What is DTG Printing?

What is DTG printing?

Direct-to-garment, or DTG, is a printing method that sprays ink onto the garment. The ink then soaks into the fibers of the garment. It’s like printing on paper, but on clothing.

How does DTG printing work?

For DTG printing, digital printers are used to spray water-based ink onto fabric. A pre-treatment solution is first applied to help the ink bond with the fabric. Next, the garment is mounted on a platen and placed into the printer, where the print is ready in just a couple of minutes. Finally, the ink is cured to make the print more durable.

DTG works best on 100% cotton, but cotton blends are also suitable.

The main advantage of DTG is that it’s easy to print one-offs because there’s almost no setup time. Say you have an online store connected with a third-party DTG print provider such as Printful. Once your customer places an order for a single t-shirt on your store, Printful automatically receives the order, prints your design on the t-shirt, and sends it directly to your customer under your label.

What type of designs work best with DTG?

DTG printers offer a lot of color options which means you can print detailed designs and photorealistic images with almost no color limitations. This is important for those businesses that want to try out various colors and designs.

The thing to avoid with DTG is transparencies. Elements that are less than 100% opaque don’t translate well in DTG printing—printers will attempt to make up the missing color by spreading the ink, causing the fabric to have a lot of gaps. That’s why it’s best to use solid colors or fakesemi-transparency by halftoning.

Other than that, you can work with detailed designs and color patterns as much as you wish. For best results, we suggest creating graphics in thesRGB color profile—it matches DTG  printer color possibilities the best.

Is DTG printing eco-friendly?

DTG is a more sustainable fashion business model than screen printing. Mainly because printing one-offs allows businesses to avoid overproduction and textile waste. With 92 million tons of textiles going to waste in the fashion industry each year, a business model like this is a game-changer.

Plus, a lot of DTG printer manufacturers create advanced tech that’s made with sustainability in mind. For example, North Central Ink & Stitch partners with Brother whose DTG printing machines produce almost zero wastewater and use less energy, lowering the carbon footprint.

How long do DTG prints last?

DTG prints stay crisp and vibrant for a long time if you follow the care instructions. To keep them from fading or cracking, machine-wash garments on a gentle cycle, avoid bleach and fabric softeners and don’t iron the prints.

Is DTG printing the right choice for your business?

Direct-to-garment printing is a hassle-free way to get the products ready for your customers.

Most third-party printers have no order minimums for DTG products, so you don’t have to worry about keeping stock. This printing method also enables businesses to use printing services on demand.

With DTG, the entire design is printed in one go.