Why The Trucker Hat Is The Best For Customization
In the world of custom printing there are thousands upon thousands of variables. And most of the time there is no wrong answer, it is more about finding the best way to design what fits your style. The same is true of hats, if you’d like to see a better breakdown of all the different types of caps you could choose check out this article from The Studio. Today however I want to discuss the trucker hat and why it is actually the best type to personalize.
Let's start with the most obvious, the front panel. It is typically a solid color and made of foam both of which are great for printing. Having a solid color for a background just gives you more options for your design. It is definitely possible to have a multi colored background but things could quickly get confusing with the colors if you aren’t careful. Certain colors clash when put together and others may get lost in the shuffle all of which becomes more complicated to fix the more colors and designs you add.
Being made of foam makes it incredibly easy to sublimate a design on the hat as well. Heat sublimation is one of the easier methods to custom printing and is used on dozens of products In essence all you have to do is print out the design, lay it on top of the product and heat press it. Which is why foam is so great. It can take more heat than other products and bounce back fairly easily. The foam background is also nice and smooth making it easy for any design. Some hats can have a thread line down the middle that could disrupt the printing.
The biggest downside to the trucker hat is it’s max print area. Having a mesh back makes it nearly impossible to print anywhere except the front panel. Being about 7 inches wide and 4 inches tall really only leaves you a print area of around 6”x3”. Compare that to a visor though and the difference is massive. Also, printing on the side or back of the hat is such a rarity and typically not where your eye goes first anyway.
On a non custom print note I think the trucker hat is fantastic for several reasons. Having a mesh back is so much more comfortable to let the breeze in and cool down your head. Being in the South it gets hot here during the summer, so wearing a hat to block the sun is helpful but doesn’t mean anything if all your body heat ends up getting trapped by the hat. Also I’m a fan of having an adjustable strap on the back. Things change, it's unavoidable so leave yourself a little wiggle room in the future to fix your hat if needed. Finally I’m not a huge fan of having a flat bill, but it’s definitely possible to curve the bill though. Flattening a bill is much harder which is probably why they come out of the box flat. So feel free to break the hat in to fit your personal style.
