Direct-to-Garment (DTG) has revolutionized how to create personalized shirts so that you get the best quality shirt that will endure. Prior to DTG, personalized shirts were only done by silk screening or heat-applied transfers; however, these two applications have their disadvantages. Silk screening includes set-up fees making it difficult to only do a few shirts, rather, it’s better to buy in bulk. The disadvantage to a heat transfer shirt is either struggling to find a professional to do it or do it yourself. When done by yourself the life of the shirt is short lived. Looking at these options, your best bet is DTG printing because you can get your one-of-a-kind shirt that will last.
What is DTG printing?
A DTG printer looks similar to an inkjet printer, with a flatbed designed specifically for making shirts. The shirt is manually placed on the printer which offers the flexibility of printing anywhere desirable on the shirt. That’s right, you can print on the back, front, sleeves, side because you can print in any location and any angle. The only places excluded from printing are areas by zippers and large seems. DTG makes it possible to make the personalized shirt you’ve always dreamed of.
Generally, a DTG printer is 12 by’; however, each manufacturer can have slightly different sizes. Some manufacturers specialize in larger printing and have oversized printers.
Is DTG printing green?
The inks used in DTG printing are water based and very eco-friendly. With out screens to print and clean there are no harsh chemicals being used and disposed so, yes, DTG printing is very green.
In fact, there are organic t-shirts as well as shirts made from bamboo that you can use to create your personalized shirt. Your DTG printer can tell you more about the styles and models that are available.
How can I find a DTG printer?
You might get a little frustrated trying to use the yellow pages to find a DTG printer, you may have noticed that there is no Direct-to-Garment Printers heading: so, your best bet may be to use an online search engine such as Google. Enter a search for personalized shirts no minimum or something similar and you will get a number of results. You may still need to weed out some printers from that list who are silk screeners but that search will get you a list of DTG printers. From there it is just a matter of checking out their web sites or contacting them directly to see if they have what you are looking for.
If you are curious about the process or the printers there are a number of videos featuring DTG printers on youtube.com.
Brian is a veteran in the personalized shirts Industry. Check out his website and design your own personalized t shirt right now!