Custom Apparel Decoration Methods, Compared
Embroidery is thread stitched through the fabric, DTF is a full-color film heat-pressed onto it, and screen print is ink pushed through a stencil. We run those three along with DTG and vinyl, and the table below sets all five beside sublimation and puff print.
The decoration decides how a piece looks after ten washes, more than the garment does. A logo printed cheaply on a heavy tee looks worse after a year than a modest mark embroidered on a lighter polo. Most buyers spend an hour on the garment and thirty seconds accepting whatever decoration the vendor defaults to.
Puff print is the one method in the table we don't offer. It's there because you'll be quoted it elsewhere and should know what you're comparing.
Seven decoration methods compared
| Method | Relative cost | Wash life | Hand feel | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTG (AffirmGear) | $ (no setup, $3.78 a piece, the same as DTF) | We haven't published a rating yet | Soft, a little stiff on dark garments | Small runs and photographic art. We print it on the tee, the polo, the hoodies and the sweatshirt |
| Screen print (AffirmGear) | $ to $$ (set up per color at most vendors. Ours is priced in one business day) | Good. 50-plus washes with quality ink | A layer of ink you can feel. Water-based inks feel softer | Bold spot color. Ask us which garments suit it |
| Embroidery (AffirmGear) | $ to $$ (priced in one business day, once we see the mark) | Outlives the garment | Raised satin stitch | A mark on any of our eight pieces |
| DTF print (AffirmGear) | $ (digital, no per-color setup. $3.78 a piece, $2.02 on the cap) | 50-plus washes without cracking | Smooth and flush. Flexes with the fabric | Big chest and back graphics, gradients, full color on cotton and blends |
| Vinyl heat transfer (AffirmGear) | $ ($3.03 a piece, no setup) | We haven't published a rating yet | Cut film pressed onto the surface | Names and numbers, or a mark in one or two colors. Every piece we make except the beanie |
| Sublimation | $ (digital, polyester only) | Dye bonds into the fiber and lasts as long as the shirt | Nothing to feel | All-over color on polyester sportswear. We offer it, though none of our eight garments is polyester |
| Puff print | $ (screen print plus a foaming additive) | Good, if nobody irons it | Raised and dimensional. Streetwear-coded | Statement graphics on hoodies, from other vendors |
What DTG is good for
Direct-to-garment is inkjet printing for fabric. The file goes straight to the shirt with no screens and no setup fee, and vendors reach for it on runs under about 20 pieces and on photographic art. We run it on the 220 GSM tee, the polo, both hoodies and the sweatshirt, and it costs what DTF does, so a simple tee with one DTG print is $17.02. We don't publish a wash rating for our DTG yet. For a uniform that goes through the wash every week, we'd point you to DTF, which is rated for 50-plus washes without cracking.
Screen print for volume and exact color
Screen printing pushes ink through a stencil, one screen per color. Because each screen has to be set up, small runs cost a lot and big runs cost little. It does two things better than any other method: exact spot color, since the ink is mixed to your Pantone before it touches fabric (see the brand guidelines guide), and opacity on dark garments. Water-based ink gives a soft hand and plastisol gives maximum punch. Against DTF, the hand is heavier and the spot color is exact. We run screen printing too. Tell us the garments and the colors, and we'll say which pieces suit it and send the price within one business day.
Embroidery is the corporate default.
Embroidery is thread stitched through the garment, which makes it part of the structure where a print is a coating on top. It doesn't crack or peel, and it reads as the serious option from across a table. Both are reasons it's the default for a polo, a hoodie or a cap. We price embroidery within one business day of seeing the mark. A left-chest mark runs 5,000 to 12,000 stitches, and a full back in thread is a different budget.
Thread sets two design rules. Lettering has to be at least 5 mm tall, and gradients have to be simplified, because thread comes in up to 12 solid colors per design. Our designers redraw every logo for thread rather than converting it. All eight of our pieces take embroidery, and a chest mark goes up to about 4 in wide.
DTF print, full color with a smooth finish
Direct-to-film is the method we run when the artwork is the hero. The design prints in full color onto a film, gets a fine adhesive powder, and heat-presses onto the garment. Because the process is digital, there's no per-color setup and no color-count limit, and gradients and fine line work print as drawn. The finish sits flush, flexes with the fabric and is rated for 50-plus washes without cracking. It works on cotton and on blends, dark garments included, and unlike sublimation it needs no polyester. A DTF print adds $3.78 to the garment's price, or $2.02 on the cap, and that one fee covers every spot on the piece printed in DTF.
Chest prints go up to about 10 in wide and back prints up to about 12 in. We use DTF for a big chest or back graphic on a tee, a sweatshirt or a hoodie, for a brand gradient thread can't make, and for the printed label patch on our beanie. Polos take a DTF print as well as embroidery. We take embroidery and DTF apart in why we embroider, and when DTF wins.
Why sublimation is polyester only
Dye sublimation turns solid dye into gas that bonds inside polyester fiber. With the dye in the fiber instead of on it, there's nothing to feel and nothing to crack, and a full-garment print costs the same as a small logo. It only works on light-colored polyester, though, which has made it the staple of sportswear suppliers. We offer it, but none of our eight garments is polyester, because every one of them is cotton or cotton-blend. Edge-to-edge color on a tee or a hoodie is a DTF job here.
Puff print adds loft and reads as streetwear.
Puff print is screen printing with a foaming agent that rises in the dryer and adds 1 to 2 mm of loft. It photographs well and signals streetwear more than corporate, which is right for a launch hoodie aimed at an engineering team and wrong for a client-facing finance uniform. Heat is its one weakness, and wearers have to be told never to iron it. We don't offer puff. For a raised, tactile mark from us, 3D embroidery on the cap or a dense satin stitch on the zip hoodie gets there without the ironing warning.
Choosing a method in 60 seconds
- Photographic art, a gradient or 10-plus colors calls for a DTF or DTG print, and the two cost the same on every garment that takes both.
- A logo on a polo, a hoodie or a cap is embroidered.
- The whole front or back carrying the brand means a large DTF graphic on a tee or a sweatshirt, or across the back of a hoodie.
- A bold graphic at 150-plus pieces can go to DTF, with 22% off the whole order, or to screen print if you need exact spot color.
- Something people will touch should be embroidery, or 3D embroidery on a cap, because a raised mark gets hands on garments at an event.
Most collections mix methods. Poly9's booth capsule pairs a DTF-printed gradient tee with a tonally embroidered polo. The Design Studio proposes a method per piece, and a designer on our team finishes every order. If you want to see a method on the garment before the bulk run, a sample set costs extra and adds about two weeks.
Questions we get.
Which apparel decoration method lasts the longest?
Embroidery lasts longest. The thread is part of the garment rather than a layer on it, and the mark outlives the piece. DTF and a good screen print are rated for 50-plus washes. We haven't published a wash rating for our DTG or vinyl yet.
What is the difference between DTG and screen printing?
DTG prints ink straight onto the garment with no setup, which suits small runs and photographic art. Screen print pushes ink through one stencil per color, usually with a setup charge at other vendors, and wins at volume on price and on color accuracy. We run both. DTG adds $3.78 a piece to the garment, and screen printing gets priced within one business day, once you've asked us which garments suit it.
What is DTF printing in custom apparel?
Direct-to-film prints the artwork onto a film, coats it with adhesive powder and heat-presses it onto the garment. The result is full color with no color-count limit, a smooth flush finish, and 50-plus washes without cracking. We run it alongside embroidery, screen printing, DTG and vinyl, and it costs $3.78 on top of the garment, or $2.02 on a cap.
Can you embroider on any garment?
Most stable fabrics, yes. Piqué, fleece, twill and oxford all take it, and so do all eight of our pieces. Very light jersey puckers under dense stitching, and lettering under 5 mm tall stops being legible. To keep a mark inside those limits, our designers redraw every logo for thread.