Screen Printing vs DTF Printing: Which Is Right for Your Custom Merch?
Two methods, same outcome - your logo on a shirt. The maths and the look are different in each case, and once you know what you're paying for, the right one for your job becomes obvious.
Screen printing
One ink, one screen, pushed through a stencil onto the shirt. If your design has three colours, that's three screens, three pulls. The ink ends up baked into the fabric. Wash it fifty times, it still looks the same.
The catch is setup. Each screen costs money to make and only earns its keep once you spread it across enough units. Below 25 units the maths gets ugly. Above 50 it starts looking very competitive. Our screen print service runs on automatic presses with Pantone colour matching, which is what you need to hit specific brand colours without drift.
DTF
DTF is direct-to-film. We print your artwork in CMYK on a clear film, dust it with adhesive powder, cure it, then heat-press it onto whatever you're decorating. Cotton, poly, blends, jerseys, fleece, most synthetics, no problem.
It's the technology that made small-run custom merch viable. Five years ago, ten units of a four-colour design would have cost a fortune in screen setup. Now it's a forty-five minute press job. All our DTF is done in-house in Moorabbin, which is why we can turn small runs around in seven to ten working days.
The white base catch on dark garments
This trips up almost every customer quoting their first job. If you've got a white logo to print on a black shirt, you're picturing a one-colour print. It's not. Screen print can't put colour onto dark fabric without first putting down a white underbase to lift the design. So your "one-colour" job is actually a two-colour setup: white underbase, then your colour on top.
This is why a black tee with a white logo costs the same to set up as a black tee with a white-and-red logo. The underbase is doing the work either way. DTF doesn't care about this - the white is built into the transfer - but it's worth knowing before you compare quotes.
The actual comparison
| Screen print | DTF | |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet spot | 50 units and up | 1 to 50 units |
| Setup fees | $60 per colour, per location | None |
| Cheaper at 25 units | No | Yes |
| Cheaper at 100 units | Yes (usually) | No |
| Number of colours | Each one adds setup | Doesn't matter |
| Photo / gradient artwork | Hard and pricey | What it's built for |
| Feel on the shirt | Soft after first wash | Slight texture, softens over time |
| Wash durability | ~50 washes | ~50 washes |
| Lead time | 10 to 12 business days from artwork sign-off | 7 to 10 business days |
When screen wins
Volume jobs with simple artwork. A band ordering a hundred tour tees with a one-colour print. A footy club doing a season's worth of training tops. Cafes uniforming a five-person team but doing it twice a year for years. Anywhere the per-unit price matters and the design's going to stay the same for a while.
Brand colours are the other one. If your logo is a specific Pantone, screen print will hit it dead on. DTF gets close in CMYK but reds and corporate blues can shift slightly. Worth knowing if your brand guidelines are strict about that stuff.
When DTF wins
Anything under 50 units. Multi-colour artwork. Photographic prints. Gradient fades. Sample tees you want to test before committing. One-off prototype runs for pitches.
It's also the right call when you want a back print without paying for a second set of screens. We do this a lot: bold screen print on the chest where it's going to last forever, finer DTF on the back where the detail matters.
How the work actually splits
About 60% of our jobs go DTF, 40% screen. That's drifted toward DTF as more brands come in with kits that have photographic logos or gradient elements that screens can't really do without expensive four-colour process work.
Half the conversations we have aren't about choosing between methods. They're customers saying "I don't know what these are, can you tell me what's right for what I'm doing." That's our job. Send the artwork through with rough quantities, and we'll come back with a recommendation and quotes both ways if it's a close call.
FAQ
Is DTF cheaper than screen printing?
Under about 25 units, almost always. Once you push past 50 it depends on the colour count of the design. Best way to know is get it priced both ways, the answer's usually obvious once you see the numbers side by side.
Does DTF crack or peel after washing?
Properly heat-pressed DTF doesn't crack. Our transfers hold up for around 50 washes looking sharp. The reason DTF has a bad reputation in some corners of the internet is cheap setups running too cold or under-cured powder. That's not the same product.
Can you screen print on dark garments?
Yes, but the white underbase is mandatory (see the section above). Don't get caught out at quote time thinking your "one-colour print on black" is going to be priced as one colour. It won't.
Will DTF stick to polyester sports jerseys?
Polyester yes, even high-stretch performance fabric. The only fabrics we hesitate on are softshell jackets and some coated technical nylons where the press temperature can't bond properly. We'll always test a sample first if you're unsure.
What's your minimum order for screen printing?
25 units on a single design. Below that, DTF or embroidery makes more sense. We'll tell you which one without trying to flog you the more expensive option.
Short version
Under 50 units, DTF. Over 100, screen. In between, get it priced both ways. Send your artwork through and we'll come back the same business day with the numbers.