DTF vs Screen Printing vs Sublimation: Which One Does Your Order Need?

Most people ordering printed t-shirts for the first time assume printing is printing. It isn't. The method decides what your artwork can look like, which fabrics it will survive, and what the job costs at your quantity. Pick wrong and you get cracked prints after three washes, or you pay screen-setup charges on an order of twenty.

Screen printing — the workhorse for volume

Ink is pushed through a mesh screen, one screen per colour. Setup takes time, so the first shirt is expensive and the two-hundredth is cheap. The print itself is thick, opaque and extremely durable — this is what most branded event shirts are.

Choose it when: you're ordering 50+ pieces, your logo has one to four flat colours, and the garment is cotton or a cotton blend.

Avoid it when: your artwork is a photograph or a gradient, or you need fewer than about 25 pieces — the setup cost dominates.

DTF (Direct to Film) — detail without the setup

The design is printed onto a film, coated with adhesive powder, then heat-pressed onto the garment. There are no screens, so there is no per-colour setup — a twelve-colour photographic design costs the same to set up as a one-colour logo.

Choose it when: you have full-colour or photographic artwork, a small-to-medium quantity, or a mixed order of different garment colours. DTF also sits happily on polyester, blends and nylon, which screen printing and sublimation both struggle with.

Avoid it when: you're printing several hundred simple one-colour pieces — screen printing will be cheaper per unit at that scale.

Sublimation — the print becomes the fabric

Heat turns the ink into a gas that bonds into polyester fibres. There is no layer sitting on top, so there is nothing to crack or peel, and the fabric keeps its original feel. The catch is chemistry: it only works on polyester, and only on light colours.

Choose it when: you want all-over prints, sports and jersey wear, or edge-to-edge designs on white or light polyester. It's also the method behind printed mugs and most photo gifts.

Avoid it when: the garment is cotton or dark-coloured. Sublimation ink is transparent — it simply will not show on black.

Embroidery — when it needs to look considered

Thread stitched into the fabric. It costs more than printing and can't reproduce fine detail or gradients, but nothing else reads as premium in the same way. Polos, caps, jackets and corporate uniforms are its natural home.

Choose it when: the item will be worn repeatedly by staff or given to clients, and the logo is simple enough to stitch cleanly.

The quick version

• Cotton, simple logo, 50+ pieces → screen printing
• Full-colour artwork, any quantity → DTF
• Light polyester, all-over design → sublimation
• Polos, caps, uniforms, client gifts → embroidery
• Metal, wood, leather items → laser engraving or UV printing

If you're not sure, send us the artwork and tell us the garment and quantity. We'll tell you which method we'd use and why — and you'll see a free mockup before anything is printed.