DTF Garment Printing

What is DTF Garment Printing?

DTF (Direct-to-film) DTF garment printing technology is a modern version of an old technology that uses a special ink which is printed onto a film. White ink is printed on top of the color inks. This becomes the base color when the image is transferred onto fabric and is the reason this technology works so well on dark fabrics. When the print comes out of the printer it's still wet and a powder is sprinkled onto the wet ink. This powder is the glue that adheres the print to the fabric. After this, it's cured and is then pressed with a heat press onto the fabric item.

This is an advancing technology that has some of the lowest print costs in the industry yet coupled with the best washability. The total print cost for DTF is less than just what the transfer paper costs with most competing technologies. This technology uses a special film, special inks and a powder (which is what sticks the image to the substrate). The powder sticks to the print only, which is why only the print transfers to the substrate. The best printers for DTF are manufactured for DTF from scratch. Early DTF machines (and current low-end machines) use a modified Epson inkjet printer.

With so many pitfalls when buying a DTF printer, we have compiled a blog with critical DTF info. Be sure you read it before buying any DTF printer.