How is the T-shirt printing done? Have you ever wondered the question of how to print image, design, graphic on apparel such as T shirt? There are actually several printing technologies that can make it: Direct to Garment Printing (DTG Printing), Direct to Film Printing (DTF Printing) and etc. In fact, the various factors that determine which style is appropriate for the printing project include the complexity of the design, the materials being used, the budget, to name just a few.
As one of the most widely used methods: DTG (Direct to Garment) printing, knowing the pros and cons will definitely help beginners in the printing industry have the answer to questions such as: “What is the best T-shirt printing option”.
What is DTG (Direct to Garment) Printing?
With the aid of the most recent printing technologies, DTG print technology is one of the most advanced recent printing ways to have been created. It functions quite similarly to the inkjet printers you might see in an office, which print directly with ink on paper, of course, this time, cloth is the medium (substrate) instead of paper, and a different kind of ink is employed. In another word, the way T-shirt printing done by DTG printing is to print water-based ink directly to the fabric by using Direct to Garment (DTG) printer.
What makes DTG printing more popular for the T-shirt printing business?
The Advantages of DTG Printing
DTG printing has a number of advantages over other printing techniques, including:
- Low setup costs;
- Simple to use;
- High printing quality;
- Eco-friendly production;
- Innovation & Cutting-edge technology apply;
DTG Printing Requires Low Setup Costs
In contrast to conventional screen printing, DTG printing has low setup fees. Low set-up expenses eliminate the need for minimum orders. If you wished, you could even ask DTG printing services to print just one T-shirt with your preferred design. A DTG printer is a type of inkjet printer that is a computer peripheral. This implies that you can easily print artwork provided to you by a customer onto a T-shirt by opening it in your RIP software. For conventional screen printing, producing the screens itself is an additional step that comes at a high cost.
The DTG Printing is Easy to Handle
Other printing techniques require the use of stencils, vinyl cutouts, or hand-drawn drawings on specialized paper, these duties typically call for abilities that many people lack. But DTG printing is another story, the only steps required with a DTG T-shirt printer are to upload the design, insert the T-shirt, and it is then ready to use. As introduced as a part of following DTG printer video tutorial, in the user friendly interface provided by the DTG printer solution, everything is ready to go for T-shirt printing by just few clicks, moreover, all the printing settings, parameters can be easily changed in the program visual friendly.
Play the video (auto starts from the 41s) to see how easy T-shirt printing can be set by DTG printer software.
The Product Quality of DTG Printing is Excellent
DTG print technology can produce remarkably accurate prints of intricate, multicolored artwork. You may even use it to print color images onto T-shirts and other fabrics because of its precision and level of detail.
Usually, T-shirt printing is not easy job on dark clothing and the quality of print-out may various, but DTG printer with great DTG supplies can address it: provide durable, premium quality with affordable cost for industrial level garment printing.
DTG Printing is Eco-friendly
When compared to techniques like dye sublimation and screen printing, DTG printing is a more eco-friendly approach. Additionally becoming more eco-friendly is new technology created for DTG.
Innovation and Upgrading Technology Apply to Direct to Garment Printing
DTG printing technology is brand-new, in contrast to the majority of other printing techniques, some of which can be traced back thousands of years. As a result, we may anticipate seeing the findings get better as the technology advances.
As proven in the innovative DTG printer: DTX-II Double Station, the DTG printing machine (as following photo shows) is designed for improving the printing efficiency, it allows the T-shirt printing jobs done one-by-one consecutively, this makes the printing volume almost 2 times than common DTG printers.
The Disadvantages of DTG Printing
Every coin has two sides, the DTG printing also has some drawbacks, as there are no perfect methods. 3 of the most known cons are:
- Pre-treatment required before printing;
- Fabric limitation;
- Not suitable for mass production;
Preparation is Required Before DTF Printing
Dark-colored fabrics will need to be pre-treated before printing on them. By stopping the ink from quickly sinking into the cloth to avoid mixing, the pre-treatment functions similarly to applying a primer to drywall. However, the pre-treatment procedure occasionally leaves a washable stain on the fabric.
Printing on dark materials frequently results in the colors being less vibrant than they would be on lighter fabrics. In some instances, this might prompt a redesign or the use of a cloth in a lighter shade. It can be challenging to match the Pantone exactly, which can produce inconsistent results.
Fabric Limitation to Direct to Garment Printing
High Cotton Content Required: To get decent results, you usually need to choose a cloth with a high cotton content. Typically, 80% or greater cotton content is advised. Fortunately, since most T-shirts already have a high cotton content, this rarely poses a difficulty when printing on them.
DTG Printing is Not Suitable for Mass Production
Although DTG printing is excellent for small quantities, it is not the greatest for orders of this size. For starters, using a DTG shirt printer for large runs takes time and could require a lot of labor. DTG print is very expensive, making it uneconomical for longer runs.
Cost: In comparison to certain other techniques, a DTG shirt printer is not inexpensive. Many businesses find it to be out of their price range due to the high barrier to entry.
New Printing Markets Prospect
DTG printing isn’t flawless, but it does provide printing and e-commerce businesses access to entirely new markets. Small-batch printing was previously unfeasible and inefficient for a printing company due to expensive and lengthy set-up periods. Instead, companies would need to demand hefty minimum orders or expensive premiums for smaller batches of each product. However, the technology enables DTG printing services to print single products or even small runs at a reasonable rate. T-shirt single-print ordering has created a wealth of new e-commerce possibilities. For instance, anyone may build their design, send it to a printing business, and then sit back and let technology handle the rest.
A seamless print-on-demand model is made possible by DTG. The procedure is easy. Your design will be printed for you by a printing company, who will then deliver it right to your clients. Even better for e-commerce businesses, there is no initial investment required. Instead, the printing business will process orders as they are received, print them, send them to clients, and then keep a portion.
