One of the best selling digitally printed fabric products we create, is tea towels. Tea towels have been a popular product in the UK for quite some time, and this isn’t showing any signs of changing any time soon. In fact, tea towels were a luxury item back in the 18th century (not digitally printed of course, but hand embroidered) when having the highest quality of tea towels was a status symbol, with tea towels even being passed down as heirlooms.
Please Note – any reference to lead times are a correct estimate at the time the article was published. Lead times are always estimated and never guaranteed, and for our current estimated lead times see: lead times & deadlines.
For more on the history of tea towels, see this article on Huffington Post UK: What the heck are tea towels anyway?
Tea towels may not have this same status today, but they’re certainly a great gift idea for a range of different events, and remain one of the best selling home textile products.
In this article we’re hoping to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about digitally printed tea towels.
How are digitally printed tea towels made?
The most common process we use for digitally printed tea towels, is the pigment printing process. Using water based pigment inks, we print the fabric first, on the roll. The rolls of fabric are then put through the rotary heat press in order to fix the colours, and the tea towel panels are then cut, and hemmed.
What Size are Your Digitally Printed Tea Towels?
We can create whatever size tea towels you would like, but our standard tea towels have a finished size of approximately 68cm x 45cm.
We start out with tea towel panels that are 2cm larger than this on each edge, so 72x49cm, with background only in this final 2cm on each edge, to ensure that none of the important parts of your design ends up being lost in the hem.
Does the Number of Colours Matter?
As we print digitally, the number of colours doesn’t matter, whether it’s a single colour design, a two colour design or a full colour photographic design, the cost will be exactly the same.
What Style of Tea Towel do you Produce?
We focus on quality when it comes to tea towels, and all of our other products, and our tea towels are hemmed on all four edges, and include a hanging hoop, care label, and your own label if provided.
Can You Sew in my Labels?
We certainly can. We sew in standard care labels, which show the fabric type, care instructions and the text “Made in the UK”, or we can use your own care labels if provided – and we will sew in your own brand labels with the hem, with no extra charge.
We don’t print labels, but we recommend Pennine labels in Colne, Lancashire, or for smaller quantities, Bags of Love.
What Fabric are Your Digitally Printed Tea Towels Made From?
Our most popular tea towels are made from 100% cotton 230gsm Half Panama, however we regularly make digitally printed tea towels using Drill Cotton, Plain Cotton, Organic Natural Half Panama and other fabrics – and we can use just about whatever fabric you would like to use for your tea towels.
What is The Minimum Order for Tea Towels?
The minimum order for digitally printed tea towels printed via pigment printing on the roll, is 50.
Can I Mix Designs?
Yes you can, and it doesn’t effect the price you’ll pay. For example, if you were to order 10 each of 5 different designs, you’d pay the 50 of price, and if you were ordering 10 each of 10 different designs, you’d pay the 100 of price.
Can Tea Towels be Washed?
Yes, we recommend washing at 30 degrees, and they can also be ironed on a medium temperature setting.
How Should I Send my Images?
We can work with JPEG, PSD, PDF orTiff, and resolution of 300 DPI or above. Most customers send files to us using wetransfer.com, which is free for up to 2GB.
What is Your Pricing for Digitally Printed Tea Towels?
Our pricing for digital tea towel printing is very competitive when compared like for like. Just email us for a price list. If you’re getting costings from other digital printers within the UK, for digitally printed tea towels, hemmed on all four sides, with hanging hoop – you should find that our pricing is competitive.
What we sometimes find is that customers have received pricing for a lower quality tea towel, for example hemmed only on two sides, without hanging hoop, on cheaper, lighter weight fabric, and therefore they’re not getting like for like quotes – so if you’re shopping around to get the best price possible, please make sure you’re getting like for like quotes.
How do I Place an Order?
Simply send an email to [email protected] letting us know how many tea towels you would like to order, and send your design(s) to us via wetransfer.com, or just get in touch if you need any help with your designs, or if you would like quotation.