What does Direct to Garment (DTG) Really Mean?

Direct to Garment Printing

Looking to order a custom tee shirt with out having to reach a minimum of 12? Direct to Garment printing (DTG) is the answer to this. This is a relativley new form of custom tee shirt production. DTG printing utilizes ink jet print heads to print an image directly onto the shirt. The process is identical to a typical ink jet printer you would find in your home office, just a slightly larger machine! Once the shirt has completed printing, the ink needs to be cured. The curing process is typically done with a heatpress and has the purpose of setting the ink into the shirt permanetly.

One important thing to note is, if the shirt being printed on is dark, the shirt will need to be "Pre-Treated". This means the shirt must be treated with an adhesive/water mixture to ensure the colorful inks are completely absorbed by the dark shirt.

Here at SS Printing we use the top of the line DTG printer, the Epson F2100. If you are interested in purchsing a custom tee shirt, do not hesitate to reach out! We would love to help get you started on your design.

Pros of DTG

• Quick turn around time
• No minimum order quantities
• Capable of printing any design, including full color photos
• Does not require vector formating

Cons of DTG

• Pre-treating is required on dark colored shirts
• Polyester garments are not compatible