Screen printing VS Direct to garment printing. ???

tisha3 · May 22nd, 2008, 11:15 AM

Okay I am new to this and I am wondering what is the difference betweeen screen printing and direct to garment printing? Pro's vs con's? which is cheaper or more profitable?

SkyLinePrints · May 22nd, 2008, 04:00 PM

DTG is cleaner but slower than traditional screen print. DTG has virtually no limit on the colors its capable of printing vs screen print which is done is spot colors. although, sp you can do 4 color process which is a whole different story.

DTG is still young and changing. improvements are all around. however, for volume, it cant compete with sp. sp will do many more shirts per hour than a DTG.

each have a learning curve although sp is probably steeper IMHO.

profitable, well, .... my shop makes a better % on traditonal sp vs DTG. DTG per piece is higher priced but i can run more pieces per hour with sp.

hope i didnt confuse you. :-)

ai_file · June 4th, 2008, 01:48 AM

if you're gunning for small, customized runs - DTG is the way. If you're producing more than 50 at one go - screenprinting gives you optimum output. Both are equally good, and equally time consuming to learn - realize your needs first then take the next step.

grinstich · February 1st, 2009, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big E

The initial cost of screen printing is less expensive at the start than DTG

is it nicer then screen printing? does it last longer then sp?

Ghostwork Ink · March 2nd, 2009, 09:34 PM

i dont like DTG, dosnt look as fresh as a design should look on a garment.
thats just my opinion though

parkst23@hotmail.com · March 11th, 2009, 11:11 AM

DTG printers SUCK. The colors wash out after 15-20 washes. Ink is expensive. Screen printing is the way to go. It will save you a lot of money. and last you a lot longer. DTG printers have to be cleaned a lot and if you use white ink good luck. I used to own a Anajet. Great tech support but not so great printer. I just went back to screen printing and took a huge loss on my DTG. My customers were not happy with the results after the 20th wash. And they told me about it. I had to do a lot of *** kissing afterwards to keep people as a customer.

parkst23@hotmail.com · March 11th, 2009, 11:13 AM

Oh and silk screening is way more profitable then any DTG printer on the market. .

parkst23@hotmail.com · March 11th, 2009, 01:27 PM

If you do decide to buy a DTG printer though. Buy a Used one on Ebay from a good seller. I don't recomend DTG printers (any of them) but do not buy new. None of the manufactures will warranty the Heads or any of the parts that would probley break down. And honestly after talking to a lot of them over the past year it is cheaper to have it factory serviced and have the head replaced with a new one, and the damper station and dampers replaced then to pay for a extended warranty. These forums are great and you will find a lot of people here that can help you out.

german13 · July 9th, 2011, 04:23 PM

dtg printing is not whats its all cracked up to be, allthough well marketed as the it method..

there is actually a great article written by a co-founder of one of the most successfully sold dtg printer companies (whom has moved on) he describes multiple issues including personal investment loss and goes onto to explain 1-of 100 dtg users go on to be successful or profittable.. the epson based printers do well printing cmyk only (white shirts) once you add the white ink your problems begin.. clogs/maintenace/ pretreat/ cost of consumables and printer parts namely printheads!!! this is a great money maker for the manufacturer that sells these parts etc.. we have reviewed many commercial epson based dtg printers and even have made our own and worked with a rip manufacturer...

dtg machines (epson based) are not good at printing white ink especially for the low volume white ink printers.. the white ink clogs easily due to its very nature titanium dioxide, this is not new sign printers etc have been looking for a white ink solution for years.. so my opinion based on our experience is until a good white ink solution is derived dtg is no more than an over rated dream for the printer... additionally it holds up no where near screen printed shirts.. I would put dtg in the same category as digital transfers more for fast one off novelty shirts not expected to last... save your money and learn to screen print until a real dtg solution arrives... Im sure alot of dtgers will argue this, its allways hard to admit these facts of a dtg when you have a significant investment.. additionally i would like to point out there is really only one proven ink source (dupont) as others have pointed out this is not a good senario what if gas and prescription drugs only had one source?

Printwizard · July 10th, 2011, 03:48 AM

Agreed, decent DTg setup like a brother 782 is expensive to set up, expensive to run, and unit cost is NIH, and doesn't wash past 24 washes, which is unacceptable when people spy good money for a shirt. Alrigt if it's for TV commercial, one off event, short term promotion etc like event, conference etc. Very specialist, needs to be full-time operation and not casual. If you can't run the machine every single day and co the maintenance etc then it's cheaper to farm it out.