Recently, several brands - especially Kariban - have launched several different models of polo shirts in slightly different materials, which is why we're writing this article.
Historically, most of the poles were made of piqué mesh, which is a traditional and customary mesh that is immediately recognisable. It stands out for being a very open mesh, which is fantastic when it comes to embroidering these items but which doesn't always allow for the best quality printing, especially with new decoration methods such as direct printing.
The photos above and below show the type of mesh these poles have. An open loop, where we can clearly see "dots" all over the article. There's no mistaking it, it's the "typical" mesh we find on a pole.
There's nothing wrong with this mesh. Its quality is high, and so is its comfort. There are entire industries where this is the type of pole that is used and where its quality is recognised, there is nothing wrong with using it.
In these poles we can see that the mesh is totally different. Visually it's much closer to the knitwear we see on T-shirts, but it's also much softer and more comfortable to the touch. As well as the obvious advantage of making the polo more comfortable, it also makes it a more visually appealing item for clothing brands and companies looking for higher-end decorated merchandise because it makes a difference and breaks away from the industry standard.
In terms of decoration, they continue to embroider with high quality and allow screen printing and - in particular - direct printing (they are 100% cotton) to have a much higher visual quality as the mesh is much tighter and retains much more detail than its piqué "brothers".
while in pique knit the ink enters and passes directly through the cotton, ending up deposited in the machine, thus losing detail and colour vibrancy, in jersey knit (much more closed), all the ink is deposited in the garment, gaining colour and retaining all the details of the decorations
