Direct To Garment printing utilizes ink jet technology to apply specialty inks to textiles. These aqueous textile inks are absorbed into the garment’s fibers and then cured using a heat press or oven to remove the water.  Garments are placed on a platen which is precisely moved under the print head. One attractive attribute is that there are no screens or long set ups, so a single item or small batches can be done at a reasonable price.

Initially introduced in the mid 90’s, the process didn’t really take off until the 2004/2005 time frame when machines specifically designed for this application were introduced.  While these new machines addressed many of the technical issues and made DTG an affordable option, they were still limited in that they could only print on light colored natural fibers. Several years later, advances were made in a pre-treatment process which allowed the technology to work on dark garments. Today, dark garment printing is fairly routine, but remains expensive because of the pre-treatment required.

It’s a great solution for t-shirts with photos or very colorful designs

At Branding Pros, we have Direct To Garment printing capability in house and offer printing on both light and dark garments.