It depends on the design. If the design is a solid 12 x 12 with no shirt color used within the design, all printing methods except for dye-sub and water based discharged printing will feel heavy. An experienced DTF designer can create 12 x 12 designs that will feel great. Who prints your design will also make a major difference. The companies you mentioned may not be the best. You should test to see who gives you the best soft transfer.

 

So when you say feel heavy on a tee is it make or break like will a customer be like God dam this t shirt dont feel right or is it something
most dont casuals dont pay any attention to. as for companies to buy dtf film, I heard stahls and tko was legit have you heard something different?


and lastly thanks for your response,

 

a heavier shirt would be better, but still not great (unless you have a lot of negative space in the design)
there was a guy on here a while back that was doing really thick and heavy tee's for the skateboard scene, so there is demand for those (would those be ok for your target???)

another option is to use a heavier tee, but not the really thick, and market it as 'retro mall tee's - a taste of the good old days/'80's/etc.'
i still remember my first mall tee ~40 years ago, going through the books and choosing a mr. bill design, they pressed it on the spot and it was ready in 5 minutes

best is a hoodie/sweatshirt for these dtf's though

 

best is a hoodie/sweatshirt for these dtf's though

Hmmm...
In my opinion DTF on hoodies and sweatshirts looks worse than it does on t-shirts.
I personally prefer HD prints, emroidery, and Aplique on hoodies.
In general, I prefer prints on hoodies to have some texture.

 

It depends on the design. If the design is a solid 12 x 12 with no shirt color used within the design, all printing methods except for dye-sub and water based discharged printing will feel heavy.

Well... that simply isn't true, but this is not the question asked.

does it matter about the shirt material? meaning ringspun can handle DTF Film better than a regular cotton shirt? how bout cotton/poly .

Ringspun or not, doesn't really make any difference.
As for the composition, DTF works well with both cotton and polyester, but there are a few things you need to watch out for.

Shrinkage is a bit of a problem on some 100% cotton shirts (example).
Most 100% cotton shirts will eventually shrink at list a bit, sooner or later, so 50/50 or tri-blends are recommended.

Dye migration is another issue, when using polyester or polyester blend garments that contain dyed polyester (example).
This issue affects most decoration methods involving high temperatures by the way.

but was wondering if it would weigh it down and make it feel cheap, stiff and heavy.

DTF does feel cheap... There is no way around that.
When people want a single shirt with a custom design printed on it for $25, they have to comprimize.
If they are willing to pay $200 for it, it can be sceen-printed.
Having said that, DTG on white shirts is better than DTF, and does not have the wrinkling issue.

 

Well... that simply isn't true, but this is not the question asked.

From your current and prior post we all know how you feel about DTF. However, it is your opinion. The fact is that DTF can be the best solution in many situations and is the fastest growing printing method. My answer did answer the question a lot better than your comments. In my opinion and many others if you don't want a heavy feel when printing a large print, dye-sub and discharge water base screen printing are best. Even screen printing a large area in plastisol ink will create a heavy shirt.

 

My answer did answer the question a lot better than your comments.

This true now, because the question has been edited.
Very interesting... So I will ask a more specific question myself.

Let's say I want to print this full front design on a white tee, 100% cotton.
I will also point out that white tees are as popular as the black ones, so this is an important point.
Which method would you say will produce a softer print... DTF or DTG?

In my opinion and many others if you don't want a heavy feel when printing a large print, dye-sub and discharge water base screen printing are best.

You are forgetting (or maybe don't know) that discharge inks are regular whaterbased inks.
The discharge additive does not make them softer.
Interesting predicament don't you think?

Even screen printing a large area in plastisol ink will create a heavy shirt.

Plastisol can actually be nearly as soft as water-based. Softhand additives and reducers exist for this very reason
The difference is that you cannot iron plastisol prints. Plastisol will melt.

 

no, i would not either

This is actually a good point.
Softness and breathability are not important on hoodies and sweatshirts.
They are a much more expensive garment however, so quality and durability are much more important.
Would you buy a DTF printed hoodie for $60? I wouldn't.

whoa whoa whoa why wouldnt you pay 60 bucks for a dtf hoodie?
what if the design was DOPE and the shirts came from Rue porter/la apparel?
you guys wont pay 60 bucks cause its too much for a hoodie or cause you feel DTF is so rubbish that
you wouldnt dare pay that unless it was screen printed?

thanks

 

whoa whoa whoa why wouldnt you pay 60 bucks for a dtf hoodie?
what if the design was DOPE and the shirts came from Rue porter/la apparel?
you guys wont pay 60 bucks cause its too much for a hoodie or cause you feel DTF is so rubbish that
you wouldnt dare pay that unless it was screen printed?

thanks

never go by crackpots on the internet as far as what the general public will, or will not, like, and the price they will pay
there are general design rules, and general customer-supplied artwork decoration rules/wants, but when you get to a person's own creations it is anybody's guess

if you can knock-out any colors in your designs at all it would help, usually colors that match shirt color
i can't remember if you are printing your own or ordering, if you go up to post #7 in this thread and click on the link in his sig line you can order a sample
then if the hand is not to you and your friends/families liking then ask him for suggestions (don't tell them you are concerned about it when looking for feedback, just ask them how they think the tee came out)

i would stick to 50/50 blends, as these will not shrink like 100% cotton when laundered, causing cracking as your design will not shrink with the garment
the good news for you is heathers were very popular in the '80's, and these can be had in 50/50 or 65/35 poly/cotton blends (like gildan sofstyle 6400's)

i know my nephew would not care a whit about thickness or breathability if the design was to his liking
never underestimate the power of 1 person putting a t-shirt on their social media and everyone clamoring to get that same t-shirt

i have high hopes for you

found an old pic of a t-shirt kiosk

 

Would a name brand dtf company like stahls etc etc make it feel lighter /smoother and different than
cheap heat transfer vinyl or ??

For sure... some better than others, but they all feel cheap.

btw this heavy feeling on a shirt is this enough to turn away customers or most casuals dont care.

How would you feel about it?
I think you should just get some samples and see for yourself.

 

Put simply, I have 1,000s of shirts pressed using DTF and it is simply the best all around (including screen print). Your design dictates the soft hand level along with other factors you control like using Teflon, second pressing, etc..

 

Put simply, I have 1,000s of shirts pressed using DTF and it is simply the best all around (including screen print).

Umm, no. Even after a 1,000 years of innovation using other methods (like DTF), screen printing is still the best all around method of decorating apparel.

 

I have to agree, with everything weighed up, DTF is the way to go. I was at a trade show recently and it was wall to wall DTF, it is taking over, and with it still being relatively new it is improving very rapidly.

 

meat pigeons were all the rage at one time too, as were pet rocks, as were bell-bottom jeans, as was forest green interior paint, etc., etc.

fads come and go, look at the old '80's mall pic i posted in this thread
transfers were all the rage back then, now they are the rage gain, can you see the pattern yet?

then couple that with splathead's comment above:
Umm, no. Even after a 1,000 years of innovation using other methods (like DTF), screen printing is still the best all around method of decorating apparel.

one thing is not like the others

 

meat pigeons were all the rage at one time too, as were pet rocks, as were bell-bottom jeans, as was forest green interior paint, etc., etc.

fads come and go, look at the old '80's mall pic i posted in this thread
transfers were all the rage back then, now they are the rage gain, can you see the pattern yet?

then couple that with splathead's comment above:
Umm, no. Even after a 1,000 years of innovation using other methods (like DTF), screen printing is still the best all around method of decorating apparel.

one thing is not like the others

Again, I agree, that's why I do both. But dtf isn't going away anytime soon.

 

BTW, Bella+Canvas is almost always used to print on for us.

 

Your design dictates the soft hand level along with other factors you control like using Teflon, second pressing, etc..

Do you have an answer to my question? (post #8 above).

it is simply the best all around (including screen print).

 

Do you have an answer to my question? (post #8 above).

Hi Bob, you seem to be a very knowledgeable person on apparel printing/pressing technology, that said, I would agree that white would be more soft-hand using the exact same DTF transfer except printing with a gradient white under base which would be sufficient for a white shirt, maybe not so much on a black shirt (even though I always print under base white with gradients.

 

You mean the cheapest way.

 

I guess it's like everything, either technology can be excellent in quality and price. It's a matter of the skill, the artwork, the film, ink, equipment quality etc. that was used. To say that screen printing is the best all-around is simply not true in all cases.

 

To say that screen printing is the best all-around is simply not true in all cases.

It is true, and all the other methods are basically low volume substitutes for screen-printing.
If we are talking about cotton or cotton blends, low number of copies is the only exception.
White polyester is another exception, because sublimation works really well for this. In most cases at least.

Any time you need 10 or more copies, screen-printing or hybrid DTG (digital over screen) become economically viable and are the best options by far.

• Super durable prints (DTF doesn't come close),
• Super soft print (or super thick, depending on preference),
• All the color and texture variety you can possibly get (metallic inks, glitter, neon, glow in the dark, reflective).

 

I was at a trade show recently and it was wall to wall DTF

How is this a good thing?

it is taking over

Taking over the transfer industry that is.
But you will not see branded tees done this way.

 

How is this a good thing?


Taking over the transfer industry that is.
But you will not see branded tees done this way.

I agree totally, I never said it was a good thing. Branded shirts will always be screen printed, too cost effective to do it any other way. But my business where orders range from 1 to whatever, maximum usually around a couple of hundred, it's ideal. Any bigger orders we would screen print them. It has also been a double edged sword for us, as we wholesale out printed film, anyone with a press can now be a t-shirt printer putting out decent results.