Is DTG Dead?

From the inception, DTG has always been a flawed technology with a high failure rate for those who ventured in it. One reason being the high costs of repair as well as consumables, for those of us who made a business out of it. Also, there have always been limitations where you can only print on cotton garments. Not to mention, having to communicate and educate to a customer on how to wash and care for their garments, while also explaining the reason for pre-treat stains on light colored garments. Now fast forward 20 years later, and those limitations are still the same with the exception of a few direct to garment printers on the market. So we should ask ourselves: Is DTG Dead?

Having incorporated DTF to our services for the last 2 years and doing DTG for the last 13 years, one can’t help but notice how easy it is to enter the market for potential business owners. Most printers are easy to convert to DTF for smaller home businesses. Therefore making it easier for DTF printers to be fixed, in the event it were to malfunction. DTG however, requires more technical skills to build or troubleshoot a DIY printer.

Secondly, we began to notice how simple it is to recommend DTF to all our customers and potential customers because of the great wash fastness or durability compared to DTG. In the early days of DTF, it was considered as an alternative to DTG printing. But from our estimate those roles have changed and now DTG is only kept for the customer that wants a certain soft garment feel. Which makes us ask again: Is DTG Dead?

Additionally, DTF transfer sheets are flexible and versatile because they can be applied to various substrates. This factor alone is quite the game changer because we are now able to take on jobs that used to only ever be possible through screen printing.

Even if you have contracts that require DTG printing, those contracts are far and few. Despite the slight color advantage of DTG, it is no longer enough to supersede DTF printing. We believe that DTG is dead or at least partially and will eventually be an alternative to DTF printing.

Want to learn more about DTF Printing? Read: Print on Demand DTF Printing or DTG vs. DTF Update