Digital Printing or Screen Printing
Is screen printing or digital printing better? Both traditional screen printing and digital printing (DTG) are very high quality textile printing techniques with a very high resistance to washing. In addition, both t-shirt printing techniques allow printing on garments of any colour.
So, how to choose between screen printing and DTG to make custom t-shirts?
Textile screen printing
Although certain processes have been automated, it is still a handmade system. Each colour of the design requires its own photolithograph and screen. Textile screen printing is the most popular printing system.
Screen printing process
Advantages
In our workshops we can print on all types of garments: T-shirts, polo shirts, mackintoshes, caps, sweatshirts, bags, fleeces, etc. and we have fairly short delivery times of between 7 and 15 days.
But the main advantage of screen printing is its quality/price ratio. It is a medium-cost technique that can be adapted to all budgets by adjusting the number of inks.
Limitations
Customised screen-printed T-shirts have a maximum of 8 inks on white T-shirts and 6 on coloured T-shirts. In addition, screen printing works with a system of spot colours that does not allow the reproduction of photographs, gradients or shadows.
Finally, there is a minimum number of garments for screen printing: 10 units.
Digital printing
This is a relatively new system of textile printing similar to screen printing but which does not require screens or photolithographs. T-shirts are printed directly onto the garment using a high-definition printer.
Advantages
The main advantage of digital printing is that, unlike screen printing, there is no colour limit. It allows you to print T-shirts with photographs, gradients and shades with an incredible quality and with a result that is even less perceptible to the touch than classic screen printing.
There is no minimum order and for small runs of personalised T-shirts it is faster than screen printing, between 3 and 10 days.
Limitations
The cost of printing is medium-high. For tight budgets and for large print runs, screen printing is more recommendable, the delivery time is shorter.
For the moment, it is also not possible to print on caps, mackintoshes, difficult materials in general, or T-shirt sleeves.