Things to know about the DTG printing t shirts and process

Garment printing has two main kinds of print methods, which are heat transfer printing and direct to garment or DTG printing which means the same thing. For this article we will be looking at direct to garment printing. New T Shirt Design is a pretty new method within the garment printing industry and as the name suggests it prints directly onto a garment.

The process uses a purpose built printer which is like a larger modified version of our traditionally more available ink jet printer. Instead of paper passing through these printers they allow the garment to pass through smoothly. The printer is connected to a computer as normal and the computer uses specialised software. This specialised tool allows the printer to manage the colours, produce white under bases and print using a larger than normal volume of ink which is essential for direct to garment printing.

In the early stages of T Shirts Screen Printing through DTG it was only possible to print onto white or very lightly coloured garments as white ink was not available but as time and technology moves along so has the printing industry and now white ink is as available as the traditional CMYK colours, meaning we can now print on dark garments as well making direct to garment printing even more versatile than previously. Once the printing process has finished it is essential for the ink to be bonded onto the fabric with the use of a heat press. This process takes little over a minute but cures the ink and makes it possible for the garment to be worn and washed without losing the design.