This is the question we answer more than any other. The short version: DTF for small runs and full-colour artwork, screen printing for large single-colour runs, embroidery for polos, caps and anything that needs to look corporate. The longer version is below, because the right answer depends on four things - your quantity, your artwork, your garment and your deadline.
The one thing that decides most orders: setup cost
Screen printing needs a physical screen burned for every colour in your design. That work happens once, before a single shirt is printed, and it costs the same whether you order 20 shirts or 2,000.
So a four-colour logo means four screens. On a run of 500 that cost disappears into the per-piece price. On a run of 15 it dominates it.
DTF has no screens. Your artwork is printed onto a film and heat pressed into the garment, so the twentieth shirt costs the same to print as the first. That single difference is why we can print one shirt at the same quality as a hundred.
Embroidery has its own version of setup: your logo must be digitised into a stitch file. That is a one-time cost per design, and then each garment is priced on stitch count.
DTF printing
Choose it when
- You need fewer than about 50 pieces
- Your artwork is full colour, photographic, or has gradients
- Every garment needs a different name or number
- You are in a hurry - most DTF orders are ready within 72 hours
- You are printing on polyester or a performance blend
What it looks like
A DTF print sits on the surface of the fabric with a slight sheen and a soft hand. Colours are bright and opaque, so white and light artwork stays true on a black garment instead of going grey. Fine lines and small text hold well.
Where it falls short
On a very large run of a simple one-colour design, screen printing will beat it on price per piece. More on DTF printing.
Screen printing
Choose it when
- You are ordering in bulk and the design is the same on every piece
- Your design uses one, two or three solid colours
- You want the softest possible hand on a cotton tee
- The garments will be worn and washed hard for years
What it looks like
Ink is pushed into the fabric rather than sitting on top of it, so a cured screen print feels flatter than other methods and holds up through years of washing. On a cotton tee it is still the benchmark for durability.
Where it falls short
Small orders, because of the setup. And photographs, which have to be broken into separate colours - that adds screens and cost quickly. More on screen printing.
Embroidery
Choose it when
- You are decorating polos, caps, jackets, vests or fleece
- The apparel needs to look formal - corporate, clinic, hospitality
- The logo is going on the left chest, a cap front or a sleeve
- You want decoration that outlasts the garment
What it looks like
Stitched, raised, with real texture. It reads as more expensive than a print, and it does not fade, crack or wash out. The thread is part of the garment now.
Where it falls short
Embroidery works in thread, not ink. Photographs, gradients and fine shading cannot be stitched. Very small text loses its shape because letters need room. Every extra thread colour adds cost, unlike DTF where colour is free. And a large full-front design gets heavy and stiff. More on embroidery.
A rough decision path
- Under 50 pieces, any artwork - DTF.
- Over 100 pieces, one or two colours, same design on all - screen printing.
- Polos, caps or jackets for staff - embroidery.
- A photo, a gradient, or individual names - DTF, whatever the quantity.
- Somewhere in between - call us. We will price it both ways.
You can also mix them
A common corporate order is embroidered polos for customer-facing staff and DTF-printed tees for the warehouse team, both carrying the same logo. There is no rule that one order has to use one method.
Not sure? Just call
Send your artwork to meet@printinguncle.com or call 647-739-9487 with your quantity and deadline. We run all three methods in house, so we have no reason to push you toward whichever machine happens to be free. See how ordering works.