How does direct to garment printing stack up against screen printing?

DPRO · December 12th, 2011, 04:29 PM

I just saw a dtg printer in operation. It's like magic but they cost an arm and two legs. The tech said it's the future, are they too good to be true?

Prosperi-Tees · December 12th, 2011, 07:41 PM

They still have a ways to go. For production purposes (pieces per hour) screen printing will always win out with automatic presses able to produce upwards of 1000 shirts an hour as opposed to DTG which can maybe do 40 if you are lucky.

tancehughes · December 13th, 2011, 11:48 AM

DTG's really only work for small orders where the customer may want 5 or 6 colors and/or only 5 or 6 t-shirts... Textile Screen Printing, as Gerry said, is meant for larger sized orders.

I believe there will always be a place for textile screen printing in this industry, I don't think DTG is going to replace it.

tpitman · December 14th, 2011, 06:43 PM

I've heard complaints that the prints don't hold up as well as screenprinting. Particularly the ones on dark shirts.

Prosperi-Tees · December 14th, 2011, 08:04 PM

Unless someone can figure out how to put out 400-1000 pieces an hour on DTG and be able to volume discount, screen printing will go nowhere.

Problem with DTG is your cost stays the same regardless of how many prints you do so the cost for 12 shirts as opposed to 100 shirts is the same but in screen printing your costs get lowered as each piece absorbs part of the cost.

I think I explained that right! lol

tpitman · December 15th, 2011, 05:36 PM

The ink is considerably more expensive than plastisol, too.

Prosperi-Tees · December 16th, 2011, 07:52 PM

The cool thing about DTG is you can get a shirt with unlimited colors printed on it. That is DTGs advantage over screen printing and the ability to do just 1 shirt at a reasonable cost.

Ink 57 · December 17th, 2011, 01:15 AM

Printing one shirt may be great for the customer but who can make any money off small runs. Maybe if your in a mall or something and that's all your dealing with or at events. But you better have your marketing plan set up right to make a go at it, or you will be making a big payment every mth for the machine and not making any money at all.

tpitman · December 17th, 2011, 01:31 PM

Part of the problem with DTG is it's often hustled as an alternative to screenprinting for people who don't want to buy the equipment and acquire the skill to screenprint well. They're mesmerized by the "biker" prints on black shirts that DTG sellers all feature at the booths at the shows, or in their ads. A lot of the people who buy them don't have the art skills to create the images, nor do they have the customers who want those type of shirts. Far and away the bulk of screenprinted tees pirnted for a local market are spot color designs or logos. Most crappy art that a customer brings in on a disk isn't ready for printing anyway, without a little work by the printer if not a complete re-do.
I think a lot of these machines went to embroiderers to keep "printing" in-house, but discovered that between their sketchy art skills and the high maintenance of the machines themselves, whether or not they were getting used, they proved to be a mistake.

Brother · July 11th, 2013, 09:26 AM

Direct to garment printing and screen printing each have different pros and cons. Direct to garment printers (like the Brother™ GraffiTee®: http://www.brother-usa.com/lp/graffitee/) are great if you are looking to print a small number of prints. It is also much easier to use because there is no need to set up a screen print. Direct to garment printers are also great because you are able to print in multiple colors. It is oftentimes much faster because all of the colors are printed at once and there is no setup process. Unless you are printing a large number of shirts (+100), a direct to garment printer is a much better choice.