Looking After a Printed Piece
Breathe Divinity product care comes down to one fact: a print does not wear out from being worn. It wears out in the wash and in the dryer, which is where most of the damage on a graphic garment actually happens. None of what follows is complicated, but it has to be the same every time.
Wash It Cool
Cool water keeps the ink where it was laid down. Hot water softens it and lets it move against the cloth, and that movement is what eventually shows as cracking.
Turn It Inside Out
Once the garment is inside out, the print faces away from everything it would otherwise rub against for a full cycle. This is the single easiest habit to pick up and the one that makes the most difference.
Skip the Dryer
Heat is the real enemy, not water. Air drying costs you a few hours and buys the print years. Stuck with a dryer? Pull the piece out while it still feels cool to the hand, not warm.
Hang, Do Not Fold
Fold it across the chest and a line presses straight through the middle of the drawing. Leave it long enough and the line stops coming out. Hang printed pieces if the wardrobe has the room for it.
Do Not Iron the Print
An iron on a graphic will flatten and gloss it in seconds. If a piece needs the creases taken out, iron the inside, around the print, on a low setting.
Wash It with Its Own Kind
Zips, buttons and rough denim scrape a print every time they pass it. Wash printed pieces with other soft garments and the whole problem disappears.
What Actually Damages a Graphic
Three things ruin almost every print we are shown: heat that goes on too long, friction from something harder sharing the load, and a fold left in one place for months. This page deals with those three and leaves the rest alone.
Breathe Divinity Product Care in One Short List
- Turn the piece inside out before it goes anywhere near the machine.
- Set a cool wash and a gentle cycle rather than the fastest one available.
- Anything hard in the drum works away at a print: zips, hooks, heavy denim. Keep printed pieces out of that load.
- Get it out while it is still damp, then shake it back into shape.
- On a hanger to dry, nowhere near a radiator, out of the sun.
- Hang it. Folding it across the print is what leaves the mark.
Different Pieces, Slightly Different Handling
Hoodies and Sweatshirts
The biggest prints are on these, and they are the slowest to dry, which is exactly when a dryer starts to look reasonable. Hang them by the shoulders rather than the hood, because a wet hood pulls the neckline out of shape as it dries.
Tees and Tank Tops
Light cloth and a large print is the combination that shows wear fastest. Lift a tee by the hem rather than the shoulders when it is wet, and it will not stretch at the seam.
Sweatpants and Leggings
The print here runs down the leg and gets the most friction of anything, from chairs and from the wash. Fasten the drawstring before washing so it cannot knot itself, and dry these flat if you can.
If a New Print Feels Stiff
That is normal and it passes. A freshly printed graphic sits slightly firm against the cloth and softens over the first few wears and the first cool wash. Do not try to speed it up with heat or a hard wash, because that is exactly what shortens its life.