How to Stop Concealed Carry Printing: Causes and Fixes

Quick answer: Printing is when the outline of your gun shows through your clothing. Most of the time it’s the grip sticking out. To stop it, put the gun where your shirt hangs loose, rotate the grip in with a wing (claw), tuck it against your body with a wedge, set the ride height, and wear a belt that holds the holster tight to you. Then pick your gun size and clothes to match. Check the setup sitting, bending and reaching, not just standing at a mirror.

What is printing, and does it matter?

“Printing” is when your shirt or cover garment doesn’t fully hide your handgun and the gun’s outline shows through the fabric. The term comes from that outline being “printed” on the shirt. You see it most through T-shirts and other light tops, and the tighter and thinner the fabric, the more likely it is.

Why it matters:

• You lose the element of surprise. That’s one of the main advantages of carrying concealed.
• It can alarm the people around you. A badly concealed gun gets noticed.
• The law depends on where you are. No single answer covers every state, and some towns and cities have their own rules. These laws also change, so check your state’s current law before you rely on a blog post (this one included).

There’s a mental side too. It’s easy to keep checking for printing in mirrors and reflections. The Firearm Blog’s advice is to check once or twice when you’re out, then leave it alone, because staying calm draws less attention than constant adjusting. Do the real fixing at home, which is what the rest of this guide covers.

What causes printing? The 5 main causes

1. Gun size, especially grip length

For concealment, grip length matters more than slide length, because the grip is the part above the belt. A full-size pistol with an optic and a weapon light is harder to hide than a small pistol like a Glock 43X with nothing added. PHLster uses a rough rule it calls the Concealment Percentage: if your gun’s grip height is more than about 40% of your hip-to-hip measurement, concealment gets much harder. If your gun is over that line, no amount of tuning may fully fix it, and a smaller gun or a different holster length may help more.

2. The holster

A holster won’t shape itself to your body. It needs pressure pushing it in, plus concealment features that turn that pressure into the right movement. A wing (also called a claw) turns belt pressure into grip rotation. A wedge tilts the top of the gun toward your body. Soft-sided holsters like bellybands, and clip-only setups with no belt, have a harder time because they can’t apply steady, controlled pressure.

3. Carry position

Every body has peaks, where your shirt touches you, and valleys, where it hangs loose. PHLster calls the valley where a gun hides best your “Concealment Sweet Spot.” It’s different on every body, so copying someone else’s clock position often doesn’t work. For a full breakdown of positions, see our guide to concealed carry positions.

4. The belt

The belt does most of the concealment work. It presses the holster into you, and that pressure is what makes a wing or wedge work. A soft or weak belt lets the holster tip and sag, and when the belt flexes the grip leans out. That makes printing worse when you sit, bend or move. You don’t need a rigid “hula-hoop” belt. It just has to be firm enough to hold the holster in place while still fitting the shape of your body. More on that in our concealed carry belt guide.

5. Clothing

Tight clothing stretches over the grip and shows its edges. Thin, clingy fabric takes the shape of whatever is under it. Oversized clothing can still print when it folds or pulls as you sit or bend. Clothing is the last layer of the fix, and it gets its own section below.

How to fix grip printing: rotation, tuck, ride height and belt

Grip printing is usually the biggest problem. The goal is to get the gun lying flat inside the gap between your shirt and your body, so the fabric hangs over it instead of catching on it.

Step 1: Diagnose it with “poke and check”

This is PHLster’s test, and it takes a few minutes. Put on your holstered gun, find where it’s printing, and press on that spot through your shirt. Then watch how the gun moves:

• If the grip rotates toward your body when you press it, you need more grip rotation, which means a wing or a taller wing.
• If the muzzle end lifts away from your body, you need grip tuck, which means a wedge.

Step 2: Grip rotation with a wing or claw

A wing is a small lever on the holster that sits behind the belt. When the belt presses the holster in, the wing turns that pressure into rotation and pushes the grip flat against you. The more belt pressure, the more the wing works, so if it seems to do nothing, check your belt tension first. If you’re already using the tallest wing and still need more rotation, add a wedge to help.

Step 3: Grip tuck with a wedge

A wedge goes on the body side of the holster near the muzzle. It pushes the muzzle end out, which levers the grip and slide in against your torso. Placement changes what it does. Used to fill a gap, it mostly adds cushion. Used as a pivot point (a fulcrum), it gives you stronger tuck. To test size and placement before you buy anything, PHLster suggests a folded sock.

The Cloudster Pillow is the soft wedge designed for exactly this by Keith, who founded Cloudster Pillow. He’s in his third year carrying appendix every day on the very first one he made. It’s filled with shredded cooling-gel memory foam, and it opens with hook-and-loop so you can add or remove fill until the tuck feels right. It mounts with hook-and-loop to Kydex, leather and hybrid holsters. Keith places it off to the side of the slide or optic and below the muzzle, hanging slightly over the edge, so it rotates the grip toward your stomach and tucks it in. On his own holsters he takes the claws off, but that’s his preference, not a rule. Try it both ways, and if you like the claw, leave it on. The step-by-step placement is in our holster wedge placement guide.

Step 4: Ride height

Ride height is a trade-off. The higher the gun rides, the more grip sits above the belt. But carrying too low is the most common appendix comfort mistake, because the muzzle digs into your hip or thigh when you sit. PHLster suggests finding your comfortable range while seated first, then fine-tuning while standing. Holster length plays in too. A longer holster below the muzzle (PHLster’s “Keel Principle”) counterbalances the grip and reduces grip printing, though it can cause muzzle printing in tight pants or a low position.

Step 5: Belt tension

Wings and wedges need belt pressure. PHLster’s advice: if a wing doesn’t seem to work, check your belt tension before blaming the wing, and if you’re already at your limit on tension, add a wedge for more rotation.

What to wear to stop printing

• Medium to heavy fabrics hang over the gun. Light, clingy ones take its shape. Heavier material is less likely to stretch over the gun’s edges.
• Darker colors and patterns. A dark gun under a light shirt can show as a dark shape. Plaid and other busy patterns break up the outline. Solid, light-colored shirts are the least forgiving.
• Loose, but not huge. A loose fit hangs over the grip. Oversized clothing can still fold and print when you move.
• Two layers. An open button-down over a T-shirt is one of the easiest ways to cover a gun.
• Pants and jackets count too. See our guides to concealed carry pants and concealed carry jackets.

Clothing works best after the holster is set up right. Once the gun is in your sweet spot with good rotation and tuck, even a thin T-shirt can work.

Where to carry for your body type

• Weight above the belt: Your stomach creates a peak at or near 12 o’clock that pushes the grip out. Your sweet spot usually shifts toward your strong side, around 1 to 3 o’clock. A longer holster balances better, and a wedge matters more because your stomach is pushing the grip away.
• Weight below the belt (pear shape): Your shirt drapes less up top. Try a ride height above or below your pants belt.
• Petite frames: You have less room to hide a gun, so gun size matters most. A gun that’s easy for a bigger person can be over the 40% mark for you.
• Left-handed: Mirror everything. The sweet spot is usually around 10:00 to 11:30 instead of 12:30 to 2:00.
• Strong-side (3 to 5 o’clock): The same principles apply (sweet spot, rotation, tuck), but the best settings are different.

If you carry appendix, our appendix carry guide covers safety and setup.

Step-by-step checklist to stop printing

1. Check the gun against your frame. If the grip is more than about 40% of your hip-to-hip width, expect a fight.
2. Find your sweet spot. Look down at your torso, find where your shirt hangs loose, and put the gun there.
3. Set ride height while seated first, high enough that the muzzle doesn’t dig in, then fine-tune standing.
4. Put on a belt that holds the holster against you at a tension you can wear all day.
5. Poke and check. If the grip rotates in when pressed, add or raise a wing. If the muzzle lifts away, add a wedge.
6. Adjust the wedge. Move it, add or remove fill.
7. Dress for it: medium-weight, darker or patterned, loose but not oversized.
8. Test at home in motion: sit, bend, reach and walk around the house before you go out.
9. Then stop touching it. Check once or twice when you’re out, and leave it alone.

It’s normal for this to take a few rounds. Fixing one thing can shift another, so repeat the poke and check after each change.

Concealed carry printing FAQ

Is printing illegal?

It depends on your state, and sometimes on your city or town, and these laws change. There’s no single rule that covers everyone, so check your state’s current law.

Does a holster wedge stop printing?

It fixes one specific kind: the grip tipping away from your body. A wedge pushes the muzzle end out so the grip tucks in. It won’t fix a gun that’s too big for your frame or a belt that sags.

Wedge or claw: which do I need?

Do the poke and check. If the grip rotates toward you when pressed, you need a claw (wing). If the muzzle lifts away from you, you need a wedge. You can use both.

Why does my gun only print when I sit or bend?

Clothing pulls and folds when you move, and a soft belt lets the holster tip so the grip leans out. Check your setup seated and in motion, not only standing at a mirror.

Can I carry in a thin T-shirt without printing?

It can work once the gun is in your sweet spot with good grip rotation and tuck. Thin, close-fitting shirts leave less room for error, though.

What size wedge should I get?

Keith’s rule for the Cloudster Pillow: when in doubt, size up. You can take fill out of a bigger pillow to make it feel smaller, but you can’t make a small one bigger. Our size guide matches sizes to guns and builds.