How to wash printed t‑shirts so the print lasts

Wash a printed t-shirt inside out, in cold water, with a mild detergent, and dry it away from high heat. Heat and rubbing are the 2 things that wear a print down, so every step below is about cutting those.

It's the same care line you'll find on every ZOJO product page: wash inside out in cold water, dry on low heat, and flip the tee inside out again before ironing. Here's the longer version, with our reasons.

The short routine

1. Turn your tee inside out.
2. Wash it in cold water, 30 degrees or less, with similar colours.
3. Use a mild detergent. No bleach.
4. Skip the hot dryer. Hang your tee in the shade, or tumble it on low heat.
5. Iron it inside out, never straight on the print.

That's it. Want to know why each step is there? Read on.

Why inside out matters most

In a wash, your clothes rub against each other and against the drum. Zips and hooks are bad for this, and the metal buttons on your jeans are worse. Turn your tee inside out and the print faces inward, so the plain side of the fabric takes the rubbing.

It takes 5 seconds. If you only do 1 thing from this list, do this one.

Why cold water

Hot water is hard on the ink and on the cotton. Colours fade faster in it, and cotton can shrink a little in a 40 or 60 degree wash. Cold water cleans a normally worn tee fine.

Shrinking matters more on a loose fit, because the cut is the reason you bought it. Our oversized tees, like the Itachi and Gojo ones, are 240 GSM cotton with a dropped shoulder, and a hot wash is the quickest way to lose that shape. The 2 crop tops in our cat range, Party Cat and I Do Not Think, are pre-shrunk combed cotton at 180 GSM. We'd still wash them cold.

Can you wash printed t-shirts in a washing machine?

Yes. A machine is fine if you set it up kindly.

• Pick the gentle or delicate cycle, with cold water.
• Lower the spin speed if your machine lets you.
• Don't stuff the drum. A packed load means more rubbing.
• Keep your printed tees away from jeans and towels, and from anything with zips or hooks. If they have to share a load, close the zips first.

Hand washing in a bucket is gentler still. Soak your tee in cold water with a little detergent for about 10 minutes, press the water through it and rinse. There are 2 things to avoid here. Don't scrub the print with a washing brush, and don't wring the tee by twisting it hard. Squeeze the water out and hang it up.

Detergent and bleach

Use a mild detergent, liquid if you have it. Powder is fine too, but let it dissolve in the water before your tee goes in, so the grains don't sit on the print. Never pour detergent straight onto the design.

Bleach is out, even on a white tee. Got a stain? Rub a little detergent into that spot on the fabric and leave the printed area alone.

Fabric softener is the one people argue about. Most care guides for printed tees tell you to leave it out, and your tee doesn't need it, so we'd skip it.

How to dry a printed t-shirt

Hang it inside out, in the shade. Direct sun fades dark colours over time, and a black tee left on a terrace through a May afternoon in Delhi or Jaipur will show it sooner than you'd like.

If you use a dryer, keep it on low heat and take your tee out as soon as it's done. High heat is rough on prints.

Heavier tees take longer to dry. A 260 GSM terry tee like Kalyug holds more water than a 180 GSM regular tee like Certified Beast, so give it room on the line and don't fold it away damp.

How to iron a printed t-shirt

Flip it inside out and iron the back of the fabric on a low or medium setting. A hot iron pressed onto a print can damage it, and it can leave a mess on your iron too.

If you must iron the front, put a thin cotton cloth over the print first. Most of the time you won't need to. Hang your tee straight after washing and it dries with very few creases.

Does the printing method change anything?

A little. There are 3 kinds of print you'll usually meet. Our anime tees are DTG printed, which means water-based ink goes into the cotton itself. A screen print sits on top of the fabric as a thicker layer. Vinyl and heat transfers are stuck on with heat, so they're the fussiest about hot washes and irons.

Your routine stays the same for all 3: inside out, cold water, low heat. We compared the first 2 in DTG vs screen print.

Check the print before the first wash

One practical thing if you bought your tee online. Look at the print properly when it arrives, before it goes anywhere near water.

Our return policy covers a damaged or misprinted tee with a free reprint or a full refund within 7 days of delivery. It asks for the tee back unused and unwashed, with the tag on. So check first, wash after.

How do you wash a printed t-shirt for the first time?

The same way as every other time: inside out, cold water, mild detergent. Wash a new dark tee on its own or with other darks the first time, since new cotton can let go of a little dye.

Can you iron a printed t-shirt?

Yes, from the inside. Turn it inside out and use a low or medium setting. Don't put your iron directly on the print.

Do printed t-shirts shrink in the wash?

Cotton can shrink a little in hot water or a hot dryer. Wash at 30 degrees or colder and dry in the shade, and your tee stays close to the size you bought.

Can I put a printed t-shirt in the dryer?

You can, on low heat. Our own care line says dry on low heat. Hanging it in the shade is gentler and costs you nothing.

Will the print crack or fade over time?

Any print wears slowly with enough washes. Heat and rubbing speed that up, which is why inside out, cold water and low heat are our whole routine.