The NSL T-Shirts are printed using a special dye-sublimation process and fabrics designed by Hanes specifically for this process. The comfort, high quality and durability of dye-sublimation t-shirts is far superior to traditional silk-screened shirts. The superior comfort quality of these shirts can be immediately noticed simply by a quick touch of the hand. These are the same shirts and process used for the AARG club T-Shirts and shirts for prior AARG events, like NARCON 2002.
Traditional silk-screening and older heat transfer processes only adhere the image to the surface of the shirt, leaving the ink vulnerable to the abuse of your washer and dryer, resulting in a cracked, flaked and faded image. The Softlink's 100% micro outer shell allows the fabric to be literally tattooed with the ink in the dye-sublimation process. Because the ink is impregnated into the fabric and not on the surface, the image doesn't fade after many washes like silkscreening typically does.
The design for this year's shirt reflects a combination of fanciful visions of space exploration alongside an icon of the real-life accomplishments of our current space program. People like Mars Rover team member Jim Rice know the connection between the dream and the reality (follow link and scroll to the bottom of the article).
For a close-up look at the T-Shirt front image, click on the thumbnail below: