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DTG printing

Custom DTG printing with Gelato

Learn about DTG printing and how this method works to customize your products. No minimums - global shipping - custom designs, all with Gelato. Try it today!

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What is DTG printing (direct to garment)?

Personalized apparel printing

The DTG (direct to garment) printing technique is one of the most popular, high-quality methods for personalized apparel printing. Depending on your needs, it has several advantages over screen printing and is a top choice when considering apparel print longevity.

DTG custom printing is an excellent choice for adding colorful and intricate designs to clothing, accessories, or any fabric item.

Design DTG-printed products

Choose your products

At Gelato, we offer direct to garment printing services for a variety of products. Some of our most popular designs are t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, baby clothes, and custom tote bags.

Print in multiple areas

Gelato’s design maker offers prints to be added to many areas of a product. Explore for yourself and customize apparel and fabric products with DTG printing on sleeves, front and back and labels.

Highlight your brand

Print your logo on garments instead of using a fabric tag. This will create a soft, tag-less design and is a popular option for custom apparel and print on demand in general.

Organic cotton

At Gelato we offer a number of fabric materials for apparel, one of our most popular is our organic cotton fabric that’s suitable for many print on demand products we produce.

Benefits of direct to garment printing

Durable and comfortable

DTG printing is designed to be long-lasting, with no fading or cracking over time. The ink is infused into the fabric fibers to produce high quality prints, ensuring that it remains soft to the touch and durable for years to come.

DTG printing is a superior method that ensures every detail is accurately captured, allowing for full-colour bold prints. It is best suited to cotton and other natural fabrics that easily absorb the inks

Designs come out as intended

DTG printing is renowned for its impressive multi-color capabilities and ability to handle intricate details that may not be possible with other printing processes. With its exceptional resolution, DTG printing ensures flawless printing of even the smallest details.

You can rest assured that the design you create in Gelato's user-friendly editor will be accurately reproduced.

Sustainable inks and energy-efficient process

DTG printing machines generally use environmentally friendly water-based inks, and the process itself is considered energy-efficient and wastewater-reducing.

This printing method is automatic, does not require extensive set-up, and can be used to print one-off items too. This reduces the overproduction and waste of textiles, significantly reducing our carbon footprint.

Great for orders large and small

The DTG printing technique is quite popular among various print on demand platforms. It enables unique items to be printed on demand, making it an effective printing option when compared to other alternatives.

You don't have to depend on a fixed minimum number of products to use this printing method, as small and large batches of products can be easily printed in an efficient and time-effective manner.

Create DTG printed products with Gelato

Connect to Gelato

Connect your ecommerce business to link your existing products or create new products.

Start selling

Your customer browses your ecommerce store and places an order.

Take it easy

We take care of the entire fulfilment process and produce your product closer to your customer.

The order is shipped

We deliver your products directly to your customer via our fast and reliable global logistics network.

The Gelato Network

140+ production partners in 32 countries

Gelato makes the production and delivery of custom products simple, borderless, and programmable. Our teams are based in offices around the world and we process millions of print jobs each year for creators, startups, and large enterprises.

For information about which products are produced locally in which countries, please consult our product catalog.

Create and sell your custom product designs

Apparel

Calendars

Drinkware

Wall art

Cards

Accessories

Easy store connection

Designed for creators and entrepreneurs, scaled for enterprises. Thousands of businesses use Gelato’s software and APIs to produce and deliver custom printed products anywhere in the world.

Connect your store to Gelato’s API directly or via our easy-to-use integrations with the leading ecommerce platforms.

FAQs

What is DTG printing?

The DTG (direct to garment) printing technique is one of the most popular, high-quality methods for personalized apparel printing. DTG custom printing technology is an excellent choice for adding colorful and intricate designs to clothing, accessories, or any fabric item.

Is DTG cheaper than screen printing?

It depends on different factors, but at Gelato, typically for small orders (less than 25 items) DTG printing will cost less than traditional screen printing. However, for larger orders (25+ items) screen printing typically costs less than DTG printing, but may not be the preferred option for clothing since DTG printing can be more comfortable to wear and last longer than screen printed apparel.

What is a DTG printer?

Direct to garment (DTG) printing uses a specific printer, similar to an inkjet printer printing on paper, to spray the pattern and graphics onto the fabric. This method has several advantages, some of the main benefits include print durability and high-quality resolution even with complex, detailed, multi-colored designs. Instead of the ink sitting on top of the fabric surface, it’s saturated into the material, so it remains durable over time without cracking and is never stiff or uncomfortable to wear.

What are the cons of DTG printing?

One con is that the initial cost of DTG printing machines are expensive, but at Gelato, we feel they’re worth it for their sustainability and being so energy efficient. Not to mention, the quality of the prints is unbeatable. Another downside is that DTG printing doesn't work on all fabric types, such as 100% polyester or rayon, because they need to be at least 50% cotton for the ink to be able to absorb properly.

Does DTG printing last long?

Yes, that’s the beauty of the direct to garment printing technique, it’s incredibly durable and long-lasting, even through 50+ washes. Unlike screen printing, where the ink sits on top of the fabric surface, in the DTG process it’s saturated into the material, so it remains durable overtime without cracking and is never stiff or uncomfortable to wear. DTG technology can’t be out performed, in our opinion.

What is DTG printing vs sublimation?

One of the main differences between DTG printing and sublimation printing is that DTG printing works on cotton fabric, whereas sublimation only works on polyester-based materials.

Which products work the best for DTG prints?

100% cotton is the best material for the DTG process, because it’s so ink absorbing, and that is what ensures the highest print quality and best results. Check out our resource on preparing the right design file for your DTG prints.

Why do some products not have an option for DTG printing?

If the print on demand product isn’t at least 50% cotton, it won’t be able to utilize the DTG printing technique, as they will fade quickly. Also, soft, plush materials can’t utilize the DTG printing process because the surface is too uneven to get a high-quality print.

Can I add DTG prints on all-over-print products?

No, as far as we know, no company will be able to do this because the color gets embedded into the fabric, and if there is already an all-over-print, it will bleed and mix in with the already existing inks.