7 Reasons Why you Need to Ditch Screen Printing & DTG Now!

Screen printing has been around for decades for good reason--it's a reliable and efficient way to decorate a variety of materials. DTG has been around for less time, but it also has great advantages. While these methods will always have purpose, there's another way to decorate garments that will save you time and money called direct to film printing or DTF for short. In this article we'll be discussing the advantages of DTF transfers over screen printing and DTG. 

1.) DTF Transfers are Extremely Versatile.

Unlike direct to garment printing, DTF transfers can be applied to materials that are 100% cotton, 50/50 cotton and polyester blends, and even 100% polyester! DTF transfers can be applied to both light and dark fabrics without any special treatments or extra steps. 

In addition, DTF transfers can even be applied to different types of surfaces such as luggage, shoes, and wood. You can put a DTF transfer on basically any porous material that can use a heat press on.

2.) Using DTF Transfers reduces your production time.

Once you've received your transfers from us, all you need to do is press it on your garment using a heat press for a few seconds! There's no need for pre-treatment, no time spent waiting for inks to dry, and no need to make and clean multiple screens.

In addition, our transfers are hot peel meaning you don't even have to wait for them to cool completely!  Also, the better your heat press, the more streamlined your process. If you are doing a high volume of work, there are double platen, automatic heat presses that only require one user that can reduce pressing time.

3.) DTF Transfers reduce your cost significantly. 

Your cost to decorate your material is simply your heat press cost, plus your garment cost, and transfer cost (our prices are some of the best and lowest in the industry). 

You don't have to spend extra money on inks, pre-treatments, or special garments. Plus, you'll likely see a reduction in your utility bill because you no longer need to run large machinery or use tons of water to wash screens. 

Since DTF application is so fast, you will also minimize production and labor costs and can even see profit on smaller jobs that don't traditionally make a profit.

4.) DTF Transfers are easy to use in many different areas other methods of printing can't reach.

Since all you need to apply a transfer is heat and some pressure, DTF transfers can easily be applied to tricky areas. For example, a DTF transfer can easily be applied to the bottom of a curved skateboard using a small cricket press. It would be impossible to do this using other printing methods. 

5.) They are more durable.

Direct to garment prints have a soft feel because the ink is applied directly to the garment. While DTF prints don’t have the same soft feel that DTG can boast, DTF transfer prints are much more durable.

Prints transferred directly to film wash well and are elastic, meaning they don’t crack or flake, making them ideal for heavy use items.

That being said, we've spent time making our DTF transfers as soft as we possibly can without compromising durability. In addition there are tricks that can be used to reduce the amount of ink printed (such as knocking out all the black in a design) to make the print softer. It's also likely that as DTF evolves technology will allow for softer prints in the near future. 

6.) Reduces inventory 

If your shop deals a lot with inventory, DTF transfers can significantly reduce your inventory volume and cost by allowing you to stock less for less money. 

For example, let's say you wanted to stock 20 shirts with a 6 color, 10"x10" print. Traditional screen printing would cost around $13.44 per print (including setup charges). 

DTF Transfers from DTF Advantage would cost $3.25 per print for the same job. You save over $200 by ordering from DTF Advantage!

Since DTF transfers are easy to apply and are small to store, you can choose to stock them so that you can apply them to multiple different materials and colors of materials to allow for variations and choices.

7.) Designs with many colors aren't an issue.

Complicated designs or designs with several colors aren't difficult to apply with DTF transfers and don't cost more or take up more time. Unlike screen printing, you don't have to set a limit on the colors you would like to use or be cautious of cost. 

If your file is saved correctly and you use an experienced DTF printer, DTF transfers have incredibly vibrant color and details! We show you how to properly save your file before submitting it on our DTF order page so that your colors are as vibrant as possible.

Conclusion:

We hope you enjoyed this brief article about the many advantages of DTF over screen printing and DTG! If you have any questions about whether DTF would be a good method for you, please reach out to us by either using our chat or by emailing us at hello@dtfadvantage.com. We're happy to help!