. Every order gets a free proof, and nothing is charged until you approve it.