Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing has gained popularity in recent years as a versatile and cost-effective method for creating high-quality custom apparel. While DTG printing offers many benefits, including detailed and vibrant designs, there are also several drawbacks to consider. In this blog post, we will explore the top 5 benefits and challenges of direct to garment printing.
Top 5 Likes of DTG Printing
1. Image quality: is very detailed and can reproduce what is on the screen. Photo quality is a plus and being able to print images with so many colors and detail is amazing.
2. Great for single prints: The machine works great when you have a single shirt or small order requests. Since setup is much quicker than screen printing you quickly print out the image onto the machine. Also beats having to wait for transfers to arrive.
3. Quick Turnaround: Quickly print jobs when needed. Many times, we would have a request for some shirts for a high school game or event. As long as we had the blanks in stock, we could print that order out in time for them.
4. Artwork: The artwork process is much easier to setup compared to screen printing. No need to separate layers. If the image was high quality, you can easily print it out onto the shirt.
5. Great for custom shirts: DTG is great if you are printing customized shirts for an event. We did many reunion shirts or organization shirts with one custom change on each like a name. This worked great as we could quickly make the change on the artwork and hit print again for the next one.
Top 5 Cons of DTG Printing
1. Expensive to start: Getting started in direct to garment printing is not cheap. Machines can start at $12 thousand dollars on up. Add to that the cost of a pre-treat machine and a het press and your out of pocket is pretty high before printing one shirt.
2. Quality feel: While the images on the shirt can look full of color with solid detail, the addition of pre-treatment can make the feel of the shirt feel hard. It can also leave a pre-treat box around the image from where the pre-treat was sprayed and pressed. After the first wash a lot of this can go away but for a customer opening their package for the first time not ideal.
3. Fabric limitations: Due to the print method you want to print on shirts that are mostly cotton. Most manufacturers suggest using garments with 80% cotton.
4. Complex machines: It is important to remember that these machines are complex machines that require daily maintenance. Many are sold as work at home project appliances but make no mistake these are industrial machines that require daily work to ensure they continue to print.
5. Not good for large orders: While DTG is great for small and one-off orders it is not ideal for large orders. The process of pre-treating, printing and then heat pressing can take some time per shirt. Add a back print and that process must be done all over again. Screen printing and heat transfers can work much better when dealing with very large orders. Also, since costs are fixed for ink and all the items needed you do not save by printing more and your cost per print remains flat.
Check out more articles about DTG and Print on Demand Printing by clicking Here.
