Screen printing vs. DTF vs. embroidery

Screen printing

Ink is pushed through a mesh screen, one screen per color. Because each color requires its own screen and setup, the first shirt is expensive and the hundredth is cheap.

It produces the softest hand-feel on cotton and holds up for years. If you are ordering 48 shirts or more with two or three colors, this is almost always the right answer.

• Best quantity: 24 and up
• Best art: bold, limited colors
• Feel: soft, sits in the fabric
• Watch out for: per-color setup costs

DTF (direct-to-film) transfers

Full-color artwork is printed onto a film, powdered with adhesive and heat pressed onto the garment. There are no color limits and no per-color setup.

That makes it the right call for twelve shirts, for photographic artwork, or for an order where every person picked a different garment color.

• Best quantity: 1 to 48
• Best art: full color, gradients, photos
• Feel: slight film on the surface
• Watch out for: large solid coverage areas

Embroidery

Your logo is stitched with thread. It reads as the most premium option, survives industrial laundering and is the default for hats, polos, jackets and bags.

Fine detail and tiny text are the limitation — thread has a minimum size. We often simplify a logo slightly for stitch, and we will show you the digitized version before it runs.

• Best quantity: 6 and up
• Best art: simple shapes, bold marks
• Feel: raised, textured, premium
• Watch out for: small text and thin lines

Still not sure?

Tell us the quantity, the garment and what the shirts are for. We will pick the method that gets you the best result for the money instead of the one that is easiest for us.