Wash a DTG-printed tee cold and inside out, hang it to dry, and do not iron over the print. That is the whole care line for a Back Issue tee, and each part of it protects either the cotton or the ink from the two things that wear a printed tee out: heat and rubbing.
Below is what each step does, what to do about creases without an iron, and what to check before the first wash. The care line is the same on the FAQ and on how an issue is made, and it applies to every design on the all issues shelf, because every one is printed on the same tee.
The care line, step by step
The tee is printed direct-to-garment (DTG): the design is printed straight onto the cotton, much as an inkjet prints onto paper. The care line is written for that print and for the fabric under it, a vintage-wash tee, 270 gsm, 32s cotton, pre-shrunk.
- Turn the tee inside out, so the print faces in.
- Wash it cold.
- Take it out and hang it to dry, rather than putting it in a dryer.
- If it needs pressing, keep the iron off the print.
Nothing on the care line asks for special products or hand washing. It is about temperature and friction, and it takes no longer than washing a tee the careless way.
Why cold, and why inside out
Heat is the main thing that shrinks cotton. The fabric is pre-shrunk, which means it is treated to shrink before it reaches you, but a hot wash can still tighten it. Cold water is the surest way to keep the tee close to the size you chose from the size guide.
Inside out is for the print. In a machine, clothes rub against each other and against the drum for the whole cycle. With the tee turned, that rubbing lands on the plain inside of the fabric instead of on the ink. Zips, hooks and heavy denim in the same load are the worst offenders, so the print is better facing away from them.
A back print is a large area to protect, up to 40 × 53 cm, the most the printer takes. Turning the tee is the cheapest protection it can get.
Why hang dry
A tumble dryer combines the two things the care line avoids: heat and tumbling. It is the step most likely to shrink a cotton tee and the one that rubs the print hardest, for longest. Hang dry, and you avoid both.
Hang the tee while it is still damp, give it a shake, and smooth the body and sleeves flat with your hands. A heavy fabric like this one hangs straight under its own weight, which helps pull creases out as it dries.
Can you iron a printed tee?
You can iron the tee. You should not iron over the print. The care line is exact about this: do not iron over the print.
An iron puts direct heat and pressure on whatever it touches, and on a printed tee the print is the one part you most want to keep as it is. If the tee needs a press, iron around the back print and the small badge on the chest, and keep the iron moving. If the creases are on the back itself, the damp hang-dry above is the better fix.
The same goes for anything else that presses heat onto the design. If a step is not on the care line and you are unsure about it, ask us before you try it.
Before the first wash
Look the tee over, and measure it flat against the size guide, before it goes anywhere near a washing machine. You have 30 days from the delivery date on tracking to ask for a return or a size swap, and the tee has to be unworn and unwashed, so the first wash is the point of no return for a size you are not sure about.
Check the measurements, check the print, and only then wash it. The full fibre breakdown is on the garment label if you want to see it before the first wash too.
If the print arrives wrong
A print that arrives damaged, misprinted or wrong is ours to fix. Email within 30 days of delivery with your order number and photos: a photo of the whole tee, a close-up of the fault, and the shipping label if you still have it.
Damaged, misprinted or wrong: we pay every leg, and you get a reprint or a full refund. The full process is on the returns page. This is why the look-over before the first wash matters: it is the moment to spot a fault, not after a dozen washes.
The short version
Inside out, cold wash, hang dry, iron around the print. Four habits, no special kit, and the best chance of the print and the fit staying the way they arrived.
Every tee is printed after you order it and leaves within 2–4 business days. Pick a design from the full rack, check the size guide first, and keep the care line on the FAQ for the day it arrives.
Read next: 270 gsm, 32s cotton, vintage wash: what the tee is, and how a Back Issue tee fits: the boxy cut, measured.
Back Issue is fan-made, unofficial merchandise. We are not affiliated with, licensed or endorsed by any studio, publisher or rights holder. Character names, titles and marks belong to their owners and are used only to describe what a design shows. Rights & IP