DTF Transfer Printing Services for Apparel & Merchandise

DTF — Direct-to-Film — transfer printing has fundamentally changed what’s possible in custom apparel decoration. At Floorboard Findings, we adopted DTF technology early because it solved the limitations that frustrated us with every other print method: screen printing’s color restrictions, sublimation’s fabric limitations, and heat transfer vinyl’s lack of detail. DTF does it all — full-color, photo-quality prints on any fabric color, any fabric blend, with a soft hand feel that doesn’t crack, peel, or fade.

The science behind DTF is elegant. Your design is printed in full CMYK color plus a white ink base layer onto a specially coated PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film. While the ink is still wet, a fine thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) adhesive powder is applied and melted onto the back of the print. This creates a flexible, self-contained transfer that can be heat-pressed onto virtually any fabric surface. When pressed at the correct temperature and pressure — which varies by fabric type, and which we’ve calibrated precisely for every blank we use — the TPU adhesive melts into the fabric fibers, creating a permanent mechanical bond.

The result is a print that’s soft, flexible, and stretches with the garment. Unlike screen print plastisol that sits rigidly on top of the fabric, a well-executed DTF transfer moves naturally with the cotton or poly fibers underneath. Your customers can feel the print, but it doesn’t feel like a sticker — it feels like part of the shirt. This is critical for premium branded merchandise where the quality of the print affects the perceived value of the product.

What makes our DTF printing different from online print shops is the calibration and quality control. We test every design on the actual blank before running the full order. We’ve documented the optimal press settings for every blank in our catalog — temperature, pressure, dwell time, and peel temperature all affect final print quality. A Comfort Colors 1717 requires different settings than a Bella Canvas 3001 because the garment-dyed surface absorbs adhesive differently than a standard-dyed blank. These details are what separate a DTF print that lasts 50+ washes from one that starts peeling after 10.

We offer DTF printing both as a complete service (we print and press onto blanks we provide) and as transfer-only production (we print the transfers and ship them to you for pressing). Transfer-only orders are popular with boutique owners who want to press on demand, reducing inventory risk by only producing shirts as they sell.

Every DTF transfer we produce is printed at 1440 DPI resolution with 8-pass printing for maximum ink density. We use premium DTF inks and films — not the cheap alternatives flooding the market from overseas suppliers. The difference is visible in color vibrancy, edge definition, and washability. When your brand is on the shirt, the print quality is non-negotiable.