What is DTG Printing? Short for Direct-to-Garment, DTG printing is a method of printing designs directly onto t-shirts and textiles using a modified ink printer.
Brother DTG Printer
Direct to Garment printing is a direct descendant of inkjet printing. That means no screens, no mess, no thick plastisol ink–yet great detail and stunning color possibilities. How it works is a t-shirt is loaded onto the machine, and your design is printed directly onto the shirt using specially formulated water-based inks. The design is then heat set using either a heat press or a tunnel dryer. In the same way that your inkjet printer can print extremely detailed images, a DTG printer is able to produce photo-quality images on shirts that still have a soft feel.
No color limitations with DTG Printing means you can print what you want without the price going up. Photo courtesy of Behind the Blank
Sounds great, right? Well, Direct to Garment printing does have its limitations. Specialized ink means it’ll end up costing a little more. It’s also a lot slower than screen printing (think of standing in front of an inkjet printer and waiting for a piece of paper to come out), so labor costs are higher as well. And the printable area is a little smaller, too.
So with so many factors to consider, the real question is when to use Direct to Garment and when to screen print. The basic formula is if you’re printing a multi-colored and detailed design with less than 50 shirts, Direct to Garment is the more efficient and cost-effective choice. Once you start hitting quantities over 50, then screen printing becomes the faster and cheaper option. DTG is also the go-to option if you’re looking to print a photo-realistic image.
Print your illustrations right onto a shirt with DTG Printing
When printing DTG, the fabric content of the garment is by far going to be the main factor to consider when choosing which shirts to use. Lots of printers insist on going with only 100% cotton (like the Cotton Heritage MC1040 and the gildan 5000 ). We recommend going a step further and choosing ringspun cotton (like the Next Level 3600 or Tultex 290), which is much softer and smoother–and thus prints better. You could also choose an organic cotton shirt, which is great for marketing.
In general, screen printing is going to be a better choice for blended t-shirts if you’re looking for vibrant colors. This is because DTG Inks are best absorbed by 100% cotton, and the color won’t take as well to man-made fibers. However, if you’re looking for more of a subdued print with vintage-style faded colors, DTG could be the perfect choice for your design. White blended shirts print very well, but if you’re using anything other than that we suggest consulting with one of our print reps to be sure there won’t be any issues.
Next step–generating your custom DTG print quote! blankstyle.com is your one-stop shop for all of your blank and printed apparel needs!