Wash it inside out, in cold water, and keep it out of a hot dryer. Prints do not crack because they are old. They crack because heat makes the ink brittle and friction wears it down.
What is actually happening
Printed artwork sits in and on the surface fibres of the shirt. Heat-curing at the print shop bonds it there and gives it flexibility. Every hot wash and every hot tumble dry takes a little of that flexibility back.
Once the ink stops flexing with the fabric, ordinary stretching splits it. The split follows fold lines first, which is why cracks usually appear across the middle of a design rather than at the edges.
Five habits that matter
- Turn it inside out before it goes in the machine. This is the single highest-impact habit. The print then faces the shirt rather than the drum and the other clothes.
- Wash cold. Maximum 30°C or 90°F. Cold water cleans printed cotton perfectly well.
- Tumble dry low, or hang it. High heat is what turns flexible ink brittle. Hanging costs nothing and is the safest option.
- No bleach, and no fabric softener on the print. Bleach attacks the fibres holding the ink. Softener leaves a film that stiffens the printed area.
- Never iron directly on the design. If the shirt needs pressing, turn it inside out and use low heat, or steam it from a distance.
Things that seem helpful but are not
Washing a printed tee on its own does not help if the water is hot. Hand washing in warm water is worse than a cold machine cycle. A long high-heat dry to "set" the print does the opposite — curing already happened at the print shop, under controlled conditions you cannot reproduce at home.
Storage
Hang printed shirts or fold them with the print facing outward. Folding print-to-print presses two inked surfaces together, and in a warm cupboard over a summer they can stick.
If a print fails anyway
Send us a photo and we reprint it free. You keep the original and pay nothing further. The detail is on the Returns & Refunds page.
The same care list appears on every product page, such as the Walking My Schnauzer tee. If you also want to keep the shirt from shrinking, that is covered in do Comfort Colors shirts shrink.