Printing Methods

There are plenty of printing techniques in fashion and clothing, especially for printing clothes and prints. The choice of printing method depends on purpose, execution, economy and volume.

Digital printing - Direct to garment (DTG)

With DTG you get several advantages, not least with richness of detail, multi-color printing and no minimum order value, you can print a single shirt with 4-color printing at no extra cost (something that is usually impossible with other techniques).

Another clear advantage is lead time, especially for changes and you can be active in your process and evaluation. If you are used to making samples and cut and sew, it is a few days with DTG, as opposed to weeks if not months with factories.

Another great advantage is the type of motif that can be printed with digital printing; photo prints, small details, color transitions and multicolor go super smoothly with direct-to-garment.

Screen printing

For larger volumes with single colors, traditional screen printing is a tried and tested method and is particularly suitable for mass production. Thanks to the extra elements and costs with screen, we work mainly with digital, but we have skilled print partners and are happy to help you with bulk orders and large-scale production.

Cut and Sew

Just as in large-scale production, this method is used when producing larger orders and is usually referred to as the process where you design and create an entire garment from scratch, usually with your own pattern sewing and specification of everything from threads to fabric and weight. We can help you with production and have a wide network both in Europe and Asia depending on your ideas.

Transfer

Sports shirts and workwear tend to use transfer printing, much thanks to the combination of being able to quickly apply labeling with a short lead time (if we have your print ready and in stock, the application takes minutes) and on several different materials, some of which can be challenging for other printing methods.

Dropmerch offers transfer prints to most garments and articles, but is particularly suitable for functional clothing, jackets, sports shirts and polyester. It is worth remembering that transfer, much like the very definition of the word, is a transfer of a motif, in this case preheated to a garment like a picture or photo and not as compliant as for example with digital printing and DTG.

Sublimation

Sublimation is similar to the process of transfer, but with the point of difference that here we're able to transfer the entire picture to a new carrier. It is no longer a physical image that is heated on a surface, but the image itself is transferred without a carrier - a bit like a photo jumps from the water bath to paper in a photo development.
Sublimation is mainly used for porcelain mugs, enamel mugs and our flip-flop slippers, but also for slipmats and beer coasters.