DTF not DTG

[brandon]

I’m concerned for the hand still.   Is anyone getting any samples that really feel “soft”?  I imagine it can’t get as soft as a screen print on high mesh...or even sublimation on light garments.  Still a hand?  But a bit better than the DTG right?


I got some sample sin from a supplier but yea, they felt not bad, but still...a tad like transfers. I guess Is can’t ask for more than that.


I am seeing a few guys who are art savvy that do DTF be able to get some really good looking fine detail halftone images us the DTF. I mean more like 55-66 lpi maybe.  And if you can do the 65lpi, you can do the stochastic.

Hey Dan I think both DTF and DTG are great for different substrates and different shops. We use both DTG for shirts and hoodies and DTF is great for multicolor truckers, gym shorts, koozies and stuff like that. Two very different hands but a pair of Gildan poly gym shorts is very different from a Gildan Ultra Cotton tee. Your customer base will have a lot to do with what you decide to do with DTF. But it is very smooth

[ericheartsu]

I’m concerned for the hand still.   Is anyone getting any samples that really feel “soft”?  I imagine it can’t get as soft as a screen print on high mesh...or even sublimation on light garments.  Still a hand?  But a bit better than the DTG right?


I got some sample sin from a supplier but yea, they felt not bad, but still...a tad like transfers. I guess Is can’t ask for more than that.


I am seeing a few guys who are art savvy that do DTF be able to get some really good looking fine detail halftone images us the DTF. I mean more like 55-66 lpi maybe.  And if you can do the 65lpi, you can do the stochastic.

Hey Dan I think both DTF and DTG are great for different substrates and different shops. We use both DTG for shirts and hoodies and DTF is great for multicolor truckers, gym shorts, koozies and stuff like that. Two very different hands but a pair of Gildan poly gym shorts is very different from a Gildan Ultra Cotton tee. Your customer base will have a lot to do with what you decide to do with DTF. But it is very smooth

and honestly NO ONE CARES except for screen printers.

[zanegun08]

On the Supacolor instagram they have all these people doing full images for shirts https://www.instagram.com/supacolor/

The reason is these aren't screen printers doing these, they are people who bought a heat press off Ebay and started a business.  No hate on them but DTF transfers feel gross as a full size application on a soft shirt in my opinion.

Like Brandon said DTF is a great additional tool for the right job, much better than printed vinyl as you don't have to add borders and no weeding.  However in my opinion should only be reserved for certain images, small images, high color / low coverage or for hats, totes, or certain substrates.

It's not replacing printing or DTG anytime soon as to me it doesn't feel much better than a vinyl transfer, just that you don't have to weed and they last longer than our screen printed transfers (which we could do better)

It's a great tool, I have orders with both Apex and Supacolor right now, all for headwear though.  But at the end of the day it's still just a transfer and you aren't gonna win any awards with them, but will get you paid.

[zanegun08]

I got some sample sin from a supplier but yea, they felt not bad, but still...a tad like transfers.

and honestly NO ONE CARES except for screen printers.
[/quote]

I'd like to think on a subconscious level people know or care but I'm probably being optimistic there.  Like if someone had the choice between the two at retail they'd probably pick a screen printed version over a DTF transfer as the screen print should / could feel better.

I really want a setup for inside neck labels only to print in house, but haven't found the right match yet.

[brandon]

[quote ]

and honestly NO ONE CARES except for screen printers.
[/quote]

With everything on demand now and everyone's attention span shorter than a dog fart yes, I agree most people do not care. Just how much and I need it halfway around the world by tomorrow if not today

[Dottonedan]

It’s odd to me.  (We are going to get into an even more different discussion) but why then do people even do waterbase printing (of not for the hand).  From what I understand, it’s more of a loan than plastisol, and overall, even more costly to complete an order in comparison.  So if the customer may not care than much about the hand then why do waterbase?  I thought that the hand was the main reason.

[brandon]

While there is some sarcasm with us we do have a ton of customers that will reject any non water base printing on garments. When it comes to koozies and hats they dont care. But we also have customers that do not care and just need speed and price. That seems to be the majority of the world and wear DTG comes in perfect. For us and web stores. But every shop is different

[Homer]

agreed - it has its place for sure, but almost nobody gives a rip about the feel, they just their items NOW. Waterbase is probably called for on some occasions because the buzzwords "earth friendly" can get tossed in... I think it feels like a crinkle, plastic-ish on a large print, not the best for solid images. We are finding the best uses are for hats, leather patches and odd placement designs like the side for a hood, on pocket prints, koozies, face masks, almost anything we can put under a heat press, really. We ran 24 Carhartt jackets and rain coats a while back, they turned out way better than a screen print if you ask me. Reg was super tight and it was SOOO EASY to do.. Charged a mint and everyone was happy. I even made a wooden sign with this stuff, it sticks great....I like to do it in house so I have control on time frames. We toss in samples / up sell items to some larger customers and it's an amazing addition. Saves a boat load of work for online stores when 1 hat sells too.

Balloon - It wasn't One Stroke, I asked my rep - my mistake - It was Kingdom, he had black powder. Seems like a lot of the dtf dealers are selling it too.

[rusty]

Are you guys modifying your own printers? Or buying them ready to go?

[mk162]

Question, can you mix the black and white powders to make a gray? Or would that not have enough bleed resistance?

[Homer]

Question, can you mix the black and white powders to make a gray? Or would that not have enough bleed resistance?

worlds collide, kittens have puppies, hot snow falls up...

When I have a moment to test out all the powders, I'll let you know. Apparently different powders give a different hand, so we'll see.

[mk162]

Question, can you mix the black and white powders to make a gray? Or would that not have enough bleed resistance?

worlds collide, kittens have puppies, hot snow falls up...

When I have a moment to test out all the powders, I'll let you know. Apparently different powders give a different hand, so we'll see.

So it's like crossing the streams.

[Nation03]

Is everyone using their own DIY style printers or has anyone bought/tried the converted printers being sold online? I want to add one of these soon but wasn't sure if there was a go to brand to get?

[mk162]

Is everyone using their own DIY style printers or has anyone bought/tried the converted printers being sold online? I want to add one of these soon but wasn't sure if there was a go to brand to get?

I am working on getting one of these:
http://ftgdirect.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=50
and
http://ftgdirect.com/FTG%20textile%20inks,%20direct%20to%20film%20ink,%20DTF%20printer%20ink

It's not a large buy-in and the footprint is pretty small.  They aren't the best at responding, and they said they had a shipment arriving in about a week.

[Homer]

I used an Ebay'd 1400, 1430 and now I have an L1800 I got from China, the 1430 and 1400 with refill tanks worked great but the print heads aren't made for the latex type inks so they were giving me fits after a few months. The L1800 is SLOW so Id' look at other options. I found a list of the most DTF conversion friendly printers but it's on my pc at home, be aware of the pizza wheel removal and the ink carts, it needs to be a minimum of a 6 color printer. I think the P400, P600 and P900 were printers to look for.... I have a brand new in the box L1800 6 color printer if anyone wants it, It's an A4 paper size though... I screwed up