An introduction to DTF printing

If you are into apparel decoration, you might be pretty familiar with Direct to Garment Printing and Screen printing. And you probably have heard the term DTF being thrown around in recent times. But what is DTF? It seems to be trending so should you give it a go?

But before you head to a wholesale blank apparel store to order new tees to give this method a go, let’s learn more about it.

DTF is short for "direct-to-film" in printing. So how do you get DTF transfers to go from a piece of film to a blank t-shirt? Firstly, the logo has to be printed onto the film using an inkjet printer. These are not the regular types of inks that you would use to print out a photo or paper, but rather textile-specific inks that are created to attach to fabrics as closely as possible.

The DTF technology allows you to print on a variety of fabrics like cotton, polyester, synthetic, or silk without any issues. Besides, DTF printers can work great on both dark and white fabric, so you have one less thing to worry about.

The DTF process avoids the use of rollers. This improves the appearance of any linings on your white layer prints. So, if you are looking for a printing technology with flawless final designs that are an exact depiction of the image you wanted on the fabric, DTF is the choice.

One of the key benefits of DTF printing is that the garment do not require any pre-treatment in order to receive a transfer. This can simplify your actions and even bring down the costs. All things considered, the DTF printing process is faster and demands less work than DTG printing.

PROS of DTF printing

DTF printing does not require any pretreatment

You can use DTF printing on almost any material or fabric

The print will have a soft hand feel to it when you touch it.

When you use DTF printing, the fabric will show excellent wash resistance.

The process of DTF printing is less monotonous and faster when compared to other methods like DTG.

CONS of DTF printing

The area where the print is made is slightly more noticeable than other types of printing

The vibrancy of color is relatively lower than sublimation printing