A blank T-shirt is loaded into the DTG printer and we press the big green button. The print heads scan across the shirt, printing in full color at up to 1200 dpi. This resolution gives us photographic quality results.
Once the print is finished, the shirt is loaded into the heat press where the fabric dye is cured at about 360F and bonds permanently with the fabric of the shirt. The print is now color fast and will last as long as the shirt itself. It is recommended to wash all printed shirts inside-out to prolong the life of the shirt.
The Equipment
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The picture above shows the GT-3 garment printer
Memorable Impressions uses the latest GT-3 series DTG printer from Brother International. Brother has been designing and making printers for years and they built this printer from the ground up, formulating their own inks and designing special print heads just for the DTG process.
Using the GT-3, we can print on white and colored shirts in thousands of colors with the subtle shading reminiscent of air brush art or the sharp details of magazine advertisements. If we can see it on the computer monitor, we can print it on a shirt.
Not Just Shirts
If an object can lay flat in the printer, it is a candidate for DTG printing. We have successfully printed on blank skateboard decks, Thirsty stone coasters, tote bags, stretched canvas artwork, and most recently quilt squares. We can print a fabric panel with photos to use in memory quilts and it is ready to the quilter to trim and sew into that one-of-a-kind family treasure.
Direct To Garment printing opens up a whole new world of creativity with high-color, high-resolution results previously out of reach to clubs, sports teams, small businesses, homemakers, and last-minute gift givers. The only limitation is your creativity!
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Direct To Garment (DTG) printing is the newest hi-tech way to create full-color custom T-shirts, quilt panels, pillowcases, Hoodies, and many other items without the drawbacks of traditional screen printing. The DTG process does not use screens so there is no setup and the process is environmentally friendly because the colors are water-soluble and printed directly to the garment.
Since there are no screens or other setup issues, it is now possible to create and print custom artwork in single piece quantities without breaking the bank.
How DTG Printing Works
Imagine a giant ink-jet printer like you have in your home or office. Instead of a sheet of paper, a T-shirt is loaded into the printer and instead of ink for paper, fabric dye is sprayed onto the shirt by the print heads. The heads move back and forth and the shirt slowly slides out from the printer as the print proceeds.
Once the print is finished, the shirt is loaded onto a heat press and the dye is heat set into the fabric. At this point, the print is permanent and has become part of the shirt.
It Starts with the Artwork
Anything that can be collected and displayed on the computer can be printed using the DTG process. Any software the lets you place images and text is suitable. At Memorable Impressions, we work in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, but MS-Paint and lots of freeware is out there for simple work.
The goal is to arrive at a high resolution image so that it can be scaled without loss of quality for placement on the shirt. Images with resolution around 300 dots per inch (dpi) make for good prints and vector formats (WMF, EMF, PNG, etc.) are ideal because they scale without loss.
A good rule of thumb for graphics work is to work large. Big images can always be scaled small later but the reverse is not true so look for the biggest images you can find if you are trolling the web.
If this step seems complicated or you just don’t want to do your own design work, don’t worry! We are happy to consult with you and do the design for you. Just give us a call to discuss it.
The Printing Process
What is Direct to Garment Printing
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