If fabric is your canvas, printing is your alchemy. Whether you’re planning a fashion brand, launching your first merch line, or just eager to put your artwork on a t-shirt, choosing the right printing method will help you turn your vision into wearable art.
Direct-to-garment (DTG) and screen printing are two popular custom apparel printing techniques. Both can produce high-quality prints with vibrant colors, but the best choice depends on your design, order size, budget, and personal preferences. Here are each method’s strengths and weaknesses, and how to decide on the right printing method for your custom apparel business.
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DTG vs. screen printing: What’s the difference?
Direct-to-garment (DTG) and screen printing are common techniques for printing custom apparel items like t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other textile items like tote bags.
Both of these custom printing techniques can produce high-quality, durable designs, but there are some important differences:
DTG
Direct-to-garment (DTG) is a relatively recent digital printing process (adopted in the early 2000s) that can produce photorealistic images. It works by spraying ink onto the garment’s surface, much like how an inkjet printer works on paper. Using CMYK color processing and white ink to create full-color images, DTG printing can produce detailed and intricate designs with multiple colors on both dark and light fabrics.
Many traditional printing methods—including screen printing—use an image transfer process, where printmakers create a design template and apply that image to a substrate. Instead, DTG technology uses specialized inkjet printers to apply water-based inks directly onto fabrics without stencils or screens, making it ideal for small batches or one-off custom designs.
The DTG printing process involves creating a design and pretreating fabric. DTG printers read and interpret digital image files and spray water-based inks over the surface of the garment. Printmakers then apply a special dye fixative powder and apply heat to cure the design.
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Screen printing
Screen printing is a centuries-old image transfer method ideal for creating bold, stylized images. Screen printing, sometimes called silk screen printing, is a classic printmaking process. Various screen printing techniques have been used to create printed fabrics for centuries. Screen printing remains popular today because of its ability to create durable, high-quality prints. This method is well-suited to printing bold designs with one or two colors.
Traditional screen printing is a labor-intensive process. To begin, screen printing designs are rendered onto a porous material such as silk or mesh. Printmakers apply a light-sensitive emulsion onto a screen, place a design template over the material, and apply light. The light burns away the emulsion in exposed areas and the covered portion remains solid and impenetrable.
The screen printing process involves placing the mesh screen on a printing press over a garment. Then ink is poured onto the material, and a squeegee or other tool drags the ink across the template and presses it through the permeable areas. Screen printing requires a separate screen for each color in the design. To create an image of a pink giraffe holding a blue lollipop, for example, a screen printer would need to create one screen for the giraffe and one for the lollipop. After applying pink ink to the giraffe screen, they would wait for the ink to dry, carefully align the second template, and apply blue ink to the lollipop screen.
The initial setup is time-consuming but after the screens have been created, templates can be used to print hundreds of copies of the same design.
Factors in selecting DTG vs. screen printing
Your product and business goals affect your printing needs. Learn about the factors that can influence this decision and discover the best printing method for your custom apparel products:
Order size
Consider how many items you plan to print. DTG’s quick setup process makes it well-suited to smaller print runs. Printmakers simply add a digital image file to the printer queue, prepare the fabric, and press Print. Changing the design is as simple as creating a new file. With screen printing, additional screens must be created for each new design. The lengthy setup process makes screen printing inefficient and costly for small orders.
When it comes to mass production, screen printing becomes faster and less expensive than direct-to-garment printing. DTG printers are fairly slow—they take several minutes to print each item. Once the setup is complete, screen printing presses are much faster. Screen printing often involves an initial set-up fee to cover the time it takes for a company to create templates. This charge makes it expensive to choose screen printing for a single item. With bulk orders, however, you can divide setup costs by the number of items printed for a lower cost per item. Screen printing is often less expensive overall for large runs.
Design complexity
Direct-to-garment printing is a good choice for printing highly detailed images, such as realistic photographs. Screen printing is better suited to minimalist designs with a restricted color palette. This difference is rooted in the printing process.
Image resolution is the key to print quality. To create complex designs with crisp details, you'll need a high-resolution image. DTG printing typically requires digital images with a resolution of 150 to 300 dots per inch (dpi). With screen printing, each hole in the mesh screen is approximately equivalent to a dot or pixel. This number, known as the mesh count, dictates the complexity of the design. Common mesh counts for screen printing range between 110 to 200 threads per inch (tpi). While this resolution is sufficient for printing sans serif lettering and geometric designs, it may not be able to depict intricate details, such as individual leaves on a tree.
Sustainability
Factors like water waste, chemical usage, and overproduction all affect sustainability. The direct-to-garment printing process produces less waste than screen printing. DTG printers apply the exact amount of ink necessary for the design. They also use water-based inks that reduce the risk of chemical pollution. This process is energy efficient and doesn’t require much water. Using a print-on-demand model for production can eliminate the risk of printing too many items. With on-demand printing, businesses only print the exact number of items needed.
The screen printing process produces slightly more waste. This printing method involves applying screen printing ink over the entire surface of a design template—ink that doesn’t pass through remains on the screen and must be washed off or otherwise disposed of. Screen printing also uses a much larger amount of water compared to DTG printing.
Durability
The thick layer of ink applied during the screen printing process creates strong, durable designs. Screen-printed products will last longer than DTG designs, even with frequent use. A well-made screen-printed item can hold up for decades without cracking or fading.
With DTG, printers spray a thinner layer of ink over the substrate. These designs are also quite durable, but they may start to show signs of wear over time. A DTG-printed garment should hold up for at least 50 wash and wear cycles with proper care.
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Fabric
The screen printing process works well on a wide range of fabrics. This technique is compatible with both natural and synthetic materials. Designs will show up well, even on dark-colored backgrounds.
Direct-to-garment printing is slightly less flexible. This method works best on natural fabrics, such as cotton, with a tight weave. DTG-printed designs will always show well on light materials. Printing on a darker surface, like a black t-shirt, may require pretreating the printable area with white ink. This will raise the overall cost.
DTG vs. screen printing FAQ
Which is better: DTG or screen printing?
Direct-to-garment and screen printing offer different advantages. Compared to screen printing, DTG is better at producing highly detailed images and designs with multiple colors. Screen printing, on the other hand, is more durable and can print vibrant colors on a wider range of fabrics. Both of these techniques can create high-quality prints.
Does DTG last as long as screen printing?
DTG-printed garments can last for up to 50 wash-and-wear cycles with proper care. Direct-to-garment designs are strong and durable, but not quite as durable as a high-quality screen print. Screen-printed items can last for decades without fading.
What are the cons of DTG printing?
Direct-to-garment printing is slower and more expensive than screen printing for bulk custom apparel orders. Compared to screen printing, DTG designs are less durable and more likely to crack and fade over time. DTG offers exceptional print quality and excels at creating detailed, colorful designs. It is well-suited to small print runs.
