Apart from screen printing becoming more and more common, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is another printing technique becoming rather popular recently near West Philadelphia PA. If screen printing is not a printing technique you can use for designs and you do not want the additional expenses of embroidery, this is the most often used substitute. This printing procedure is special since it gives you a way to print intricate graphics with several colours and, occasionally, it can be less expensive if you're printing in lower quantities. Furthermore more practical and quick printing designs onto clothing is than screen printing and embroidery. You might thus wish to look at DTG printing if you only need a few shirts or a quick order. That said, this blog is all about DTG printing and how to maximise its advantages for your apparel needs.
What is Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing?
Because of its printing technique—usually using inkjet printers—DTG printing is unique from any other technology. It prints complex drawings with minimal to no setup time since it runs inkjet printers, which are rather quick. Since the selection is CMYK colours, not merely RGB, using DTG printing lets you access a wider spectrum of colours. This is why your colour choice is not limited and you could print in several tones and hues. Said otherwise, you would want to have.
DTG printing has a stigma linked to it when compared to screen printing; many people claim it to be a less than perfect variant, although this is untrue. They are really similar, and in terms of use, DTG can possibly surpass screenprinting. Though less vivid, the DTG results nonetheless preserve the breathability and natural texture of the fabric. Furthermore, considering its printing capability, smaller companies benefit as unlike conventional printing techniques, there are no setup expenses. Generally, DTG printing is a quite flexible technique for clothing printing. You may create complex designs—gradients, halftones, multicoloured, or otherwise—with its assistance.
Advantages of Direct-To-Garment Printing
- For their results, DTG prints are really reasonably priced and affordable. There are no realistic setup charges and you won't be charged more since you're not burning a lot of displays. Stated differently, you might save more as the cost per garment is far cheaper yet still obtain excellent prints.
- DTG printing offers great flexibility. Cotton, polyester mixes, and synthetic fibres are among the materials whose use it offers. If you had a particular polyester blend that would not be a successful print, you wouldn't worry as it would be as such.
- Moreover quite environmentally beneficial are DTG prints. The used inks are free from chemicals and based on water. Less waste material results from the end product when using this technique than from conventional printing ones.
The Process of Direct-to-Garment Printing
- Preparing the Design: Getting ready the design starts with importing or developing the intended artwork into a digital format fit for the DTG printing programme. This is the time to adjust your artwork—that is, with regard to design size, positioning, and colors—before it is printed.
- Preparing the Fabric: Getting ready for your design, decide on the appropriate cloth. You have either cotton or any polyester mix. Make sure everything on the DTG printer is spotless, smooth, and properly aligned.
- Application of the pre-treatment solution: Should you like the ink to have greater adhesion or print on a shirt incompatible with the ink, you may want to apply a specialised pre-treatment using a spray or a roller. This will help you to raise the brilliance of the colour coupled with the adhesion of the ink.
- Print the shirts: Print the shirts starting by loading the design into the DTG Printer after all these things are said and done. Following the computer settings, the printer should then go across the fabric layer by layer adding the ink layer to replicate the design.
- Cure them: Once finished, the clothing is cured by a conveyor drier or heat press. For our situation, the conveyor dryer is more practical and hence we employ it. The inks should be cured enough following this process such that they may be cleaned and handled without affecting the design.
- Finishing: The shirts will be taken out for inspection once they have cured to find whether printing mistakes occurred. It will cool and fold as such.
DTG Prints Can Also Produce High-Quality Custom Apparel
Fascinatingly, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing produces distinctive high-quality clothing. This kind of technology precisely generates gradients and halftones and offers endless colour combinations, therefore surpassing what the conventional screen printing procedure can produce. It may create vivid clothing, and the colours would not fade fast following several washings. Looking at this sample, this client compliments DTG printed clothing for keeping its smooth feel of the ink and clarity for the prints. Although it's not as vivid as any screen-printed clothing, one could argue that a print shop using an updated machine would be able to match or surpass any other printable garment.
Apart from the quality of DTG printed clothing, it can generate prints at a rapid turnaround time since you don't have to deal with printshops having to set up the screens or use several screens in the process. Imagine now that you require tailored clothing in small numbers or on short notice. In such situation, this could be your best option.
Wrapping Up
Regarding obtaining your bespoke clothing, direct-to- garment (DTG) printing shouldn't be off the agenda in West Philadelphia PA. Another great choice for printing is this economical, adaptable, environmentally friendly one. DTG printing lets you print CMYK colours, hence your colour choice is not limited. Having said that, when weighed against using the screen printing technique, it wouldn't additionally greatly raise your expenses. Now, if you run a company searching for bespoke clothing or have a unique design more than three colours and want to cut expenses, don't hesitate to choose direct-to- garment (DTG) printing. If you're trying for the best substitute for screen printing, this is it.