Creatiprint — custom apparel printing and | creatiprint.com

Creatiprint — custom apparel printing and | creatiprint.com

Choosing a print method

Four decoration methods cover almost every custom apparel order, and the right one is fixed by your run size, fabric, colour count and how long the print must last.

Start with quantity, because it eliminates options fastest. Direct-to-garment needs no setup at all and suits runs from 1 to about 50 pieces; screen printing carries a setup charge per ink colour and only becomes the cheapest per garment once that setup is spread across roughly 50 to 5,000 pieces in the same colour count.

Next, count colours. Screen printing charges a setup for every additional colour, so a six-colour design carries six setups; DTG handles photographic or full-colour artwork without separate screens at no extra setup; heat-transfer vinyl is cut from solid-colour film and stays cheap only at one or two colours.

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Then check the fabric. Vinyl presses well onto cotton and polyester but does not stretch with the fabric, so it belongs on stable garments. Embroidery is the most durable option and the only one that reads as premium on a fleece or a cap — and it is priced per stitch count, with a typical left-chest logo at 3,000-8,000 stitches.

Durability closes the decision. Embroidery outlasts everything; vinyl is durable within its no-stretch limit; screen printing and DTG both survive normal washing when the artwork is prepared correctly — which is why the choice of method cannot be separated from the file you supply.

If you are still between two methods, the deciding question is usually cost structure rather than quality: the Costs at different order sizes page walks through setup, per-unit and break-even arithmetic, and the Preparing artwork that actually prints page lists the file specifications each method demands.

  • How many pieces? Under 50 points to DTG; 50-5,000 points to screen printing
  • How many colours? One or two solids can go vinyl; full colour goes DTG; separated spot colours go screen
  • What fabric? Cotton and polyester take vinyl; fleece and caps take embroidery
  • What must it survive? Embroidery is the most durable; vinyl is durable but does not stretch

Further reading