Scuba knit

Scuba knit is a poly-spandex double knit — usually somewhere around 88/12 to 92/8 polyester/spandex — knitted with a slight compression and a soft, almost neoprene-like hand, minus the rubber. The face is tight and smooth, the back has a light brushed or bonded feel, and the whole thing sits in the 280 to 340 gsm range, heavier than a tee but lighter than true fleece.

It's the fabric behind most of the scuba-hood athleisure pieces on the market today — the joggers and pullovers with a clean, almost molded look rather than a fuzzy fleece back. That tight, low-texture face is exactly why screen printers like it: less surface irregularity means crisper halftones and finer line work than you'll get on a brushed fleece.

The catch is heat sensitivity. Spandex starts losing recovery and the poly face can scorch or glaze at temperatures that a 100% cotton tee shrugs off, so plastisol cure and HTV application both need a lower platen or heat press temperature and a test press before a full run. DTF transfers generally handle this fabric better than a high-heat plastisol flash.

Buyers often ask to press scuba knit at the same 320°F they'd use on cotton fleece — that's how you end up with a shiny, stiff patch where the print sat. Drop the temperature, extend the dwell time slightly, and it prints clean.