Different printing methods can affect the outcome of the design you hope to achieve on your corporate gift. Some method works specifically for a certain kind of design while other methods might be more flexible. How a printing method is determined to be ideal for a design is by its ability to give the artwork life and printing vibrancy to the corporate gift. What better way to achieve vibrant, smooth touch full-colour printing on the corporate gift than the direct-to-garment (DTG) printing method!

What is Direct to Garment (DTG) printing?

DTG printing is by far the most powerful printing method when it comes to full color printing. Unlike needing additional materials for silk screen printing in order to print, DTG printing requires only the machine itself that works like an inkjet printer. For this reason, it is able to print colors in gradient, overlapping colors and also photo images.

Print Texture

If the texture of the printed design is a deciding factor for you to select your print method, then DTG printing is the best option. When using this method of printing, you can hardly feel the layer of ink that is printed onto the canvas corporate gifts. The coloured ink goes into the fabric instead of printing layers on top of the fabric like silk screen and heat transfer printing. It just feels as if your design is part of the fabric giving you a smooth and no feel finishing.

No Border Printing

While heat transfer printing is also able to print in full colour, there are certain limitations to its print method-  it can only be printed with borders. This is because heat transfer requires printing and cutting before the design can be printed to make it your very own custom corporate gift.

Therefore leaving an approx 1–2mm border around the printing will provide the misalignment after the trimming of material. In contrast, DTG printing does not require any borders or cutting as the design is being printed directly onto the fabric.

Intricate Details

Heat transfer printing requires trimming along the outlines before being printed onto your corporate gift. At times, the edges of the design may be uneven to trim which may result in a part of the design being trimmed off due to limitations by the print machine. By using an inkjet printer, DTG printing will not have such issues. Even the most intricate details can be imprinted onto your corporate gift with ease.

Price and lead time

With all the positives being said, there a few things to note before deciding if DTG is the right printing method for you. DTG printing is by far, the most expensive method of printing for corporate gifts and custom t-shirt printing. It requires a more tedious setup and the fabrics have to be coated before the actual printing commences. Also, only one piece of fabric can be printed at one time. Due to this reason, the lead time also stretches out to be longer as compared to traditional methods of printing like silk screen printing.

Quantity and material

DTG printing is more feasible to print in small quantity orders due to the price and lead time as aforementioned. Therefore, if you are looking to print a quantity of 300pc or more in a single order, CMYK screen printing may be a good alternative. DTG printing can only be done on 100% cotton material where the results work best along with other product as well such as canvas tote bag or pouches.

The Takeaway

As far as printing in full colour goes, DTG printing is the best option for you to print designs and images with many colours and a need for attention to details. Technology has come a long way in providing a print method that is able to deliver your very own corporate gift in such quality. If you have decided that DTG printing is not for your intended design, TREA provides other custom t-shirt printing methods for your preference.