Direct-to-Garment (DTG)
Also known as: DTG, Direct-to-garment printing
Textile inkjet printing in which water-based pigment inks are sprayed directly onto the garment — ideal for photorealistic small runs from a single piece.
Description
Direct-to-Garment printing (DTG) uses special textile inkjet printers that spray water-based pigment inks in CMYK plus white directly onto the flat-laid garment. The process begins with a pretreatment: on dark textiles a primer is sprayed on which fixes the white ink. Then the head prints the white base and CMYK on top. Finally the garment is cured at 160-180 degrees in a heat press.
DTG allows photorealistic motifs with millions of colours without setup cost per design — predestining it for print-on-demand, personalised single pieces and test runs. The hand feel is noticeably softer than screen-printed plastisol because the ink penetrates the fibre instead of sitting on top.
DTG is ideal on high-quality ring-spun cotton shirts with a firm, smooth surface. On polyester content the white layer can adhere poorly. Disadvantages: slow production (30-60 seconds per shirt), higher unit cost than screen printing from about 30 pieces, colour brilliance on black not quite at screen-print level.
Properties
| Process | Inkjet CMYK+W, water-based pigment ink |
|---|---|
| Fibre suitability | Cotton (ideal), cotton blends |
| Application | Print-on-demand, single pieces, photo motifs |
| Hand feel | Soft, ink in the fibre |
Related product categories
Sources & references
1- Wikipedia: Textildruck Wikipedia — Freie Enzyklopädie https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textildruck
