What is DTG Printing?

If you've been researching custom garment printing you've almost certainly come across the term DTG. Alongside screen printing, embroidery, DTF and sublimation it is one of the best print methods to add your design to a garment such as a t-shirt or a bag but it can be hard to know which method  actually suits your project.

This guide explains what DTG printing is, how it works, where it performs well and where it doesn't. 

What is DTG printing?

DTG stands for direct-to-garment. It's a digital printing process that uses modified inkjet technology to spray water-based inks directly onto fabric, working from a digital file with no screens or stencils involved. The first DTG patent was filed in 2000 and the technology has developed considerably since. Today it's widely used by sustainable print-on-demand platforms such as Live Ink or Teemill and also small batch producers who need photographic quality designs without committing to large minimum order quantities.

The core advantage with DTG is flexibility. Because there's no screen setup you can print a single item for roughly the same cost per unit as printing ten. That makes it fundamentally different from screen printing where setup costs are spread across the run and the economics improve sharply at volume.

How does DTG printing work?

Design preparation

Your artwork is supplied as a high-resolution digital file, usually this is a PNG with a transparent background at 300 DPI or above. The printer reads the file directly so what you supply is what gets printed. There's no manual colour separation or screen preparation required as this is handled by rip software onboard the print machinary.

Pre-treatment

Before printing the garment is sprayed with a polymer-based solution across the print area. This is a critical step particularly on dark garments where a white underbase is needed before the colour layer is printed. Cotton's woven surface has small gaps between threads that would otherwise cause ink to sit unevenly. Pre-treatment fills these gaps creating a consistent surface and helping the ink bond properly. Without it colours can appear very dull or the print can fade quickly.

Printing

The garment is placed flat on a platen inside the DTG printer. Print heads move across the fabric and deposit tiny ink droplets directly onto the surface building up the design in layers. DTG printers use a CMYK or CMYKOG colour model and also include white ink which is what makes it possible to print full-colour designs onto dark garments. White ink is laid down first as an underbase and then colour inks are applied on top.

Curing

Once printed, the garment goes through a heat-curing process either under a heat press or through a forced air conveyor dryer. Heat locks the ink into the fabric, evaporates the water from the ink and makes the finished print wash-resistant.

Which fabrics work with DTG?

Cotton is where DTG performs best. The ink bonds well with natural fibres and the results are consistently good on ringspun and combed cotton garments. This is relevant for anyone working with GOTS-certified blanks which we use at Live Ink such as Stanley/Stella, earth Positive and AS Colour which all make solid substrates for DTG.

Cotton-rich blends with 60% or more cotton content can work but results are less predictable. Pure polyester is problematic because the synthetic surface repels water-based inks and although specialist pre-treatments have improved compatibility DTF has taken over as a prefered application for syntetic materials in more recent years. Generally speaking the higher the cotton content, the better the output.

Pros of DTG printing

No minimum order quantities

This is the most significant practical advantage because DTG makes true one-off printing viable. For print-on-demand applications or personalised items where every unit is unique, no other method comes close on cost or sustainability.

Photographic detail and colour range

DTG can reproduce complex gradients, photographs and intricate multi-colour artwork accurately. There's no colour separation cost and no limit on the number of colours in a design so if your artwork has subtle tonal variation or photographic elements DTG handles it well.

Water-based inks

DTG inks are water-based and produce a relatively soft hand feel compared to heat-transfer methods such as DTF. They also produce a more breathable print and carry GOTS certifications.

Low setup overhead

In simple terms, sending a design to a DTG machine is like sending a file to a desktop printer. For short runs or one-offs the absence of setup before, or clean down after the print is a real advantage.

Limitations of DTG printing

Cost at volume

The economics of DTG don't scale well. Because each garment takes roughly the same machine time regardless of run size, the per-unit cost at 1000 pieces is similar to at one piece. Screen printing is far more cost-effective once you're ordering at any meaningful volume because setup costs are fixed and print speed is much higher.

Colour Limitations

There are some colours that DTG simply can't match the vibrancy of screen printing because the print is made up of tiny dots of CMYK or CMYKOG rather than being a spot colour. DTG also can not print metalic, fluorescent, glow in the dark or puff inks.

Pre-treatment adds complexity

The pre-treatment step requires equipment, time and consistency. Under-treating produces faded prints and over-treating can leave marks. It's an additional variable that needs to be managed correctly to get reliable results.

Fabric limitations

DTG prints are often poor on polyester, heavily textured fabrics and anything with a synthetic surface. Screen printing and embroidery both offer more material flexibility for non-cotton garments.

Print placement restrictions

DTG printers print on flat accessible surfaces. Printing on seams, across side panels or in unusual positions isn't straightforward and sometimes just isn't possible. Screen printing or DTF offers more flexibility for creative placement.

Durability compared to screen printing

A properly cured water-based screen print on a good cotton garment is exceptionally durable. DTG prints are wash-resistant with proper curing but typically show more wear over time than a high-quality screen print particularly on garments washed frequently or at higher temperatures.

DTG vs screen printing

Screen printing uses ink pushed through a mesh stencil onto the garment. Each colour requires a separate screen which makes small quantities expensive but large quantities very cost-effective. The ink produces a bolder more vibrant result and water-based screen printing, which is what we specialise in at Live Ink, produces excellent wash durability with a soft 'hand' feel.

DTG requires no screens. It handles any number of colours without additional cost and works for single-unit production. On the flip side it's slower, more expensive per unit at volume and ultimately doesn't match the vibrancy or longevity of a good screen print on the right garment.

If your design has five colours or less and you need more than 50 pieces, screen printing almost certainly wins on cost and quality. If you need one-off items, highly personalised prints or photography-based designs in very small quantities DTG is the best method for your job.

For a more detailed breakdown of how the two methods compare, see our guide to screen printing vs other print methods.

DTG vs DTF

DTF (direct-to-film) is a newer method that prints onto a special film, which is then heat-pressed onto the garment. DTF is compatible with a wider range of fabrics than DTG, including polyester, and doesn't require pre-treatment. The trade-off is that DTF prints have a slightly plastic feel and sit on top of the fabric rather than integrating with it. For soft-hand results on natural fibres DTG produces a better outcome and for versatility across fabric types DTF has more applications.

DTG and print on demand

DTG is the technology behind most large-scale print-on-demand fulfilment platforms. Because it requires no setup and produces good quality on single units, it's well suited to order-by-order production where every item might carry a different design.

At Live Ink we run our own print-on-demand service from our studio in Bristol. Our POD offering uses  DTG with GOTS certified inks and garments giving your brand the sustainability credentials that really matter.

Preparing artwork for DTG printing

Save your artwork as a PNG file with a transparent background at 300 DPI or above. You will need to use RGB colour mode to do this and although this may seem counter intuitive as DTG machines print using CMYK the rip software that sends your artwork to the actual printer will deal with this for you.

Keep all important design elements clear of the edges of the print area and check the specific print dimensions with your supplier before finalising the file.

Summary

DTG printing is a fantastic print technology and well suited to low-volume production, personalised items and photographic or complex multi-colour designs. That said it does have limitations such as higher per-unit cost at volume, slower throughput, fabric restrictions and generally lower durability than a quality screen print.

Understanding which method fits your project will come down to three main considerations. Order quantity, design complexity and fabric preference. If you're not sure which direction makes sense get in touch with the team at Live Ink and we'll help you work out which print method is best for you.