The most loved printing method by the company and our customers is Direct-to-Garment Printing. The prices we may offer for small quantites along with flexibility, simplicity and functionality of our T-Shirt, Sweatshirt and Hoodie Design Studio can be achieved only because of this printing method. The main feature of Direct-to-Garment Printers is that they are less complicated than what you normally expect. Many people are surprised with the complicated images that render so accurately on something as soft as a T-shirt or Fleece Hoodie. With DTG you don’t have to order in bulk to get competitive pricing on your custom-print needs, and you also don’t have to sacrifice quality and durability. Essentially, Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing allows personalised T-Shirts to be produced at a cost effective price for once-off events, or for customer’s who don’t require a large quantity of garments. By learning the differences between Direct-to-Garment and other types of printing, you will see that DTG is the ideal method for virtually every project! To help you understand the advantages, disadvantages and ideal uses of Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing i will compare it to other printing methods:

Screen Printing is expensive and labor-intensive, especially with setup. Direct-to-Garment Printers have almost no setup at all. That makes DTG Printers much more cost effective for one-offs and smaller orders (up to about 150 garments). With Screen Printing, several garments need to be in a minimum order, to make up for setup costs. With Screen Printing, after setup, cost of Screen Printing can be less than Direct-to-Garment Printer designs. However, Screen Printing does not reproduce the accuracy or the range of colors of DTG. Screen Printing also uses a variety of different types of ink, such as metallic or glow-in-the-dark. On the other hand, Direct-to-Garment printer inks work with DTG Foil if you want a shiny designs with a DTG Printer.

Heat Transfers use heat with pressure to bond ink on the surface of a substrate, whereas DTG binds directly to a fabric’s fibers and does not need the heat component, except to dry the ink. Direct-to-Garment Printers provide a much better quality product than heat transfers.

Dye Sublimation and Direct-to-Garment Printers are both types of digital printing, so they each convert digital images from computer to the substrate of a garment. Dye sublimation uses heat to transform ink from solid directly to a gas, bypassing the liquid form of DTG Inks. Heat creates the gas that infuses the substrate’s fibers, so they can print on polyester that Direct-to-Garment printers can only do with proper pretreatment.

What can be printed using Direct to Garment (DTG) printing method?

T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Hoodies, Sweatpants & Shorts. Direct-to-Garment water based inks are formulated to print on 100% Cotton garments, but higher Cotton content blends will work as well. With a special Polyester pretreatment, you can print on light color 100% Polyester as well (No white ink!).

What is my order minimum?

No minimum order using Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing and that's what makes it special. Small orders and one-offs print at a reasonable price.

What is turnaround time for Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing orders?

Up to 5 working days. Rush service available.

Can you print more than four colors?

Yes! A DTG printer can produce over 160.000 colors. Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printer uses CMYK color model: CMYK colors is a combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black.

What is the largest printing area that you can print?

Our largest printing area is 60cm x 37.5cm.

How is price calculated? What factors affect my pricing?

a) Garment Type - what quality apparel is being ordered. The brands BE + UNIQUE carries vary in price, but we use our purchasing power to get you the best possible deal on blank apparel. We buy from manufacturers located all over the world and do so in large quantities. Then we transfer those savings to you - customer.

b) Order Quantity - the number of garments you order with the same design. Our printing process dictates that if you order a greater quantity of shirts, you’ll save money. It’s simply less expensive for BE + UNIQUE team to set up and print a large number of the same design than it is to set up and print a small number of a single design.

c) Garment Colour - white garments or colour/black ones. DTG inks are virtually transparent and actually designed to be used only on white fabric. Companies that own Direct to Garment (DTG) printers without white ink, often print on light colored shirt, even though their printers were designed to be used only on white shirts. Printing a photograph on a light blue shirt without having the ability to use a white base coat will give your image a light blue cast. You must have a white base coat of ink if you don’t want the garment color to effect the color of the imprint. Subsequently we can print on colour garment, even black garments, but printing on it will increase price along with durability, cause more ink will be used in printing process.

d) Printing Locations - the amount and locations of printing on the garment. Each printing location on a piece of apparel (i.e. Front, Back, Sleeve etc.) demands a specific set-up in order to execute. Therefore, multiple printing locations on your apparel will raise the price.

What is the lowest/highest resolution image or design that you can print?

We can print any resolution, but graphics with under 300 DPI may look pixilated and crummy. We highly recommend that you only submit full size images with at least 300 DPI. The quality of the print will depend on the quality of the original artwork/photo. Our Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printer is high performance, expensive and one of the best available on the market, but it can’t make low resolution files grabbed from the internet look crisp.

Can you handle gradients in a graphic?

Yes. Direct to Garment (DTG) is great for photo printing. So we can definitely handle gradients, halftones, etc.

What artwork files do you accept?

Vector format would be the perfect one to provide. We accept .psd, .tiff, .jpg, .png, .eps, .pdf and .ai files.

Can you make a design for me?

No, for that kind of custom services you should visit our base website beunique.ie.

Can you only print on white or light-colored shirts?

We can print on any color garment. Unlike older Direct to Garment (DTG) Printing technology, we have white ink capabilities, which must be available for printing on color/black garments, cause a layer of white ink under the color must be printed to make colors of the artwork/design look vibrant on a colour/black garment.

What types of fabrics can you print on?

We can print on almost any fabric. However, we prefer to print with 100% Cotton Garments. For the best results and vibrant colors, 100% Cotton is preferred. A 100% Cotton, high thread count garment will produce the best quality print. We can also print on cotton blends and polyester for a more muted look.

How do I wash a garment with a DTG image on it?

Garments printed using Direct to Garment (DTG) Printing technology have excellent washability because the ink actually penetrates into the fabric. The print will not crack or peel off after a few washes. To be safe, turn it inside out for the first few washes, and wash on cold. Use Gentle Wash soap. Wash on the most gentle setting also washing the least amount of time. Do not add bleach.! ​For best drying results we recommend to air dry. Do not dry in direct sunlight to prevent fading. Drying your T-Shirt with no heat will provide the most longevity to your garment. When Ironing Your T-Shirt make sure it is reversed inside out.