DTF takes full-color art, photos and anything with a guest's name on it. Screen printing takes one to three flat colors on a long run of the same shirt. Plenty of Milwaukee events use both at one station.
DTF transfers
- Best for: label art, photos, gradients, fine type, and a name or number that changes shirt to shirt.
- How it runs: we print the film in Fullerton, it ships with the freight, and each transfer is heat-pressed while the guest waits. Changing the design costs nothing.
- Trade-off: it's pressed on, so there's less of the pull-the-squeegee show for the crowd.
Screen printing
- Best for: a single strong logo, bold shapes, and hundreds of the same shirt.
- How it runs: one screen per color, plastisol ink pulled by hand and flash-cured in front of the line.
- Trade-off: screens are burned before the gear ships, so the art can't change on the day.
A quick way to decide: count how many versions of the art you need. One version on a pile of shirts is screen printing. Lots of versions, or anything photographic, is DTF. Still unsure? Attach the art to a quote request and we'll call it.
Which one Milwaukee events tend to need
A booth at Baird Center putting one show logo on tee after tee is press work. A brewery release in Walker's Point with a busy can label, or a Third Ward pop-up where every guest adds a name, is DTF. Festival tents on the lakefront often run both, the event design on the press and a DTF table for everything else.