Your guide to direct to garment printing
If you’re testing out designs for a new t-shirt or making a limited run of merchandise for your new project, direct to garment printing (DTG) is the most modern way to print your designs.
It works in the same way as an office printer, except instead of injecting ink onto paper, it prints onto fabric. This means it can accurately recreate intricate images, colour gradients and subtle details on garments.
In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about DTG printing, from the history of this new technology to the details of how it works and when you should choose this technique over more traditional screen printing.
DTG printing explained
The history of DTG printing
What is the DTG printing process?
Why use DTG printing?
Artwork tips for DTG printing
DTG printing vs screen printing
The history of DTG printing
Unlike screen printing, which has a history stretching back a thousand years, DTG printing is only a decade old. The roots of the technology are in injection printers, which were first invented in the 1950s and became widely available, filling every office building with a familiar hum, from the mid-1980s.
People quickly started wondering if these printers might be able to print onto materials other than paper — screen printing was already automated by this point, but the process still had limitations.
The first DTG printer was created by Matthew Rhome in the 1990s, and, perhaps sensing its importance, he called it “Revolution”. He received a patent in 2000, and over the next five years a number of competing machines were brought to the market.
By the mid-2000s there were several models of DTG printer, but there was a problem — the garments looked great when printed on white material, but not so much on black. This was because nobody had invented white ink. In 2005 this final breakthrough was secured, ushering in the technology we have today, which is a worthy alternative to the ancient process of screen printing.
What is the DTG printing process?
You’ve prepared your image, but how does the printer actually work? Let’s go through the key steps in the process:
- The garment is sprayed with pretreatment liquid, which helps the ink bond with the fibres for increased vibrancy. The garment is then left to dry.
- Graphics are prepared digitally — DTG printers accept both pixel and vector art.
- The garment is carefully loaded into the printer. It must be completely flat, because a single wrinkle could ruin the design.
- An ‘underbase’ of white ink is laid down first on darker garments.
- Hit ‘print’! It’s a totally automated printing process.
- The garment is dried or ‘cured’ to help the ink set. This is best done with a heat press, placing silicon paper between the garment and the press and leaving it for 90 seconds.
- The garment is washed and ready to wear.
Why use DTG printing?
DTG printing is cost effective for printing small quantities of garments, because there is no start-up cost. For the printmakers it’s a simple process because there is no lengthy set-up or cleaning process, as there is with screen printing.
Injection printing creates extremely precise and high-quality images, so it is best suited for intricate designs that can include complex colour gradients.
Artwork tips for DTG printing
Since DTG printing allows an unparalleled level of precision in the image reproduction, you can go as complex as you like in terms of colours and details in your designs. Images should be saved in as high a resolution as possible, and in CMYK colour mode.
It is worth pointing out, however, that the colours can fade with time — which is great if you’re a fan of the current trend for vintage-look t-shirts.
DTG printing vs screen printing
DTG printing is best if you have a small batch of garments to print, around 5-20 garments. It isn’t well-suited for large quantities, as each t-shirt takes minutes to print and production costs can add up.
If you’re looking to print a complex image or something at photographic quality, DTG is your best option since there is no limit to the colours that can be printed. By comparison, screen printing requires a new screen with each colour you want to use.
Unlike the vivid inks of screen printing, DTG uses thinner ink which can create a more detailed image and is particularly well-suited for light-coloured fabrics. DTG inks are also water-based, meaning the process is more environmentally friendly.
DTG works best on garments that are more than 50% cotton. Garments made from other materials, such as polyester, can repel liquid like the water used in DTG printer ink. 100% cotton garments are advised for the best results from DTG printing.
Whichever you decide to go for, screen printing or DTG, both can be printed and delivered in three days with ICON, as long as there is approval from production beforehand.
Need fast turnaround DTG printing? At ICON Printing we offer expert service with a wide-ranging catalogue from t-shirts to caps to bags. Get a quote in 2 minutes online.