Direct to Garment printing involves a inkjet printer printing a water based ink, directly into the fabric of a garment. It allows you to print full colour, photo-realistic artwork and gradients perfectly. These types of images can be difficult and expensive to reproduce with screen printing, whereas Direct to Garment can print them without issue!
DIRECT TO GARMENT?
PHOTOREALISTIC PRINTS
NO MINIMUMS
With direct to garment printing, there are very few design restrictions, which allow us to offer customers the ability to print any design on just one shirt — which is something that most print shops won’t do.
BEST ON 100% COTTON
Direct to garment printing uses water based inks that will never wash off or fade. These inks adhere only to cotton fibres but we’ve tried and tested the best 100% cotton tees and tanks to ensure you get the best looking print possible.The pretreat is also for polyester and blend shirts.Shirts that are not white or 100% cotton may require pretreatment 48 seconds and our printed shirts are cured with hovered heat to ensure the brightest quality designs.
HOW IT WORKS
1. PRE-TREAT MACHINE
Shirts that are not white may require a pre-treat application to ensure colour opacity. First, the pretreatment creates a surface that the ink can print on and not be absorbed. When the ink encounters the pretreatment, a chemical reaction causes the ink to gel on the surface of the material. Without it the water-base ink would absorb into the material and the translucent inks would lose their true colour becoming much darker.
2. PRESSING OF TREATED SHIRT
Requiring heat at both the start and end of the print process, 350 lbs of pressure is applied for 36 seconds to press down the fuzzy fibres of the t-shirt material. The heat press is used to cure the pretreatment so ink can properly rest on top.
3. PRINT ON THE GARMENT
Like an ink-jet printer, the print head of our machine distributed the ink directly onto the item. Every bit of detail and colour in the design comes out beautiful and crisp thanks to a few passes of the heads! Prints are usually left to rest for a few minutes before moving onto the next step of our process.
4. FINAL HEAT PRESSING
Heat pressing is used at the offset to prepare the shirt for printing but heat & pressure are just as important after the printing. We use our heat press to cure the ink onto the material. Method and approach to pressing is as important as the print itself. The thin nature of the water-base ink requires a gentle touch. Our DTG printers are the best in the city!
5. PHOTOREALISTIC QUALITY
For individual names and numbers, CAD-cut vinyls are a trade favourite. With only computer work to prepare files, individual embellishments can be added easily using cad-cut vinyl. Because the vinyl has a different finish then regular printing on tees, the names and numbers on team apparel will have the effect of jumping out at you.
WHY CONSIDER VINYL?
PERSONALIZED PRINTS
Vinyl involves a plotter cutting the design from a roll of material before it is applied with a heat press on to the garment. Vinyl is perfect for plain colour designs, especially for letters and number personalization because they’re easier to produce.
NO MINIMUMS
Vinyl is perfect for small quantities at a reasonable price. Vinyl gives us the ability to print simple designs on just one shirt — which is something that most print shops won’t do. Vinyl printing is best suited for small orders of apparel that use simple, one-colour artwork.
VINYL IS VERSATILE
With no set up fees and low costs for small quantities, vinyl is very versatile. It can be used on most types of apparel such as t-shirts, polos, work shirts, bags, jackets and more. For best results, turn the shirt inside out during the wash and then hang to dry.
SISER’S COLORPRINT PU
Siser’s ColorPrint PU is a thin, stretchable print and cut material available in a glossy or matte finish. Compatible with eco-solvent, solvent, and latex based printers/cutters, ColorPrint PU creates great full color graphics. ColorPrint PU is thin enough to provide a great hand and stretchable enough for most performance wear.
EASYWEED STAND
EasyWeed® Heat Transfer VinylThe most trusted heat transfer vinyl brand in the world Why is EasyWeed our number one selling heat transfer vinyl? Simple, the EasyWeed Advantage! EasyWeed applies at a lower temperature than competitor material, backing can be peeled hot or cold and doesn’t lift during weeding. It’s also extremely durable wash after wash and uses a lower pressure setting for application. EasyWeed is thinner than others on the market and offers a one-second tack application that’s great for multiple layers. EasyWeed has a pressure sensitive carrier that allows you to offer detailed designs on a wide variety of fabrics. EasyWeed can be cut with laser systems. EasyWeed is CPSIA Certified so it’s perfect for decorating children’s clothing and accessories.