T shirt printing falls into 3 major catagories.
The most suitable process to use is determined by the following:
- Type of garment
- How many items you want printed
- What you want to print on the garment
Direct to Garment (DTG):
DTG is only meant to be used on a very high cotton content, preferably 100%. If you use it on a 50% polyester 50% cotton mix, it will look OK but the printing will washout pretty quickly.
Because the garments actually pass through the printer, you can only print t-shirts and polo shirts with any ease. You can print sweat shirts and hoodies, but this can sometimes cause problems. The rule is that the bulkier the garment, the more difficult for DTG.
The advantage of Direct to Garment printing is that if it satisfies the above requirements, it will print most types of design (even photos) with ease and in quite small quantities, at a reasonable price.
Digital Vinyl Transfer (DVT)
DVT will print onto almost anything, even bulky jackets! But because it is a thin vinyl film that is bonding into the fabric with pressure and heat, it has its limitations.
Because Digital Vinyl Transfer is a piece of vinyl film that has been digitally cut out, it is just a solid colour. The more colours you want, the more the cost goes up!
If the Digital Vinyl Transfer process suits your logo its is very cheap to use and is guarenteed to last for the life time of the clothing. In addition it gives very bright strong colours and sharp edges.
Screen Printing
Screen printing really comes into its own if you need over 50 items of clothing printed. This is because you have to have screens made before you can start printing. These cost 15-20 pounds each, so if you have a 3 colour logo, it will cost you about £50 before you start printing.
The actual print costs are very cheap, when the screen have been paid for and compare very favourably to other types of printing. The process also is very long lasting and can be used for most types of clothing.
