Direct To Garment (DTG)

What is DTG?

Direct-To-Garment (or DTG) printing is a process of printing directly on garments, using specialised aqueous ink jet technology. You can think of it like a regular printer, except instead of paper – it prints right on your shirt!

DTG printers have a platen to hold the garment in a fixed position, and the printer inks are sprayed onto the garment by the print head.
Before printing, the garment is pre-treated with a special solution that allows a stronger bond between the garment fibers & the ink; it also pushes the loose fibers down to create a smoother surface to print on. The pre-treatment has a chemical reaction to the inks to promote drying & curing.
Once printed, the garment is put through our curing tunnel, which uses heat to set the inks into the fabric – to ensure a long-lasting print.

DTG is a digital print process, meaning the print is sharper & has a higher resolution; more detail can be achieved versus Screenprint, for example.
The garment absorbs the inks into the fibers, creating a softer feel than traditional Screenprint.

We require all DTG garments to be 100% cotton, as we have found this is the best material to hold the ink the best. Other more open weave garments are unable to hold the ink, and it falls through, causing inconsistencies in printing.

If you are supplying your own artwork to print – please supply a high-resolution (300dpi) transparent .PNG file.

The major benefits of DTG are:

No minimums! You can order as many (or as little) garments as you like – even one-off shirts if that’s what you’re after!
Low cost & no setup fees!
Fast – because it is printing directly on the garment, the turnaround time is much quicker than some of our other printing processes.