Both methods handle detailed, full-color designs and are often a great fit for smaller orders - they skip much of the screen-printing setup. They apply the image differently, so fabric, feel, artwork, quantity, and durability guide the choice.
Rather compare for yourself? Read the four-method comparison guide - real photos and video from our floor.
The design is printed onto film and heat-applied to the garment. DTF works well for full-color artwork, detailed designs, smaller quantities, and many garment types - and because it’s transferred, it works across a wider range of fabrics than DTG.
For custom heat transfers or gang-sheet projects, send artwork dimensions, quantity, fabric, and whether you need finished garments or just transfers, so we can quote it accurately.
The design is printed directly into the fabric, usually on cotton or cotton-rich garments. DTG is great for lower quantities and detailed, full-color artwork, and can have a soft hand feel on the right fabric.
Garment material matters: a shirt that suits DTG may differ from one that suits DTF. We review the intended garment instead of treating the methods as interchangeable.
How it’s made
Both methods start the same way - your artwork as a print-ready file, sized and placed for the garment. Where they split is what the ink lands on and how it gets cured, and that difference decides almost everything else about the finished piece.
Printed into the shirt on our Brother GTX Pro.
Printed and cured on film, then bonded to the garment.
Off our printers
Not stock photos - actual customer orders on our own machines in Sandy.
DTG · oversize photoreal
A big, detailed koala portrait printed on a black tee - nearly the full front, straight off our Brother GTX Pro. Fine grayscale fur on a dark garment is exactly what direct-to-garment does best, and this one runs right up to our oversize print area.
DTG · photoreal detail
A Draper group headed to Lake Powell wanted a photoreal fish-and-lure scene. We ran it on the DTG printer with the black knocked out of the art - the detail pops and the print stays soft on a black tee.
DTF · full color
Full-color DTF prints, still warm off the press, on a stack of black Gildan 5000s.
DTG · on the printer
Shirts for the orchestra program at Canyon View Elementary in Cottonwood Heights - here's one printing direct-to-garment on our Brother GTX Pro.
DTF · one-color crisp
We put our own logo on this one - white DTF on a black AS Colour 5050. When we pick a premium blank for ourselves, this is it.
DTF vs. DTG
Weighing these against screen printing or embroidery too? See the full four-method comparison guide.
DTF can suit more fabric types; DTG is usually used on cotton or cotton-rich garments.
DTF is heat-applied on top of the fabric. DTG prints into the garment and can feel softer on suitable cotton.
Artwork detail, quantity, garment, feel, and durability goals all shape the recommendation.
| Factor | DTF | DTG |
|---|---|---|
| How it's applied | Printed onto film, then heat-pressed onto the garment. | Printed directly into the fabric with garment-printing ink. |
| Fabric range | Works across a wider range of fabrics and blends. | Best on cotton or cotton-rich garments. |
| Feel on the garment | Sits on top of the fabric as a transfer. | Can have a softer hand on the right cotton garment. |
| Detail & color | Full-color, photo-detail artwork - fine lines stay crisp on the film across any compatible fabric. | Full-color, photo-detail artwork - printed into the fabric, so very fine detail depends on a smooth cotton surface. |
| Typical order size | Small runs, one-offs, and gang-sheet transfer runs. | Small runs and one-offs on qualifying cotton garments. |
Each method has a job it does best. Here’s how the printed methods compare to the others.
Screen printing is usually the stronger fit for larger quantities, repeat orders, and bold, simpler designs - setup cost spreads across more pieces. DTF and DTG skip most of that setup, so they shine for smaller runs or highly detailed, full-color art.
See screen printing →Embroidery is stitched, not printed, so it suits hats, polos, jackets, and uniforms where a durable, textured logo is the goal. DTF and DTG are printed methods for full-color, photo-detail artwork on shirts and similar garments.
See embroidery →Garments & placement
The single fastest way to narrow this down is to tell us the blank. Fabric decides more here than artwork does, and it is the first thing we ask about when someone is torn between the two.
Cotton, and the more of it the better. Ring-spun cotton gives the smoothest surface and prints the cleanest. There are tricks for blends and we pull them off occasionally when a customer asks, but on most blend and polyester jobs DTF is simply the better tool.
A wider spread of fabrics - cotton, blends, and polyester - which is what makes it the answer for mixed garment orders where one design has to land on several different shirt types. DTF prints also stretch with the fabric rather than fighting it.
Left chest, standard full front, back, sleeve - each location is its own pass through the process, so tell us every spot you want decorated. Genuinely oversized DTG prints are possible on qualifying garments and designs - our platen prints up to 16 inches wide by 21 inches tall - and artwork dimensions, the size range you are ordering, and the print location all factor in.
Not sure which blank you want yet? Browse custom t-shirts or hoodies and sweatshirts, and we will confirm DTG or DTF against whatever you land on.
Artwork
Digital printing skips the color separations screen printing needs, but file quality still shows up in the finished shirt. These printers reproduce what you give them faithfully, including the parts you were hoping nobody would notice.
Vector AI, EPS, or PDF for logos and clean graphics. Our quote form also takes PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, PSD, TIFF, and HEIC. For security reasons the form does not accept SVG uploads - export SVG art to PDF or AI first, or send it over and we will help convert it.
Blurry logos, low-resolution screenshots, and files pulled off a website usually need cleanup before they will print well. We can often prepare artwork for production; a full redraw takes more time and may carry a cost, and we tell you which one you are looking at before anything moves.
On a black or dark shirt, artwork that contains black often prints better with that black knocked out of the file so the garment itself becomes the shadow. That is exactly how we ran the Lake Powell design above, and it is why the detail reads the way it does.
You approve a proof or mockup before production starts, so placement, sizing, and layout are settled while they are still easy to change.
Color, honestly
Our digital printers build color from CMYK. That covers an enormous range, and on a difficult brand color we will tune the printer’s color settings to land remarkably close rather than shrugging and printing whatever comes out of the file. Garment color plays into it too: the same ink reads differently on white cotton than it does on a dark blank.
True neon is the one we cannot fake. Fluorescent color lives outside what four inks can mix, so when a job needs real neon we move it to screen printing, where we mix Pantone colors with fluorescent additives on the bench. Reflective, metallic, and puff finishes are the same story - those are modified inks, not printed images, so they belong on the press rather than the printer.
We would rather route your job to the right machine than sell you the wrong one. If your artwork leans on a color we should talk about, say so early and we will tell you straight which method gets you there. The full breakdown of that trade-off lives in our digital printing cost guide and our screen printing cost guide.
FAQ
No minimum on garments ordered through us - digital printing is exactly how a single shirt or a handful of shirts makes sense, because there is no per-color screen setup behind it. Method choice runs both ways, too: we default to quoting whichever method is the best value for your job, but if you specifically want DTG, DTF, or screen printing, just ask and we'll quote it that way. For what actually moves the number, read our digital printing cost guide.
Tell us and we will quote it. For transfer or gang-sheet projects, send artwork dimensions, quantity, the fabric they are going on, and whether you want finished garments or just the transfers.
Inside out, cold water, no bleach or harsh chemicals, and tumble dry low or hang dry. High heat is what shortens the life of most apparel decoration, so the dryer setting matters more than people expect.
We have DTF and DTG shirts that have gone through dozens and dozens of washes. Any decorated garment shows wear eventually - fabric, ink, wash settings, and how hard the shirt gets worn all play into it. Gentle, inside-out, cold, hang dry buys the most life out of any method.
Because there are no screens to burn, digital jobs start quickly. Qualifying orders placed online can select guaranteed rush turnarounds as fast as 3 business days at checkout - see our turnaround times page for the full picture, or call us if your deadline is tighter than that.
Our DTG printer runs right over pockets, zippers, and seams - the ink lays directly into the fabric, so hardware doesn't stop it the way it stops a screen. Screen printing is the pickier method there, and its cleanest result stays off the hardware. Any design that crosses a zipper, pocket, or thick seam gets reviewed and approved before we run it, so send it over and we'll show you exactly how it will land on your garment.
Yes, and it happens often. Everything runs in our Sandy shop, so one job can carry your logo across methods. We have even mixed methods on the same shirt - matching DTF ink colors to a screen printed design so every tee in the run could carry its own individual number on top.
More questions? See the full FAQ or give us a call.
A single shirt, a handful of pieces, or a short run where screen printing's setup wouldn't make sense.
Gradients, photographs, and multi-color designs that would need many screens to print traditionally.
Projects using different fabric types where DTF's wider fabric range helps; we'll confirm DTG vs. DTF for your garment.
Send artwork, quantity, garment styles and colors, size breakdown, print locations, and your deadline. Pricing depends on garment cost, quantity, locations, artwork prep, method, and turnaround - curious what's behind the numbers? Read our digital printing cost guide. You approve a proof before we print. Serving Salt Lake City, South Jordan, West Jordan, and the Wasatch Front.
Upload your art and start an order, or send it over and we’ll recommend DTF or DTG.
