If you are curious about how Studio Salt & Light produce our own apparel products, or want to learn more about different types of garment printing techniques, or perhaps you wan to start your own label, we hope you will find this article helpful.
There are plenty of pros-and-cons list of various printing techniques from different perspectives. While we have found many of them to be quite helpful when we were trying to make decisions about our own apparel products, a lot of articles are biased, for the authors may be trying to promote their own printing supplies. After a ton of research and a fair bit of experience running our brand, we have finally put together a comprehensive guide of our own, comparing different garment printing techniques and exploring what they are most suitable for. In no way are we claiming to be ultimate authority on the topic, but we are hoping to bring as much clarify and transparency to the the internet.
In this post, we will take a close look at Heat Transfer (HTV), Direct to Garment (DTG), Direct to Film (DTF), Screen Printing, and lastly, Plastisol Heat Transfer (PHT). Each garment printing technique will rated by costs, including equipments, consumables, and labour, print quality, namely print texture, colour range and durability, and versatility.
We have openly stated on our website that most of our apparel products are DTG printed with a few exceptions that are screen printed. These are all done locally with ethically sourced materials, within facilities of reputable manufacturers.
Summary Chart Preview
|
Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) |
Direct to Garment (DTG) | Direct to Film (DTF) | Screen Printing | Plastisol Heat Transfer (PHT) | |
| Setup cost | ★★★★★ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Small run cost | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Large run cost | ★★★★☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ |
| Labour intensity | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Colour range | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Texture | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Durability | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Garment variety | ★★★★★ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ |
| Print placement | ★★★★★ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ |
Hear Transfer Vinyl (HTV)
Also known as Heat Press Vinyl, Heat Transfer Vinyl is the process of decoration a garment with adhesive vinyl through high temperature and pressure. HTV works on many types of fabrics and has been popular throughout the world for decades, thanks to its low cost and simplicity. Yet, it is not without some major flaws.
Costs
Setup cost ★★★★★
Small runs cost ★★★★★
Large runs cost ★★★★☆
Labour intensity ★★★☆☆
Nothing beats HTV when it comes to cost-effectiveness in the short run. You can literally get production going with a small investment a few hundred dollars. All you need is a vinyl cutting machine, some vinyl sheets with adhesive backing, and a household iron.
Print Quality
Colour range ★☆☆☆☆
Texture ★☆☆☆☆
Durability ★★☆☆☆
Print quality is clearly the biggest drawback for HTV. As each vinyl sheet only comes in one colour, the graphic is kind of limited to the same range. And due to the material nature of vinyl, the print is going to have an industrial, rubbery feel to it. And sadly, bits and piece may start to crack and fall off after a few dozen wash cycles.
Versatility
Garment variety ★★★★★
Print placement ★★★★★
HTV somehow emerges victorious again, thanks to the adaptability of vinyl prints. The heat-activated backing with sufficient temperature and pressure can stick to virtually anywhere on any garment.
Our verdict
Not a fan in general. HTV is cheap to get start with but is is extremely limited in its capacity. Unless you are printing single-colour texts, such as sports team wear with player names, we do not recommend HTV printing.
Direct to Garment (DTG)
Next on the list is a much newer invention that arguably has changed the landscape of the print-on-demand (POD) industry. DTG, as its name suggests, is the technology to transfer ink directly onto a piece of garment, much like how an inkjet printer does to paper. And since this is a digital process, printing volume doesn't affect the cost per print as much, which makes DTG an ideal choice for POD and one-off units, but not cost-effective for larger runs.
Cost
Setup cost ★☆☆☆☆
Small runs cost ★★★★★
Large runs cost ★★☆☆☆
Labour intensity ★★★★☆
DTG machines are notoriously expensive to acquire. Due to the state-of-the-art technologies required in these devices, only a handful of top-tier manufacturers are capable of producing commercial quality DTG printers. Adding consumables and ongoing maintenance, the overall hardware cost of running a DTG production makes it not attainable for self-starters.
One of the greatest advantages of DTG printing is it's low per unit cost when it comes to low volume (anywhere between 1 to 15 pieces) printing runs. Very little setup is required compared to screen printing. Think importing a graphic file into the program and have your machines handle the rest. You can have a pre-treated t-shirt fully printed within minutes. This great advantage can however backfire when it comes to printing greater quantities, as there's no way to speed up the machine printing process for each unit. This could result in prolonged production time.
Print Quality
Colour range ★★★★★
Texture ★★★★☆
Durability ★★★☆☆
Nothing beats DTG when to comes the possible range of colours you can achieve on each print. Since a DTG machine works similarly to a document printer, it is capable of printing virtually any colour from the CYMK combination in any given run. This makes it the perfect choice for photography prints and graphics of many colours.
People's opinions seem to vary when it comes to the print quality of DTG. Fans of the traditional plastisol texture of screen printing tend to dislike the matte finish of DTG prints. Yet many praise the softness of embedded ink, as opposed to raised materials pressed on top of the fabric. While DTG printed graphics may not be as durable as screen printed counterparts, with proper care, they could still last years.
Versatility
Garment variety ★☆☆☆☆
Print placement ★☆☆☆☆
If there's one thing that puts DTG far down in the race, it would be its versatility. DTG machines are extremely picky on the materials it can print on. Anything short of cotton is not likely to yield great results. At Studio Salt & Light, we exclusively use ethically sourced, quality blank garments from AS Colour. And because the garment must be placed on a fixed printing bed for printheads to do their jobs, placement of graphics is limited to large fabric areas, namely, the front and back centre of t-shirts or hoodies.
Our verdict
We love it! Between the full-colour printing and easy turnaround, we find DTG to be the ideal choice for creatives to sell print-on-demand merchandises or brands with a huge range of designs to offer. And because it's not feasible for beginnings to purchase DTG machines, we high recommend you look for a professional facility near you that offer DTG printing.
Direct to Film (DTF)
DTF refers to the 2-step process of digitally printing the reversed graphic on a PET transfer film, and then heat pressing the graphic onto the fabric. This is by no means a new technique, yet it is one that has regained popularity in the past 2 years. The global lockdowns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have spurred the creativity of many who had a lot more time to spare. As a technique that is less expensive to setup compared to DTG, easier to learn than screen printing, and more appealing than HTV, DTF became the go-to choice for those what want to get into t-shirt printing.
Costs
Setup cost ★★★☆☆
Small runs cost ★★★★☆
Large runs cost ★☆☆☆☆
Labour intensity ★★☆☆☆
The most appealing aspect of DTF printing is it's relatively low cost run. The price a specialty DTF printer range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, depending on the size and quality you are looking for. But to get started on DTF is fairly straight forward. And like DTG, Direct to Film is also capable of printing one-off graphics with ease, making it a great choice for small Print-on-Demand businesses.
What experienced operators do not like (and many newcomers often fail to consider) is DTF's demand on manual work. Think DTF as a combination of DTG and HTV when it comes to handling, for you will have to print on a transfer film and then heat press the graphic onto the garment. The cost of man-hours as well as errors caused by manual handling can add up quickly.
Print Quality
Colour range ★★★★★
Texture ★★★☆☆
Durability ★★☆☆☆
DTF printed graphics has a soft texture and shows bright and vibrant colours. But many complains that it still feels like an added foreign layer on the fabric. And despite the appealing initial print results, we find DTF prints tend to fade and crack much quicker than DTG and other forms of printing.
Versatility
Garment variety ★★★★★
Print placement ★★★★★
This is another win for DTF. Like HTV, the print can be transferred to all popular types of fabrics and virtually any desired spot on the garment.
Our verdict
It may not be as pretty as you think. Many self-starters rushed to buy a DTF printer hoping to produce their own merch quickly, only to realise later that the process is a lot more labour intensive than they had expected. If you are generally hands on, and prefer to spend your time on production rather than on creatives or marketing, DTF might be a good fit for you. And did we already mention that the prints don't last?
Screen Printing
We have now arrived at the time-honoured, traditional garment printing technique, Screen Printing. Plastisol ink is proven to be the most durable and reliable ink to use on apparel products, easily lasting years on your t-shirt without fading. And once the screens are set up and machines turned on, screen printing is still no doubt the most efficient way to produce to medium to large quantities.
Costs
Setup cost ★★☆☆☆
Small runs cost ★☆☆☆☆
Large runs cost ★★★★★
Labour intensity ★★☆☆☆
We have found it difficult to judge certain aspects of screen printing, because of the variations within the category. Depending on the scale of your production, you could get started with a couple of hundred bucks for a single-colour manual station, or you could go all the way up to a fully automated, multi-station machine that sets you back tens of thousands of dollars.
But despite the huge differences between hardware, you cannot get away with the delicate process of making silk screens for each colour of each graphic. This upfront setup effort has made screen printing the least economical choice for small runs. However once you get that out of way, the actual printing part becomes fair straightforward and efficient, making screen printing the ideal choice for volume jobs.
Print Quality
Colour range ★★★☆☆
Texture ★★★★★
Durability ★★★★★
Besides the daunting process of making screens, colour diversity is probably the biggest con of screen printing. By that we don't mean the accuracy or availability of plastisol inks, because the choices are abundant. We are referring to the limited number of colours you can have on each garment. Due to the nature of the technique, you are to have one screen for each colour you want to print. So if your intricate design has 3 colours, it calls for 3 screens, each with the exclusive graphic of 1 colour.
Like mentioned before, the overall quality of screen printed graphics is amazing. Everyone loves the smooth finish and the longevity of settled plastisol ink.
Versatility
Garment variety ★★★★☆
Print placement ★★★☆☆
Screen printing works on a great range of garment but it's not without limitations. Since silk screens only work on a flat surface, the fabric must be placed accordingly. And not all types of apparel products, and certain not all areas of of those products, can be manipulated into such form.
Our verdict
Hands down the best option, if you are serious and your graphics are simple. The beauty of screen printing is that you can either leave it to the professionals or do it yourself. Both of these requires a certain level of commitment. So if you are ready for the challenge, you can't go wrong with the proven technique of screen printing.
Plastisol Heat Transfer (PHT)
Finally we are going to look at screen printing's less known cousin, Plastisol Heat Transfer. Compared to all the techniques discussed above, PHT is not as common and certainly doesn't receive the appreciation we believe it deserves. Essentially it is the process of screen printing onto a transfer film, and then having the graphic heat pressed onto the garment: think the combination of screen printing and HTV.
Costs
Setup cost ★★☆☆☆
Small runs cost ★★☆☆☆
Large runs cost ★★★★☆
Labour intensity ★★☆☆☆
Since PHT is basically the extension of screen printing, it retains most of the benefits and disadvantages of its precursor. And because of the added steps of transferring and manual heat pressing, the cost to operate PHT is certainly higher, rendering it a poorer choice for large runs.
Print Quality
Colour range ★★☆☆☆
Texture ★★★★★
Durability ★★★★★
PHT fully inherits the print quality of screen printing. However the manual transfer process does make having multiple colours challenging.
Versatility
Garment variety ★★★★★
Print placement ★★★★★
We would argue this is the single greatest advantage of PHT that makes it a worthy contender in the match again other more popular types of printing techniques. By placing graphics on a transfer film, Plastisol Heat Transfer has made it possible to "screen print" on garments and areas that are not ideal or impossible for traditional screen printing. Not only that, it is also possible to place multiple graphics onto one sheet. So instead of getting one print each time a squeegee runs through the screen, you will be getting multiple usable prints.
Now, imagine you want the same logo or graphic across different types of merch, say tees, hoodies, and shorts. Instead of having a whole bunch of each type stocked and printed and wait for sales, you could lay up a the graphics on a single screen, print them to sheets, store up the sheets, and heat press them onto products as you go, thus saving yourself a lot of up front cost on blank stock.
Our verdict
Full of potential. PHT adds a few unique advantages to traditional screen printing and opens the door to endless possibilities. If your apparel merchandise includes different types of garments, and generally has simple graphics, definitely look into PHT as at least one of your production options.
To sum it up
It's impossible to say which printing technique is the best, they are all different, with unique sets of pros and cons.
For people who buy printed apparels, screen printed shirts tend to have the longest lifespan, thanks to the superior plastisol ink. But if you are into more elaborated graphics, you will love the DTG garments. If you want your players' names printed on their uniforms, a simple HTV job should do the trick,
For entrepreneurs, it all comes down to what kind of apparel business you are running and what matters the most to you. If you do not have many design variations and they are mostly simple, definitely go with screen printing. Let a professional screen printing shop handle the job if you could commit to the minimum quantity. But if you are hands on and have time to spare, certainly consider investing in a basic station and do it yourself! But if you prefer to spend more time on the creatives and release new designs constantly, look into DTG and find a suitable POD partner. If you want more versatility and flexibility, you might want to add PTH to your arsenal.
As your business grow, it's natural for your production methods to evolve too. DTG might suit your brand now but it may not fulfil your needs a year later. Someone else could be doing the printing for you today, but it might be a wise decision to bring production in-house when your volume is up.
The bottom line is this. Consider your time, your skills, your cashflow and your logistics first, and choose a printing method that works best for those.