COMPARE OUR PRINT METHODS
Four ways to put your design on a garment, each with a sweet spot. Play with the finder, scan the chart, then dig into the real pros and cons of each.
FIND YOUR MATCH
Answer a couple and we will point you at the method that fits.
How many do you need?
What is the artwork like?
What is it going on?
How soon?
SIDE BY SIDE
| SCREEN PRINTINGView page → | DTGView page → | DTFView page → | EMBROIDERYView page → | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Bold spot colours, big runs | Full colour and photos, small runs | Full colour on any fabric | Logos on caps, polos, workwear |
| Minimum | From 26 | From one | From one | From 15 |
| Colours | 1 to 10 spot | Unlimited | Unlimited | Thread colours |
| Works on | Cotton best | Cotton best | Almost any fabric | Structured garments |
| Turnaround | 2 to 3 weeks | Same day available | Same day available | About 3 weeks |
| Hand-feel | Sits on top, bold | Softest, into the fibre | Flexible layer on top | Raised and textured |
| Durability | Excellent when cured | Good | Good, cold wash | Outlasts the garment |
Tap a method name to open its page. Scroll the chart sideways on mobile.
THE REAL PROS AND CONS
The pros
- The most opaque, vivid result on dark garments, with an underbase, and exact Pantone spot-colour matching so brand colours come out right.
- Unlocks finishes digital cannot do: puff, metallic, gloss, high-density and discharge, which dyes the fibre for zero hand-feel.
- Cured properly it is the wash-durability benchmark, the reason workwear and sport kit are screen printed.
- The cheapest per piece by a wide margin once the quantity climbs.
The cons
- Every colour is its own screen, film and setup, so the setup, not the ink, is the cost. Small runs and one-offs are uneconomical.
- It is a spot-colour process, so photos and smooth gradients become halftones that can moire or lose fine detail.
- Standard plastisol sits on top, so big solid prints feel heavy, do not breathe, and an under-cured print can crack down the track.
🎳Fun fact: the carousel press that turned t-shirt printing into an industry was patented in 1960 by Michael Vasilantone, who built it to print bowling-team shirts. The craft itself goes back about a thousand years to Song-dynasty China.
The pros
- The only method that truly nails photographic, unlimited-colour art on a single tee, with no per-colour cost.
- On white or light cotton the water-based ink soaks into the fibres, so it is about as soft as decoration gets and it breathes.
- A genuine one-off, same-day option with no setup and no minimum.
The cons
- Darks are a different animal: they need pre-treatment and a white underbase, which adds a heavier, slightly raised hand and reads a touch more muted than on white, and a bad pre-treat can leave a faint square halo.
- It really only loves cotton. On poly, nylon and performance fabrics the ink will not bond, so no sports gear.
- Durable but not screen-tough. Heavy washing softens and fades it over time, and it is slow and ink-hungry, so wrong for big bulk.
🔥Fun fact: DTG is the baby of the bunch. The first garment printer, the "Revolution," only appeared in 1996 in Florida, basically an inkjet printer rebuilt to print on shirts.
The pros
- Full colour on almost anything, cotton, poly, nylon, blends, even performance fabric, light or dark, with no pre-treatment because the transfer carries its own white base.
- Bright and sharp, and it flexes and stretches with the garment, so it goes where DTG cannot: activewear, hoodies, caps and bags.
- No minimum, fast, and gang-sheets make mixed small orders efficient.
The cons
- It is a printed film bonded on top of the fabric, so large solid prints sit as a layer. They do not breathe and can feel warm or a bit sticky.
- The least permanent print. With hot washes and tumble drying, edges can lift and the print can crack or peel over time, especially on big areas. Cold wash, inside out, no dryer and it lasts well.
- The least-soft hand of the prints, and a poorly trimmed transfer can leave a faint glossy carrier edge around the art.
🆕Fun fact: DTF is the new kid. It barely existed before about 2019, when it was commercialised out of Guangzhou in China, then exploded worldwide during 2020 and 2021. It is younger than half the shirts in your wardrobe.
The pros
- The premium, high-perceived-value finish. Dimensional and tactile, it is the default for corporate, hospitality and uniforms.
- Genuinely the most durable decoration there is. Thread will not crack, peel or fade, and a good badge outlasts the garment.
- Once a logo is digitised, every reorder is identical, perfect for ongoing uniforms.
The cons
- It is thread, not ink, so fine detail, small text under about 4 to 5mm, thin lines and gradients fill in and go muddy.
- The inside matters: jump stitches between letters get trimmed and can leave tiny tails, and dense designs need a backing you can feel and that can scratch. Caps hide it, soft tees less so.
- Stitches add weight and tension, so big or dense designs can pucker light or stretchy fabrics, and new art needs a one-off digitising step.
🧵Fun fact: the first embroidery machine was built in France in 1828 by Josue Heilmann, and it barely sold because workers feared it would take their jobs. Hand embroidery itself goes back tens of thousands of years.