Kona, Hawaii Shirts: DTF or Screen Printing?

Looking for custom-printed shirts in Kona, Hawaii? There are basically two options: screen printing and DTF.

There are some critical differences between screen printing and Direct to Film (DTF) printing. There are times when you would choose one or the other, but clearly, the Hawaii market is moving toward the more colorful, faster-turnaround DTF process.

Screen printing for apparel became widespread in the 1970s. The process requires a screen for each color, and the ink is spread over the screen, allowing it to pass through the holes. This, of course, is very limiting, as you can only realistically make a one-to-four-screen process — four colors —and each color beyond the first adds higher costs. That said, if you need 1000 shirts printed for your construction company, and you’re ok with your logo in one color, the price per shirt with screen printing will be less.

DTF machines, which are essential printers that print to a film, which is then applied to fabric, are the future of customized apparel. Short runs, from a single shirt to several hundred, can be made very quickly, in a matter of a day or so. There are no per-color charges, so that a rainbow would cost the same as a white square. Many people find the colors, the turnaround time, and the quality of DTF to make it the easy choice.

Here’s a good summary of the other significant differences.