Whether you are just launching an apparel line or on-boarding employees weekly, deciding your best print method is important when staying relevant and growing your business in an efficient manner.
The two most popular methods of creating custom apparel are direct-to-garment (DTG) and screen printing. Below will help educate you on the basics to see what best suits you.
Screen printing is the most popular method of printing – it pushes ink through a woven mesh screen onto fabric so the ink stays on top of the garment. Each color you want to print has a special screen made just for you, so the more layers you have, the more time it will take to print your design.
Screen printing is not only cost effective for large orders, it’s versatile and allows a lot of choices.
Direct-to-garment printing works like your inkjet printer does, it sprays the ink onto the shirt. DTG allows you to print infinite colors and photorealistics images. There are no additional screens to set up with each color so this printing method gives you freedom to change colors and control inventory as you wish.
DTG is perfect for small runs with lots of color! That said, DTG is not cost effective for larger batches and doesn’t offer the volume discount you might be use to with screen printing.
Think about your design, audience, and budget, then decide what might be the best way for you. If you need help thinking through this process, call us, we are here to help create products that make you look awesome!