about trials

Trials is a small graphic tee label run by one person in the UK. Every design starts with a photograph taken or a drawing made by hand, and every order is printed and packed by the same person who made it.

Where the designs come from

Photography is the creative outlet alongside a decidedly non-creative job and degree. Trials started as a way of getting those photos off a camera roll and onto actual people, rather than leaving them to sit in a folder nobody opens.

That is the reason the range is small and stays small. A design gets made because there is a photograph or a drawing worth putting on a tee, not because a gap in a product line needs filling.

How they are made

Each tee is screen printed by hand. A stencil is made on a mesh screen, the screen is laid on the shirt, and ink is pushed through it with a squeegee, one colour and one pass at a time. It is slower than the digital printing most shops use, and it is the reason the colours sit dense and opaque rather than soaking into the fabric and fading with it. There is a longer explanation in screen printing vs DTG vs vinyl.

The blanks are heavyweight 100% cotton in a boxy unisex cut, chosen because a heavier fabric holds its shape and gives the ink something stable to sit on. Thin jersey moves under a print every time you stretch it, which is the usual reason cheap tees crack at the graphic first.

Small runs, and what that means

Printing by hand puts a natural ceiling on how many of anything get made. When a design sells out it usually stays sold out, and there is no warehouse of last season sitting behind the shop.

It also means a tee costs more than a multipack. What you are paying for is a heavier blank, a print that survives the wash, and a run of tens rather than tens of thousands.

Getting hold of a person

There is no support desk. Email hello@trialsofficial.com and you will get a reply from the person who printed the thing. If you want exact measurements before ordering, or want to know whether a sold out design is coming back, that is the address.