There are a lot of different ways to print on clothing. Some are better for certain types of fabric, like sublimation that only works on polyester or HTV vinyl that’s perfect for cotton shirts. Others work on any kind of fabric, such as screen printing or embroidery. And still others require a special printer or supplies that are not typically in most home printers, like screens, rollers, and squeegees for screen printing or a roll of HTV and scissors for the simplest at-home designs.
Each type of printing method also offers a slightly different result. For example, DTG printing is great for creating full-color graphics or even photos on a shirt. It’s a bit like paper printing, but it uses ink that sticks to the garment instead of laying on top of it.
Screen printing, on the other hand, layers ink onto a garment one color layer at a time. This means that it’s a little more limited to the number of colors and elements in a design, but it can create really high-quality results.
Another important factor to consider is how long each printing method takes. The more layers a design has, the longer it’ll take to print and the thicker the printed image will feel on the final product.
Lastly, you’ll want to know whether a particular printing method is suitable for single or mass production. Many printing methods, particularly those that layer ink or dye on top of the garment, are not well suited for mass production. However, some printing processes, such as DTG and heat transfer, offer the flexibility of making individual shirts on demand.