Screen printing, DTF or embroidery: which one for your shirts

The short version: screen printing suits larger runs with few colors, DTF suits small runs with lots of colors or a different name on every piece, and embroidery suits simple logos on polos, caps and hoodies that need to last for years. You decide based on three things: how many pieces, how many colors the design has, and what fabric it's going on.

Screen printing

In screen printing, the design is split into colors and there's one screen per color. Ink is pushed through each screen and laid down layer by layer. FESPA, the federation of screen and digital printing associations, sums up the trade-off: the ink layer is thicker, so colors come out more vivid, but making the screens costs time and money. That makes it expensive on short runs and very cost-effective on long ones: the bigger the run, the lower the cost per piece.

Good for:

• shirts for events, teams and festivals, the same design on lots of pieces;
• logos with one, two or three flat colors.

Keep in mind: every extra color means another screen. A design with gradients or a photo gets complicated fast.

DTF (direct to film)

DTF is a new technique that has only started to spread in the last few years. In short, based on FESPA's 2021 description:

1. The design is printed in color, with a layer of white underneath, onto a clear film.
2. While the ink is still wet, it's dusted with a hot-melt adhesive powder.
3. The film is cured with heat, then pressed onto the garment at around 160–170 °C for about 20 seconds.
4. The film is peeled away, and only the design stays on the garment.

The advantages, again per FESPA: it works on cotton, silk, polyester or rayon; thanks to the white layer, colors hold up well on dark garments; the print stretches and doesn't crack easily; and there's no weeding, unlike classic heat-transfer vinyl. A short final press helps with wash and rub resistance.

Good for:

• small runs, even just a few pieces;
• designs with lots of colors, gradients or photos;
• a different name and number on every shirt.

Keep in mind: the design is bonded on top of the fabric rather than soaking into the fibers, so there's a thin layer you can feel. And since it's a new technique, FESPA notes the equipment is still evolving.

Embroidery

Embroidery means the design is stitched into the fabric with thread. Before stitching, the logo has to be digitized: someone programs every stitch, its direction and its density. You can't send a print file straight to an embroidery machine.

The limits come from the needle and the thread. A 2018 trade article from ASI gives a few benchmarks: it's generally accepted that letters shouldn't be shorter than a quarter inch, and a stitch column can't be narrower than the needle is thick. Very decorative fonts don't sew well under about half an inch. Put simply, embroidery doesn't have the resolution of print, and sometimes the logo needs simplifying.

Good for:

• polos, caps, hoodies, jackets, uniforms;
• simple logos with few colors and no small text.

Side by side

What drives the cost

• the number of pieces (especially for screen printing, where setup is spread across the run);
• the number of colors in the design;
• the print size and how many placements (chest, back, sleeve);
• the garment type and fabric;
• for embroidery, the size and stitch density.

What to send us to get started

Your logo as a vector file (we explained why in our post on vector logos), how many pieces and which sizes, the garment color, where the print goes, and when you need it. From there we'll tell you which technique fits and why. You'll find the textile products we work with on our merch page.