We print as well as dye: DTF and sublimation, on plain blanks or on our own hand-dyed ones. Most people arrive here trying to work out which process they actually need, so that is what this page answers.
DTF, sublimation and screen print: which one
DTF (direct-to-film)
A design is printed onto film and heat-pressed onto the garment. It works on cotton, blends, darks and lights, holds fine detail and full color, and does not need a minimum run to make sense. It sits on top of the fabric, so you can feel it. This is the right answer for most small orders, and it is what we use most.
Sublimation
The ink becomes part of the fabric rather than sitting on it, so there is nothing to feel and nothing to crack. The trade-off is real: it only works on polyester or poly-heavy blends, and only on light colors. Beautiful on the right blank, impossible on the wrong one.
Screen print
Cheapest per piece at high volume, with the best hand on a simple design, but you pay per color to set up, so it only makes sense on long runs of few colors. For the quantities most of our customers order, DTF costs less all-in.
Printing on hand-dyed blanks
This is the part worth paying attention to. We can print a design onto a blank we have ice-dyed ourselves, which means the shirt underneath the artwork is one of a kind. A slogan on a flat blank is the same shirt everyone else is selling. The same slogan on a hand-dyed crewneck is not available anywhere else, because the dye under it happened once.
Our own holiday and seasonal designs are made this way, and it is consistently what stockists re-order.
What we need from you
- Artwork as PNG with a transparent background, or vector (AI, EPS, SVG), at 300 dpi at the size it will print.
- Placement and size: front, back, sleeve, left chest, and roughly how wide.
- Garment: tell us the blank and color, or let us recommend one.
If your artwork is a photograph or a low-resolution logo pulled off a website, say so. We will tell you honestly whether it will hold up at print size rather than printing something you are not happy with.
Quantities
There is no hard minimum for printing on blanks you supply. For printing on hand-dyed blanks, the dye side sets the minimum: twelve pieces per style, per colorway. Every quote comes with a written turnaround window based on what is already on the schedule.