Sublimation has been round for a lot of, a few years and is a go-to for the house crafter when it comes time to make customized attire and extra. Nevertheless, just a few years in the past, DTF (direct to movie) printing entered the scene and altered the panorama of constructing attire at house.
Printing Direct To Movie Has Many Benefits
To begin with, I’ll give a really high-level overview of the 4 most important ink-based attire adorning choices in the marketplace: sublimation, DTF, DTG, and display screen printing. Sublimation and DTF work equally, in that they each print ink onto a conveyable media (paper or movie) and are pressed onto the garment. DTG printing (direct to garment) prints, properly, immediately onto the garment. Display printing makes use of a display screen with a canopy over it, and single-color ink is utilized at a time. Sublimation, DTF, and DTG are all strategies of making use of all colours at one time, as a substitute of one after the other. For the needs of this portion of the article, I will be principally speaking about DTF versus DTG and display screen printing, as these are the trade commonplace applied sciences that DTF competes with, whereas sublimation is in a class of its personal that we’ll dive into at a later time.
When DTG dominated the direct switch area, it was extraordinarily value prohibitive in addition to difficult to run. To do a DTG print, the shirt should first be pre-treated and cured earlier than printing can start, and most DTG printers begin out life within the tens of hundreds of greenback vary. The ink is comparatively costly, they usually’re difficult machines to run and use. Early on in my profession, I labored for an organization that bought mobile phone circumstances, however we needed to get into t-shirts as properly. The proprietor employed somebody particularly to run a DTG printer, and I can rely on one hand what number of instances within the 12 months that we had it that it labored a full day with out not less than one downside.
Then, you will have display screen printing, which is an age-old technique of adorning attire. Nonetheless an trade commonplace, display screen printing can get actually difficult, actual quick. It’s important to determine what mixture of inks to make use of to attain a sure shade and have a number of screens available to do a multicolored print. Whereas single-color prints may be cheaper and sooner to display screen print, whenever you begin to add extra colours, issues get way more difficult. Storing screens, having to strip and re-coat screens, reducing the decals, it could all simply add time and complication to getting a completed print out the door. And one-off jobs turn into extraordinarily troublesome.
Nevertheless, that is the place DTF enters the race. DTF does not resolve all issues, because it does not fairly grasp the sensation that DTG or display screen printing can ship, nevertheless it’s a a lot easier-to-use technique when making customized attire at house. Machines are extra reasonably priced than DTG, simpler to make use of than display screen printing, and may match in your desk. A DTF printer works by printing the switch immediately onto a movie medium, which you then powder with TPU and remedy in an oven. After a switch is made, it may be saved for nonetheless lengthy after which merely pressed onto the merchandise at any time. Full-color transfers (white included) may be made forward of time and saved or shipped simply, too. These printers take up just a little extra room than a regular laser printer would and provide you with all of the capabilities of a DTG or display screen print setup at house. Simply make certain that no matter DTF printer you get, you purchase the bundle that comes with a curing oven.
White Ink Makes All of the Distinction
There are such a lot of “hacks” on the market on the way to sublimate or put different transfers onto a garment, however DTF does not want any hacks. DTF printing works uniquely with a CMYKWW print head, which outputs the traditional CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) colours, in addition to two white colours. The white ink is exclusive in the way it features, because it supplies a white shade when printing as you’d anticipate, nevertheless it additionally permits full, vibrant colours on darker clothes.
For those who had been to show off the white ink altogether since you had no white within the design after which tried to press a pink graphic onto a blue shirt, it could flip the graphic inexperienced, in essence. The white backer layer permits for full, correct, vibrant colours to be seen on any shade, black included! Plus, white on black, or black on white, simply appears nice. Despite the fact that my small enterprise’ emblem is a deep forest inexperienced, I really like seeing it in white on a black shirt. It simply pops. White ink is one thing that sublimation cannot provide and is among the largest differentiators between sublimation and DTF. Nevertheless, each display screen printing and DTG printing provide white base inks as properly.
The Movie, Powder, and Inks Work Collectively
There are three parts to a DTF print: movie, powder, and ink. Every time potential, supply your movie and inks from the identical provider. There’s simply one thing about them working collectively properly. Whereas all inks and movies ought to be appropriate, that does not imply they’re. So, you are able to do your personal testing to make sure, or you possibly can simply get the provides from the identical provider. Personally, I take advantage of DTF Superstore for my provides, however Ninja Transfers is one other good one, and Warmth Press Nation is one other respected provider to take a look at. After all, you can all the time take a look at the place you bought your printer from and purchase provides immediately from them as properly.
Additionally, whereas the inks are pretty constant throughout the board, you will need to take note of which movie and powder you purchase. The movie is available in varied types, most notably chilly or scorching peel. The variations listed below are what you’d anticipate. One is able to peel proper after you press, and the opposite has to return to room temperature first. And, for powder, there are just a few completely different grits to select from. I strive to stick with a medium grit as I really feel it really works the very best, however that is additionally as much as private desire, relying on the designs that you simply make.
How To Make Your First DTF Print
Upon getting your DTF printer prepared (I personally use and advocate the ProColored F13), it is time to make your first print! Begin by sourcing your design. For those who do not need to make your personal, then my suggestion is Artistic Fabrica. I’ve had a subscription there for years, and it is my go-to if I want a fast design, and I do not need to create it myself. After all, there are quite a few different locations to get designs to print. However you will need to make it possible for the design is a PNG with a clear background; in any other case, the print will not look proper.
Now that you’ve got a design, it is time to convey it into your RIP software program. This could have come together with your printer. I take advantage of ProRIP 2.4 as that is what I obtained with my ProColored printer, however I’ve additionally tried just a few others out. You should buy RIP software program, which has extra options, however it could get costly, so I keep on with what got here with my printer. When you RIP the picture, it is time to print! From there, you will powder the printed graphic together with your TPU powder of selection (that is the model I take advantage of) after which remedy it in a curing oven or underneath your warmth press.
Now that you’ve got a accomplished switch, merely press it onto the garment or no matter you are adorning with a warmth press or iron! A warmth press is advisable however not needed.
What Can You Press DTF Transfers On?
The checklist of what you possibly can press a DTF switch onto is not fairly infinite, nevertheless it may as properly be. You possibly can press it onto greater than you possibly can’t. For example, I’ve pressed DTF transfers on all sorts of shirts (100% cotton, polyester, tri-blend, nylon, you identify it), in addition to acrylic, wooden, canvas, and extra. You can even press DTF transfers immediately onto hats, onto leather-based or leatherette, steel, and the checklist goes on.
The one factor to bear in mind is that easy surfaces like acrylic, steel, or glass will not maintain as much as a number of abuse. The switch will adhere for positive, due to the TPU powder, nevertheless it will not be ultra-strong because it’s solely adhering to a easy floor. Nevertheless, issues like slate, wooden, leather-based, or materials will maintain that graphic fairly properly. A well-done DTF switch ought to maintain as much as ~40 to 50 washes earlier than it begins to degrade.
Be Certain To Hold Up With the Each day Upkeep
One of many downsides of DTF printing is the upkeep requirement. You may must do a nozzle clear or a print not less than twice a day. You may have the ability to get away with as soon as a day, or as soon as each few days, however to extend the lifetime of your print head, I (and most producers) advocate doing it within the morning and night. For me, personally, I do a head cleansing as quickly as I stroll into the workplace within the morning, after which one at evening. It does not matter if I print all through the day; that is my routine. I’ve misplaced a print head already, they usually’re not low cost to switch, so I run some ink by way of the top to make sure that the nozzles keep clear.
The white ink has magnesium in it, which may clog the tremendous nozzles on the print head if not continuously flowed. On higher-end DTF printers (that value tens of hundreds of {dollars}) it is easy to do what’s known as “moist capping” the top, the place you place some distilled water underneath the print head to maintain it moisturized. With a smaller printer just like the ProColored F13 that I’ve, that is not as easy of a process, and it is simpler to only circulation ink by way of the top with a head cleansing. If i am going out of city for any size of time, I will put the printer into trip mode, which is whenever you pull the usual ink sacks from the print head, flush the ink out of the print head, after which go away moisturizing liquid (distilled water works simply tremendous) within the print head so it could’t get clogged when you’re gone.
These Objects Are Should-Haves for DTF Printers
Now that you simply perceive what DTF printing is and the fundamentals for going from design to adorned attire, I need to inform you some gadgets which are invaluable to me as a small enterprise/hobbyist who makes use of a DTF printer a number of instances every week. Beneath is an inventory (with hyperlinks) to a few of my favourite DTF gadgets. One factor to bear in mind about having further ink available is that it does have an expiration date. So, do not buy a ton of ink except you are printing rather a lot. Have sufficient further available to refill what you utilize regularly, however do not buy in bulk if you happen to’re solely doing one or two prints a month.
