Before You Print: Printing Basics

Please feel free to Request a quote

Person to Person visit by Appt Only: Call (206) 818-6176 to schedule
Address: 2615 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502
Email: dmpprinting@gmail.com

Please do not drop by the office without an appointment. We are not always there. Call my cell to schedule an appointment: 206-818-6176

DIGITAL PRINTING - DTG (Direct-To-Garment)

NOTE: If your graphics are not print ready, DMP Printing is not responsible for the way the graphic is printed or any changes made to graphic to make it print ready. We try our very best to help the client get the best results, but it is extremely difficult to print graphics that is not print ready or low resolution. Please ask for specs for ideal print resolutions.

Pros:

No minimum order
More cost efficient on short run orders
Reproduces photographs with crisp, clean detail
Full Color at no extra cost
No limitation to the number of colors in the design
Soft to the touch

Cons:

Less cost efficient than screen printing on bulk orders
Exact color matching is not available
Maximum print area of 12" wide by 14" tall
Fabric must be a minimum of 90% cotton
Print time is longer
Ink is more expensive

Digital Printing Digital printing is the process of using a printer head to apply ink directly to a piece of apparel or fabric. Digital printing is fairly new but advanced technology that affords the ability to print small run orders on both white and colored garments. If you think about your paper printer at home, a digital printer is the same thing but for garments! With digital printing the color palette is unlimited, which allows you recreate virtually anything from single color logos to high-color photographs. You could have a photo printed on a t-shirt and give it to grandma. Creating customized single pieces has never been easier.

SCREENPRINTING

Pros:

More cost efficient for bulk orders
Larger printing area available
More flexible for fabrics not at least 80% cotton
Wider Array of Inks available, including Giltters, Foils, Shimmers, etc
"Color Matching Available"

Cons:

Min. order of 6 -12 shirts depending on company
Not economical for under bulk
Cannot produce super fine details in photographs
Increase in # of colors causes increase in print cost
Sometimes have a thick finish

Screen Printing Screen Printing is one of the most commonly used methods in apparel decorating. It is the process of pushing ink through a mesh screen one color at a time. Although the method uses a system of spot coloring, halftones and blends, it can be used to create an image that appears to have a countless number of colors. Screen printing as a production method quickly overtakes Digital Printing in cost per print. The higher the volume, the lower the cost per print becomes. Screen printing also has the advantage of a large selection of different types of inks that are all considerably less expensive per garment than Digital Printing inks, such as our Specialty Inks.

WHY THE COLOR OF THE GARMENT MATTERS (Digital):
The process to create a T-shirt print for a white/light colored garment is much easier and faster than on a colored/dark garment/prints requiring white ink. Thus, as far as pricing goes, printing on a dark garment will have a more expensive price point.

The terms light garment and dark garment are used to identify whether a white underbase needs to be applied to a garment before printing the CMYK ink. Direct to garment inks are semi-translucent and the color of the garment can show through on some light colors in your artwork.

Light garments do not require a white underbase to be printed first in order to print the desired colors in the artwork. Dark garments require a white underbase to be printed first because the shirt is darker than the color(s) in the artwork. If you have white in your artwork anywhere you will need white ink pricing.

WHITE SHIRT/LIGHT GARMENT: 1 side print = 1 print & 1 press

WHITE INK/DARK GARMENT: 1 side print = 1 pretreat, 1 press, 1 print white, 1 print color, 1 press

So if you want to save a little money, design a graphic that doesn’t require white ink.