If I wanted a photo print would I go with DTG? Best choice ?
http://blog.tshirt-factory.com/apparel-printing-techniques.html
This helped me a little so hope it does you too.
That article said a few things right but I also disagree with a few things.
1. DTG printing can print on white now as the case for the last 4 or 5 years. Some DTG printer prefer to print on white garments only because the process is a lot faster, cleaner, and prints looks better because you take a pretreatment process out of the equation. When printing white ink on colored garments all the garments need to be sprayed with a pretreatment. This is a bit tricky and can cause a great deal of variation with the proceeding printing.
2. DTG printing does not leave an "excellent print." In my opinion it is pretty sub par. A photographic image might be the DTG's best type of print - especially compared to any noticeable halftones when screen printing an image. You can use an unlimited number of colors and the price stays the same but the colors are not bright. They will also fade pretty quickly after 1 or 2 washes. Also, since the colors are a mix of CMYK - it is very hard to achieve true reds and blues.
3. The machine is made for low quantity runs. Yes, you can print up to 100 but when printing on colored garments the printer will not print straight through. After about 30 prints the printer starts to clog. It will have to be cleaned and maintained before proceeding. Some variations in the printing will be noticeable throughout the 100 prints because of this temperament of the machine. . Personally, I have a 36 piece maximum for dark garments - any more results in longer lead times. 72 pieces for printing on whites. And my prices do not scale down after about 36 pieces.
So in answer to the original question - should I print a photo print on a DTG?
- If you are doing a low quantity run. Roughly 50 pieces or less.
- Best if on a white shirt but dark garments are doable.
- If the design does not call for bright and vibrant colors.
If you can agree to all that then I would consider it but would definitely inquire about screen printing it and the price differences.
