Art Capabilities of the Direct Apparel Printing Method

Which Kinds of Designs Work for Direct to Film Printing?

At Merchology, we’re here to help you show off your unique logos and artwork. Your brand has its own look, feel, and messaging, carefully crafted to speak to your customers and convey your company’s purpose. The name, logo, color palette, and voice that your company spent months to years developing are of utmost importance. Taking the importance of branding into consideration, your company apparel, gifts, and merch should also reflect who you are. That’s where we come in!

Our selection of over 300 brands for corporate apparel and merch is just the beginning. We offer a dozen different decoration methods to guarantee that your artwork and logo designs appear just as they were meant to. The most recent addition to our logo-deco toolbox is a method called direct apparel printing! This merch decoration method shows off your artwork in its most vivid, detailed form. No simplifying your design or sacrificing the small details!

What is Direct Apparel Printing?

Direct apparel printing, also called direct-to-film or direct-to-garment printing, is a method that applies ink directly to the material of the garment or product. The ink is placed on a thin film and an adhesive powder is added. Then, the ink is applied to your product using a special heated printing machine.

Direct apparel printing is similar to screen printing, but there are some key differences. What makes direct-to-garment printing unique is that the process causes the ink to sink right into the product’s material. With screen printing, the ink lays on the surface of the product. Direct-to-garment printing uses heat to cure the ink while screen printing uses light and a special photosensitive emulsion. Additionally, direct-to-film allows for much more colorful, detailed designs.

What Are the Print Benefits of Direct to Film?

With direct-to-film printing, you’re able to stay true to your brand’s vision. Here are a few ways this decoration method can benefit your team:

• Direct-to-film is more durable and long-lasting than some decoration methods
• The end product has a softer feel as the ink sinks into the fabric rather than sitting on top
• This process has a quick turnaround time of three days to a week for shipping
• You can print a design of any size, whether it’s a full front/back or a small area
• Direct apparel printing allows for perfect color matching to make sure you’re on brand
• Your artwork can be as detailed as you’d like

Can Direct-to-Film Print Small Details?

Yes! With direct-to-film, you can print small text, thin lines, and fine details. Think of it like a paper printer: the entire design is applied with one thin layer of ink. In comparison, screen printing applies multiple layers of different colored ink, limiting the amount of detail you’re able to add before it becomes too thick. Or there’s embroidery, where are only so many detailed stitches can be added to the fabric. Direct-to-film is one of the most flexible logo decoration methods! 

Additionally, the durability of direct-to-garment printing means those fine details are less likely to wear off over time.

Can Direct-to-Film Printing Use Any Colors?

The direct-to-film decoration method allows unlimited colors for print! Direct-to-film printers use CMYK ink (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). This means these printers are able to reproduce any color you need! With DTF, you can print full-color, full-bleed designs—you can go as big and bold as you want! You won’t have to struggle to find the closest color match for your company’s unique brand colors. Having exact color matches for your corporate apparel, giveaways, and customer gifts is a very effective way to build up brand recognition!

Is Direct-to-Film a Good Option for Merch?

The artwork capabilities of direct apparel printing make it a great option for event and promotional merch! Here are a few ideas for direct-to-film merch for special occasions:

• For creative firms: have your designers create a graphic for giveaway totes or tees at events!
• Create a full-color, enlarged logo design for new-hire backpacks.
• Add a long-lasting logo to outdoor blankets for a company picnic in the park!
• Decorate toiletry bags for an exciting business trip or company retreat

Direct apparel printing can be applied to any product that can take heat transfer decoration, including nearly any fabric (cotton, poly, rayon, blends, etc.). It can also be applied to coasters, backpacks, bags, and more!

Contact Us

Contact us at Merchology to get started with your own direct apparel printing project! We have the brands your gift recipients want and the logo decoration capabilities to make your brand stand out.