Maximize Your Output - Find the Right T-Shirt Printing Equipment

Custom T-shirt printing has unquestionably become one of the most popular niches in the personalized goods sector. As e-commerce platforms and printing techniques continue to advance, t-shirt printing has progressively evolved into a feasible business opportunity for many individuals. But how does one select the appropriate T-shirt printing equipment to attain the highest profitability? Scroll down to uncover more insider knowledge!

Written by Procolored - Published on Feb 6, 2025

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Written by Procolored - Published on Feb 21, 2025

PASSAGE SUMMARY

1. Understanding Trends of T-Shirt Printing
1.1 From mass production to POD
1.2 From traditional to digital printing
2. Why DTF and DTG Printer is the Right T-Shirt Printing Machine
2.1 Wider applications
2.2 Higher accuracy

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1. Understanding Trends of T-Shirt Printing

With the advancement of textile, printing, and digital design technologies, along with the increasing integration among these fields, the textile printing industry has witnessed significant progress in recent decades. Apparel printing, without a doubt, plays the most crucial role in this sector. For instance, in the digital textile printing market of 2024, clothing/apparel printing comprises approximately 54% of all digital printing applications on textiles, commanding more than half of the year's market share.

image: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/digital-textile-printing-market-report

Now let’s delve deeper into clothing/apparel printing. Since people first began applying prints to apparel to distinguish individuals through collective uniforms or personal preferences, it has enjoyed a long history. In recent years, as digital design tools and printing machines have become increasingly accessible to the general public, custom apparel printing, particularly T-shirt printing, has gained popularity not only among industrial companies but also individual entrepreneurs. To be more specific, both the broader field of custom apparel printing and its subset, T-shirt printing, clearly demonstrate the following trends.

1.1 From mass production to POD

It’s straightforward to grasp the concept of mass production in apparel printing — just think back to your last visit to the clothing section of a Walmart store. All those garments with identical prints in the same positions are typically sourced from manufacturers that specialize in large-scale production runs. Generally, mass production orders require significant quantities at once and are commonly placed by retail giants like Walmart, Nike, UNIQLO, and others.
However, modern consumers, especially younger generations, are increasingly seeking individuality over conformity. Compared to mass-produced clothing, t-shirts featuring unique, customized, or symbolic graphics are becoming increasingly popular, driving the rise and evolution of the Print on Demand (POD) business model. Unlike mass production, the POD business focuses on fulfilling smaller printing orders, thereby eliminating the risk of surplus inventory and ensuring the uniqueness of custom t-shirts by limiting their quantities.

1.2 From traditional to digital printing

The printing business model and printing methods continually drive each other's evolution. As the industry shifts from mass production to Print on Demand (POD), new printing techniques have emerged, evolved, and significantly contributed to the growth of the POD sector.
For many garment manufacturing industries, screen printing has long been the go-to method due to its efficiency in handling large orders and formats. However, with the rise of the POD business, Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) printing became widely adopted by numerous small printing business owners.
Nevertheless, with advancements in digital printing technologies such as sublimation, Direct-to-Film (DTF), and Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing, both screen printing and HTV printing are gradually being phased out. These older methods struggle to meet the rapid turnaround times required by the POD business model.

During our online follow-up visits with users, we frequently receive feedback similar to the above. Since its establishment, Procolored has assisted many printing professionals in successfully transitioning to digital printing, thereby expanding their business operations. So, why does digital printing significantly outperform traditional methods in the T-shirt printing industry?
First, let's define digital printing. Digital printing utilizes a printer to transfer digital graphic files onto various mediums. Unlike conventional methods such as screen printing or Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) printing, a digital printer directly outputs graphics by depositing the appropriate colors onto specific areas of the medium, effectively minimizing manual labor throughout the process.
Today, digital printing is extensively used across multiple custom industries, including personalized tumblers produced via Ultra-Violet (UV) or laser printing, and custom garments created through sublimation, Direct-to-Film (DTF), or Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing. Specifically, in the realm of T-shirt printing, DTF and DTG printing have gained increasing popularity compared to sublimation printing. So, in what ways do these methods excel?

2. Why DTF and DTG Printer is the Right T-Shirt Printing Machine

2.1 Wider applications

It’s highly recommended to apply sublimation on polyester. DTF and DTG printer on the contrary, show much more flexibility in meeting the requirements of custom t-shirt printing.

DTG Printer: Many T-shirts are crafted from cotton due to its popularity for comfort, breathability, and softness. DTG printing is ideally suited to this industry trend since it performs best on cotton or fabrics with a cotton content of over 80%.

DTF Printer: A DTF printer supports a broader range of substrates compared to DTG, including cotton, polyester, wool, nylon, and more. This versatility effectively meets the printing needs of T-shirts made from materials other than cotton.

2.2 Higher accuracy

Sublimation is widely recognized for its color limitations — it uses dyes to create prints on fabrics, which transform into a gas and merge with the fabric fibers. Dark fabrics contain a significant amount of dye or pigment, which can greatly interfere with the accurate representation of sublimation colors and details.
On the other hand, DTF and DTG printers offer higher precision in reproducing both colors and details.

DTG Printer: Indeed, DTG printers also involve the direct mixing of print colors with fabrics, similar to sublimation. However, three key factors enable DTG printers to produce more vibrant and accurate prints: a broader color gamut, more opaque water-based inks, and the use of white ink. These elements help reduce color blending between the inks and the fabric, allowing for brighter colors on non-light fabric backgrounds.

DTF Printer: Among sublimation, DTG, and DTF printing, DTF actually offers the highest standard of color reproduction. Like DTG, DTF also uses white ink as a base layer for each graphic. However, unlike DTG, which prints directly onto fabrics, DTF first prints onto a film before transferring the print to adhere firmly to the fabric surface. This method avoids deep absorption and overly tight bonding, thereby preserving the glossiness and details of the original graphics.

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