DTF Transfers for Screen Printers
DTF transfers for screen printers: send us the jobs your screens lose money on, and keep your presses on the runs they're built for. Full color art, short runs, mixed garments and names on every shirt all go on one gang sheet, printed in house in LA and shipped the same day on orders before 1PM PT.
- Best for
- Short runs, full color, mixed sizes
- Setup
- No screens, no separations
- Ships
- Same day before 1PM PT
- Wholesale
- Volume pricing on approval
The jobs screens lose money on
Every screen printer knows the order that looks fine on paper and eats the afternoon: 18 shirts, 7 colors, three garment colors and a back print. By the time you've burned, registered and cleaned the screens, the job's margin is gone.
- Short runs with lots of colors. DTF costs the same whether the art has 2 colors or 20.
- Photos and gradients. No halftone separations, no simulated process.
- Names and numbers. Every name is just another design on the sheet.
- Mixed garment colors. The white underbase is built in, so one transfer works on black and white shirts alike.
- Odd placements. Sleeves, pockets, hats and hard-to-load items.
- Reorders of old jobs. No reclaiming and reburning screens for 12 pieces.
Where screen printing still wins
We're not going to tell you to stop pulling squeegees. Big runs of simple spot-color art are still cheapest on press, and some customers want the hand of a soft discharge or water-based print. DTF is the tool for everything else. The full breakdown is in DTF vs screen printing, and how DTF compares to plastisol transfers is in screen print transfers vs DTF.
How shops use us
Overflow
When the press schedule is full, move the short, colorful jobs to transfers and press them in between runs.
Saying yes to small orders
Quote the 12-piece full color job you'd normally turn away. Press it in minutes.
Adding a service without equipment
Running your own DTF line means a printer, a powder shaker, a dryer, ink costs and maintenance. Outsourcing gets you the product without the line. We cover that tradeoff in in-house DTF printing vs brokered transfers.
Ordering
- Apply for wholesale. Volume pricing by email, and wholesale orders move ahead of hobby orders. Details on our wholesale DTF transfers page.
- Build a gang sheet. Pack every design and size from a job onto one gang sheet.
- Press. 300°F, high pressure, 10 seconds, peel hot, 5 second post-press. Your existing heat press does the job.
Art from your existing files
Your separated files aren't what we need. Send the composite art as a transparent PNG at print size, around 300 DPI. Vector art exported to PNG at size works great. See our artwork specs.
FAQ
Do I need a special heat press for DTF?
No. A standard clamshell or swing-away press works. Press at 300°F, high pressure, 10 seconds, peel hot.
Do DTF transfers work on the same blanks I screen print?
Yes. Cotton, polyester and blends all press with the same settings, on light and dark garments.
Is there a minimum?
No minimums on any order.
How fast can I get transfers?
Orders placed before 1PM PT ship the same business day.
Send us your short runs
Apply for wholesale pricing, then build your first sheet.