What is DTF printing?

The short answer

DTF stands for direct-to-film. Your design is printed in colour onto a clear film, a white ink layer goes down behind it, a powdered adhesive is melted onto the back, and the whole thing is cured. You position the finished transfer on a garment, press it with heat, and peel the film away. The design is now bonded to the fabric.

Why it took over

Three reasons. It works on almost any fabric: cotton, polyester, blends, nylon, canvas, denim, light or dark. There's no weeding: unlike vinyl, the adhesive only exists where the ink is, so fine detail, gradients and photos come out clean with nothing to pick out by hand. And there are no setup costs: no screens, no minimums, which is why one-offs and small runs are suddenly affordable.

How it compares

Against screen printing: DTF wins on small runs, detail and colour count; screen printing still wins on cost for big single-design runs and gives a softer hand on huge solid areas. Against vinyl (HTV): DTF wins on detail, multi-colour designs and speed per piece; vinyl still has a place for single-colour names and numbers cut on demand. Against DTG: DTF doesn't need pretreatment, works on more fabrics, and you can store printed transfers for months and press them as orders come in, which is exactly what makes gang sheets useful.

What a gang sheet has to do with it

DTF is priced by print area, not by design. A gang sheet packs many designs onto one sheet (ours is 540 x 1000mm), so you buy a metre of print and cut out transfers as you need them. One sheet typically carries 30 to 40 left-chest logos. Here's how to build one properly.

The honest limitations

A DTF transfer sits on the fabric rather than dyeing it, so on very large solid blocks you can feel it; good artwork uses that knowingly. Pressing matters: wrong temperature or lazy pressure is the cause of nearly every failed transfer we ever see. Press it right and 50+ washes is normal. The pressing guide covers it.

Written by the production team at our Swindon DTF factory, decorating garments since 1998. Ready to order? Order custom DTF transfers.