Digital Printing on Light and Dark Coloured Shirts

By Seomul Evans


Direct to garment printing or DTG which includes digital direct printing and inkjet printing is a process that directly prints design onto textiles thru the use of modified inkjet printers and inkjet technologies. This assures that pixels interpreted thru digitizing are embedded to the garments in a clean and precise manner. Digital direct printing or DTG also allows for faster printing times as compared to the traditional silk screen printing which involves film positives, pre-treated screens and clasps. This cuts the production time significantly and creates more vivid and crisp images printed over customized shirts.

It is possible to make customized shirts on dark coloured shirts thru Digital Direct method. PNG or JPG files are used to create designs and then digitally embed them onto the coloured shirt for print. The resulting product is sharp but is not as vividly crisp compared to Flex printing method. In Digital Direct method, you are limited to CMYK colours and you cannot create special effects like glitter, sparkles or metallic colours. Printing white colour on dark coloured shirts are made possible thru digital direct to garment printing thru the use of pre-treatment of shirts before engaging the CMYK inkjet technology.

Customized shirts can be done in various types of fabrics. Silk screen printing has been around for quite some time now, and the evolution towards digital direct to garment printing is influenced by certain factors that include: increase in production time, cost, ability to perform intricate designs and the ability to successfully print light designs on darker canvasses without any compromise in quality. Silk screen printing involves a number of methods and processes that would take a lot of time which includes the drying and setting process whereas, the digital direct to garment technology would render a fraction of the time as compared to the former. Silk screen printing is still being performed today by local print shops. However they have come to the realization that there is an eminent threat thru the existence of digital printers and modified inkjet ink feeders that cater to both CMYK and RGB formats. Clients can now opt to have their photos embedded on shirts via digital direct to garment technology.

There is a significant difference between silk screen printing and Digital Direct to garment printing. One evident difference is time consumption. There are various processes in making customized shirts. Silk screen printing takes more time to prepare, undertake and set as a lot of factors are involved in silk screen painting. There is also a considerable amount of materials needed for silk screen printing. On the other hand, digital direct to garment printing requires less materials and less processing time to get the job done. PNG and JPG files can be edited by the use of digital imaging and image modification software like Photoshop and Corel Draw which is vortex based which caters more on creating text designs and 3d imagery as opposed to the former which focuses more on editing images thru enhancements and certain levels of modification.

Caring for both silk screen customized shirts and digital direct to garment shirts vary in certain aspects. Some require the use of hand wash as opposed to machine wash primarily aimed at preserving the colour quality of the prints. Certain care instructions also suggest the use of special cleaning agents to promote colour enhancement and longevity. Others may opt to warn the consumers about certain abrasive agents that may ruin or stain the prints upon contact. These are provided for by the manufacturer as post print care.




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