Digital Printing
The biggest price factor of digital printing is the cost of ink. The amount of ink being used is going to determine the final cost of a shirt. Basically, the less ink I use, the cheaper the print; the more ink I use, the cost will be higher. For that, I created three print options to meet everyone's needs. They are DTG Economical, DTG Quality and DTF Lowest Cost. I will get more in depth explaining the printing process of these methods further below the chart, but for now I just want to explain the basis of how the total cost of a shirt is calculated when adding the amount of ink used.
Below is a price chart and explanation of how pricing works for digital printing. The final price, when purchasing a custom T-Shirt, is determined by the size and quality of the print. The Print Price is added to the starting price of the t-shirt you choose. Below is a chart that shows the print size and price for the three options. This will help give you an idea of pricing.
Below the chart is an example of this.
Example:
Gildan Softstyle Mens XL + Print Size (6 x 9) = Total Amount
$17.74 + $2.96 = $20.70 + taxes
Digital printing also known as Direct to Garment(DTG) is achieved by using a high-tech, water base ink-jet printer to print directly onto a t-shirt as the t-shirt goes into the printer. The job can be completed under two minutes per shirt, making this digital printing the best when quantity is small, and time is a factor. I offer three print options, DTG Economical, DTF Quality and DTF. First, I will talk about the two forms of DTG.
DTG Economical- This method lays down a smaller amount of ink compared to DTG Quality making the cost of ink cheaper. This print will have a semi-washed out look to it, but will still capture the vibrancy of colors. This is a good option for customers who like the vintage look of t-shirts.
DTG Quality- Exactly that, quality. This is the highest form of quality for DTG. This method passes over the shirt twice giving it a thick layer of ink. Doing this will give you the most vibrant colors and highest resolution of print. This print mimics the look and feel of screen printing.
DTF- DTF is the lowest cost of the three options. Instead of printing directly to the shirt, DTF is achieved by printing on to a transfer sheet first, then heat pressed to the garment leaving the image. This method is the cheapest because only a thin layer of ink is needed when printing to the transfer sheet. This method does leave a vinyl like feel to the print but is still a great choice for the price. Personally, I use this method a lot when I need a quick small to medium size design.
In my opinion, DTG is my favorite, even over, traditional screen print. When it comes to detail. DTG can print higher detailed images than screen print, but, if you need more than 50 shirts, screen printing is the most cost-effective way.
There are some pros and cons to look at, when deciding, but the best way to decide is to see the prints in person. So, if you would like to do that, contact me and we'll schedule an appointment.