In recent years, new innovations in the printing world mean that small businesses and independent creative types can start their businesses with less overhead, and are even able to open their own factories to begin turning their own ideas into fully printed products. One of these innovations is DTF Printing. This method is perfect for printing detailed designs or items of clothing that require names, logos, or other increased detail. A quality DTF printer comes along with curing machines and an appropriate press, and all of these items combined mean that most of what you need to produce professional digital clothing is all in one convenient spot.
Breakdown of How DTF Printing Works
DTF stands for Direct to Film, and unlike other printing techniques, this method involves printing designs onto special transfer film, rather than printing designs directly onto fabric. After this design has been printed, the adhesive powder is formed onto the design. This design is then cured and transferred onto the garment of the customer’s choice. Unlike other methods, creators maintain flexibility in DTF Printing because they can create transfers at their leisure and ship off unprinted items when orders come in. This also serves as a preference for businesses that want to carry a wider range of merchandise geared toward personalization.
What to Expect When Buying the Best DTF Printer
There is no ‘one size fits all’ printer. The best DTF printer depends on production requirements, available room, funds, maintenance skills, and the types of prints you are trying to produce. For example, an individual producing personalized shirts may have different needs than a company producing hundreds of transfers each week. The purchasing factors for printers can include print quality, page speed, ink usage, and selection, software support, maintenance requirements, ink availability, print width, and the ease of replacing machine parts.
Printer Quality Over Specs
Even with the most impressive specifications, the quality of a print is most important when producing merchandise and prints to be sold to customers. This is often measured in the ability to consistently print with clean lines and transitions between colors. In DTF printing, properly printed white ink creates a strong layer on which vibrant colors can be printed. To ensure proper performance of a printing system, the user should understand the design of the white ink system and how the printer’s maintenance will impact print quality.
Printer Maintenance
DTF printers require regular maintenance to produce consistently good prints. This is especially true for printers equipped to print with white ink as this ink often settles in the printing system. A printing system that is used infrequently will fail to produce quality prints. For this reason, a printer’s maintenance requirements should be as important to a potential customer as the printing speed and price of the printer.
Preparing Artwork for DTF Transfers
A high quality print starts with high quality artwork. To begin, artwork should be drawn or designed to a proper resolution, and the edges should be clean with the appropriate dimensions for the garment. Dimensions and dimensions/positions of graphics should be carefully considered. Although graphics should take the entire printing space, allowing transparent backgrounds is sometimes useful, especially with graphic arts for shirts, as they allow the artwork to take the entire printing area without leaving unwanted backgrounds. In addition, prior to submitting artwork, spelling should be double checked along with colors, dimensions, placements, and artwork layouts. Ink and film should never be wasted; careful scrutiny of artwork does pay off.
The Importance of DTF Film
A quality inkjet printer is only one part of the transfer process. Film used on the printer affects the final result. Quality film should function properly with the selected ink and adhesive powder. Printing instructions, including how to properly peel, handle, and press the film should all be followed. In addition, the condition in which film is stored can affect the quality of the transfer. Powder and moisture can affect the quality of transfer; dust can get into the transfer because of poor handling. Powder should be handled properly to help ensure the quality of the final transfer. Organization of film is helpful during the production process to minimize time spent on transferring each piece of film.
Adding Adhesive Powder to the Transfer
DTF Oven: Once artwork is printed (ink should still be wet) adhesive powder should be applied. The design will bond to the garment during the pressing stage. Coverage of the powder should be even; removal or lack of powder may result in the design not bonding to the garment, while an excessive amount of powder can affect the appearance and texture of the transfer. Powder should be handled properly to adhere the design to the garment during the pressing stage.
Importance of Curing Powder
In the process of curing, temperature and time need to be carefully considered, as it is not about using the greatest amount of heat possible. Controlled heating is able to cure the powder adequately without damaging the film or altering the printed image. Poorly cured powder is likely to de-adhere, while too much heat is likely to cause damage to the film.
Final Thoughts
Creating a seamless DTF process involves plenty of moving parts. Beginning with a great DTF printer, and supported by quality curing equipment to prepare the transfers, will get you get off on the right foot. A good heat press for shirts completes the process by applying design to the garment with evenly distributed heat and pressure.
The technology pertinent to the field is convenient for the creator working out of their home, the person opening their own custom clothing business, and designers working on small scale apparel operations. Unfortunately, excellent results cannot be achieved by equipment alone.