• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to footer
KKP | Kwik Kopy Printing

KKP | Kwik Kopy Printing

DC full-service design studio and print shop

  • Home
  • About
    • About us
    • Turnaround times
    • File requirements
    • Delivery
  • Products
  • Services
    • Overview
    • Design
    • Print
    • Web
  • FAQ
  • Pricing
    • Job estimates
    • Our pricing system
  • Upload
  • Contact

DTG vs. Screen Printing

April 12, 2017 By Tom Gimer

DTG stands for “direct to garment” printing. It’s basically digital inkjet printing of special ink directly onto fabric.

Screen printing is a bit different. It’s hardly printing at all. This method involves pressing ink through a screen that has been prepped to act like a stencil. Some areas of the screen are blocked, preventing ink to penetrate and creating the design pattern.

Why would you choose one method over the other? Here are a couple of the major issues:

Color printing

While it is possible to do multi-color printing with screen printing, to do so requires a screen to be made for each color to be used in the design. Each color is then “printed” separately. Three colors = three screens = three passes per garment.

With DTG, you can print millions of colors. Ink is in the printhead and all colors are printed at the same time, without the need to do color separations or create separate screens.

Small batches, short runs

With screen printing, each color to be printed requires a screen to be made. So, for example, to print an American flag, you would create a screen for the red content and a screen for the blue content. If you were printing on a white shirt, you could use the white of the shirt for the stars and white stripes. If you were printing on a black or other colored shirt, you would need to create a third screen for the stars and white stripes. At $30 per screen on average, your first t-shirt would already cost $90, before the print process has begun!

With DTG, there are no screens to create. The design, no matter how complicated, can be printed as-is, straight from design software. This makes it possible to create the first shirt for the same cost as the 2nd and so on. That’s why with DTG there are no minimums. Prices generally decrease as quantity goes up, but short runs are not cost-prohibitive.

So…

For full-color printing and short runs, you simply have to go with DTG. Same result for designs that are customized for the user, such as adding names, titles or different content. For 1, 2, 3 or even 4 color printing, there will be a sweet spot in terms of quantity where it will make sense to switch to screen printing.

Related posts you might like:

  1. New garment printing capabilities
  2. Same day t-shirt printing
  3. New service: Direct to Garment Printing

Filed Under: Design, Print, Misc

About Tom Gimer

I guess you'd call me the "technical" guy at the shop. When the machines start to act up, they call me in. (I then call a service tech.) When I'm not dealing with the machines or writing or editing copy and/or code for clients, I also practice real estate law. It's a long story. Connect with me on LinkedIn or on the golf course.

• Graphic Design • Printing • Web Design • Marketing Materials • Wide Format Printing • Signs • Posters • Banners • Backdrops • Large Format • Vinyl Signage • Wall & Window Graphics • Branding • Promotional Products • Direct Mail • Business Cards • Postcards • Flyers • Books • Brochures • Booklets • Business Forms • Folders • Invitations • Envelopes • Stickers • Labels • Perfect Binding • Coil Binding • Spiral Binding • Comb Binding • Saddle Stitching • Bindery • Laminating • T-Shirt Printing • Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing • Custom T-Shirts • Variable Data Printing (VDP) • Website Design • Web Graphics • Site Maintenance • Web Hosting • Scanning • Fax

Footer

KKP | Kwik Kopy Printing

1111 34th St, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202 362-8399 (phone)
202 664-1313 (fax)
info@kkpdc.com

Pricing Request

  • Please be as specific about your project as you can -- graphics, layout, sizes, materials, inks, finishing, etc. Include quantities to quote.
  • Drop files here or
    Accepted file types: pdf, jpg, png, ai, indd, psd.

Our Strategy

• add value through experience
• top quality is essential
• crush every deadline

Recent Posts

  • Why we ditched our e-commerce platform…
  • Holiday Card Ideas
  • New: Same-Day Custom Vinyl
  • DTG vs. Screen Printing
  • Now available: Short-run labels
  • New garment printing capabilities
Terms and Conditions · Customer Satisfaction Policy · Privacy Policy · Copyright © 2018