DTF vs. Heat transfer vinyl, which is better? This is a question that plagues many crafters, as both printing methods have their pros and cons. In this article, we will discuss the reasons why direct-to-film printing is the superior printing method in terms of quality and durability.
DTF printing is the process of using a heat press to transfer inks from a special transfer film onto a substrate. The hot melt powder on the film acts as an adhesive, and once cooled down to room temperature; you can peel off the film.
DTF printing is notably versatile; for example, you can print designs onto cotton, polyester, and metal. With DTF printing, you have the freedom to create a customize an array of products, as the prints are also durable without risk of cracking or stretching. If well taken care of, a DFT print can last for an extended period of time.
The DTF printing technology process usually includes the following steps: design, print on film, apply adhesive powder, cure, trim, heat press, remove the film, and finish.
Another way to personalize fabric products is with vinyl heat transfer. The process starts by printing your design onto white-colored heat transfer vinyl using an eco-solvent printer. Then, use a vinyl cutting plotter to cut along the contours of the artwork.
After you print and cut your design, use a weeding tool to remove the excess vinyl around the artwork until only the desired image is left. Next, apply transfer tape overtop of the entire design to hold everything in place while removing the bottom liner of the heat transfer vinyl&#;you should be left with just adhesive vinyl at this point.
A heat press machine is used to transfer vinyl decals or stickers onto fabric. Using heat instead of adhesive, this method can be performed on various items, including t-shirts, activewear, sweatshirts, hoodies, bags & backpacks.
Not all heat transfer vinyl can be printed on. These types of vinyl come in a wide range of colors, patterns, and styles &#; from basic solid colors to shimmery, reflective materials and even glittery options.
Non-printable vinyl is also quite simple to use&#;only requiring the user to cut and weed the artwork using a vinyl cutting plotter. Then, apply it in the same method as mentioned above. The most common application for non-printable vinyl is in the customization of names and numbers onto jerseys for sports such as football and basketball.
One thing to note is that HTV has both a shiny and dull/muted side. The shiny side of the vinyl material is the carrier, which holds the heat transfer vinyl pieces in place during application to ensure that the cut design is aligned correctly. The opposite side, which has a muted color, is actually where the adhesive lies; this will be attached to your fabric surface.
The process for vinyl heat transfer is as follows: Design > print on heat transfer vinyl> contour cut > weed > apply application tape\> heat press \> remove application tape \> finish.
There are various reasons why we recommend choosing DTF over vinyl transfers. Here are some of them:
Weeding is the first step&#;and arguably the most important one&#;in creating a vinyl heat transfer. If your artwork is detailed or complex, this process can take quite some time. Additionally, it&#;s easy to overlook small details while weeding, which may mean you have to reprint or recut portions of your design.
DTF printing is faster and more efficient because it doesn&#;t require weeding. With DTF technology, the print is transferred directly onto a coated PET film that acts as the transfer paper. This process saves time and money while increasing production rates.
DTF prints are also extremely versatile and can be printed on nearly any fabric, including but not limited to cotton, Cotton blends, polyester, rayon, and silk. Before printing on your chosen fabric with a DTF printer, you must configure your heat press temperature and pressure settings to prevent ruining the garment or causing burns. With DTF printers, you can print onto ceramics and even metallic surfaces&#;the options are endless! It&#;s easy to transfer designs regardless of the shape of the surface. You only need a heat press to apply prints to mugs and other items.
Not to mention, if you have extra prints, you can always sell them individually. If any of your customers want the print job done for themselves, they can buy the excess prints from you. You should keep these stored in a safe place (far from dust and other materials that could ruin them), like a drawer or cabinet, so they&#;re easy to access when needed.
The production rate will show you how quickly a machine can print, so it is an important thing to think about when you are looking for a t-shirt printer. Some entry-level DTF printers can print 4m2/hr, while Roland BN20 vinyl heat transfer printers prints 1.75m2/hr.
The DTF printing and powder curing process is quicker than the cutting process for the vinyl heat transfer printer, which can only be done once the print is completed. Besides printing and cutting, a lot of production time goes into weeding and transferring.
DTF printing is a relatively straightforward process: Design your artwork, Print it on the DTF transfer paper, apply heat and pressure to transfer the design onto the garment, remove the transfer paper and allow the design to cool. It&#;s a simple process that anyone can follow. On the other hand, vinyl printing is a more complex process that requires additional steps, such as weeding.
You don&#;t need to spend time treating clothes for DTG printing or preparing multiple screens for multicolor screen printing orders. You can quickly print out the same design on multiple sheets of film, or use larger, longer rolls to save even more on printing costs.
DTF printing is more affordable than traditional methods like screen printing, vinyl cutting, and direct-to-garment (DTG) printing. The initial investment for a DTF printer is lower because you don&#;t need to purchase any screens or other materials. You also don&#;t need to worry about the cost of darkroom chemicals for developing screens.
DTF printers are also more affordable to operate than other types of printers. For example, a DTF printer uses less ink than a DTG printer, and the film is cheaper than vinyl. Additionally, there are no set-up or screen-printing fees associated with DTF printing.
Also, you could buy two DTF ink bottles for the price of a single DTG ink bottle. You can also find competitively priced transfer films and hot melt powder that have different properties depending on the printing application.
DTF prints are more durable than vinyl or screen-printed designs. The ink is actually bonded to the fabric, so it won&#;t crack, peel, or fade like other methods. DTF prints can also withstand multiple washes without losing their color or quality.
Heat transfer vinyls are not as durable as DTF prints and can start to peel after a few washes. Screen-printed designs can also fade and crack over time.
If you want to print your designs, you will need a printer that can handle the necessary inks. These printers print the design onto transfer film, which is then used to heat-press the design onto a substrate. If you&#;re just starting out, an affordable option is a converted DTF printer (which is simply a standard desktop inkjet printer that has been converted for this purpose). However, these are generally quite cheap and come with several caveats.
DTF printing uses digital water-based inks, which are fairly similar to DTG inks but with some pigment adjustments. Rather than using a wider color gamut, DTF mainly relies on white inks and the standard CMYK colors.
You need to apply the hot melt powder to your design while the inks are still wet. The powder melts and becomes a sticky adhesive, which then enables your design to stick to the adhesive side of the garment. Various elements, such as how much powder is applied, its general properties (e.g., white or black coloring), and even climate, can affect the overall feel/look of the print.
This is a clear film that the design is printed onto. Once the design is printed, the transfer film is used to heat-press the design onto the substrate.
A heat press machine is used to apply pressure and heat to the design, which helps to bond it to the substrate. You can use a standard iron, but a heat press will give you more consistent results.
Whenever you heat press, it&#;s recommended that you use a (Teflon) protective sheet or finishing paper over the film and garment to prevent burning or damage. It&#;s also used in a second pressing which helps bolster the overall design durability.
If you&#;re hoping to create your own graphics, you&#;ll first need reliable graphic design software. Two widely used programs are Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator; however, they can be pricey. If this is your first time venturing into the field of graphic design, there are plenty of free or low-cost alternatives, like GIMP or Inkscape.
To sum it up, DTF printing technology is better than vinyl heat transfer in terms of consumable costs, manpower allocation, and production efficiency. The two printing technologies are often compared, but the main difference is in their workflow processes. DTF has a more efficient and streamlined production process without the need for weeding. This means that time and manpower can be better used for other purposes.
Cutting out DTF transfers can be a time-consuming process, and there is no way to avoid this when producing DTF. A flatbed cutter can streamline the process saving time, it also helps utilise the printable area and save on film. When cutting DTF you need to use what is known as a through cut, this means the blade cuts through the film fully meaning you must use a flatbed cutter with a vacuum bed not a roll fed cutter.
There are three main types of cut used, all are suited to different types of artwork and how the transfers will be used.
Weed border - this is a cut line generated by the Resolute RIP that has straight edges and follows the canvas size of the artwork. You can specify additional padding around the artwork if the print is to close to the edge. A weed border cuts each piece of artwork out and must leave a margin between the jobs. This is the simplest cut to generate and the most popular process used.
Straight vertical and horizontal cuts - this is the fastest method of cutting. The RIP will generate straight cuts on the X and Y axis and then a full cut around the entire film spread. Whilst this is the fastest method cutting it does have some drawbacks. You can only perform a cut from top to bottom and left to right in a single pass, therefore the film spread can only contain multiples of the same artwork. If you mix jobs within the same film spread the cut process will fail. The individual logos will need to be picked from the vacuum belt which can take time but no where near as much time as manual cutting. Straight cuts all require less film in between the logos so they use a little less film.
Contour cut & shape nesting- This method of cutting allows a process called shape nesting to be used, this saves film by tracing the outer edge of the print by a specified amount (4mm is normal) and then rotating the logos to make them fit into a smaller area thus saving on film usage. It can be complicated and will take a few seconds longer for the RIP to process the film spread but if you want to reduce your film usage it's well worth the wait. The image above shows a logo 40 up on a 1m spread, the example below is the same logo imported and then telling the RIP to shape nest it. A further 21 logos are placed making the total on the same 1m spread 61, thats a 30% saving on a single 1m job. Shape nesting is only possible if you have the R-Jet PRO FB cutter, if you use a different type of shape it will be impossible to cut the logos out by hand as shown in the second example.
Shape nesting at its best- A better example of how shape nesting can really save money and time, is when football numbers or similar are being produced. These two images show a standard copied number 1, which fits 49 up on approx 1m of film, count up how many number 1's fit on the same amount of film when shape nesting and a flat bed cutter are put to use! Thats a scary amount of money and time saved.
Image shows the number 1 using copies, this fits 49 up on a 1m film spread.The number of copies has gone from 49 to 138 in the same amount of film, thats pretty impressive and proves shape nesting coupled with the R-Jet PRO FB cutter will soon pay for itself in consumable savings alone. Don't forget, this is an example and not every job will be as impressive, but in general using a cutter will definitely save time cutting transfers out, the saving on film costs is the real icing on the cake!
Tab Cut - To save time picking the logos from the vacuum belt a clever custom cut can be generated called tab cut. This works best when combined with a weed border. By telling the cutter to leave .5mm every 70mm the logos will be left attached to the film spread with a small tab which makes transport to the heat press area much quicker. The logos stay attached by the small un-cut tab and can be quickly popped out when ready to be pressed. This method means there is no time wasted picking individual logos off the belt. There is a small downside to a tab cut, the cutter runs slower but the amount of time and effort saved when moving the logos to the heat press area is so much you won't care. You don't need to stand and watch the cutter!
The Resolute RIP 11.3 can also generate cut lines form a spot colour hairline, this method is used in the old fashioned process called print and cut. You can generate a cut line by using a specified spot colour and calling it a specific name. The RIP will pick this up and generate the cut lines automatically, this means you have no control of the cut line in the RIP and it could take you longer to produce manually in illustrator or corel. However, it can be used to mix different types of cut that require different parameters in the same film spread. You can mix contour cuts with weed borders, tab cuts and similar.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website cncvicut.
R-Jet PRO DTF FB cutter - Resolute now supply a flatbed cutter that is designed for DTF cutting, we can also supply and drive some high end flatbed cutters like the Veloblade used by many commercial printers. A flatbed cutter used for DTF has to have a few unique points in order to work correctly. These may seem trivial but make a huge difference to the cutters reliability and performance.
Why is a DTF cutter different from other cutters - A vacuum belt is required to hold the film in position, this is a much stronger vacuum than you will find on a standard flat bed cutter. When the film is advanced automatically, the cutter will need pneumatic clamps to hold the film in place while it automatically turns off the vacuum in order to advance the film to its next cutting position. Some older designed cutters use a roller to press the film onto the belt at the back, these will cause the film to skew or be scratched and the cutter will lose its position wasting a lot of film. As the adhesive is face up, nothing must touch the film apart from the blade during cutting.
In the next blog I am giving away a LEAVERS 24 illustrator template you can paste names into from word.
QR code scanner - Using a QR code to hold the cut line information is a very quick and fool proof method, without a QR code scanner each job will need to be setup manually which can take some time and can be confusing. A QR code scanner also allows for virtual tiling, this method of cutting means you are not restricted to the cutters bed size area, this is normally 60cm width by 90cm length. When using virtual tiling, the cutter can take a 2m spread and cut it in sections moving it to the next position automatically. This saves a lot of wasted film, if you are restricted to cutting 60cm x 90cm you could waste approximately 12cm of film between each job. Over a 100m roll of film this is more than 10% wasted if you are forced to cut in 90cm lengths.
The Resolute flatbed cutter also utilises the multi function capabilities of our Vi series printers. You can print and then kiss cut custom labels, a kiss cut only cuts through the top layer of media meaning it can be peeled away from the backing when required. Custom self adhesive labels is a very lucrative market, short run including variable data can reach a price of £12 per A4 sheet, you can fit 8 x A4 sheets on a single spread generating £96 per spread. This is a huge margin, you can easily check the normal price for this service on-line. We found only a handful of companies offering short run custom labels which proves there is room for growth in the label sector of print.
You can print posters, stickers, flyers, banners, vinyl labels and even backlit film on an R-Jet PRO DTF V series.
Large Format Printing - Currently, the Resolute R-Jet PRO DTF V4i and V8i are the only multi function DTF systems and have more earning capacity than any other standard DTF printer. If your DTF printer is not going to be working all day, you could be utilising it better by printing popular items like bedroom posters, custom wrapping paper, personalised flyers with variable data, stickers and variable data items with custom peel off labels. You can also up your game by producing your own marketing items in-house reducing costs and allowing you to boost your own company's image. We have produced custom wrapping paper which is a very eye catching product. It looks professional and boosts your companies image for very little cost. A small market research test proved there are thousands of potential orders for custom wrapping paper not being fulfilled. We are currently looking into offering on-line software so your customers can produce their own custom wrapping paper designs, along with DTF gang sheets, standard sticker templates and many more. You can see our demo site here, have a play, the site is not live but should function fully.
For further details on any of the items mentioned in this blog please contact the Resolute sales team on . You can contact the sales team by at or fill out the enquiry form below.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, look out for the next Blog which is all about the new R-Jet PRO DTF UVi. A small footprint DTF UV printer that packs a big punch.
See Ya Soon - CJM