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    DTF PRINTING

    Direct to Film Printing

    An angled cropped view of a DTF transfer print on the front panel of a two tone lime and bone nylon cap. The design features a cartoon graphic of a surgeon from torso up with a stethoscope around his neck wearing earphones above purple text that reads 'DR SUGONDESE'. The out of focus background of the image has multiple hanging t-shirts on a white wall.
    An angled top down cropped view of a DTF print for 'Bluebird Social Club' on a black garment. The steampunk style design features a blue owl wearing a mining helmet and holding a pick axe in each hand. He is surrounded by mining rubble, tools, and discs with the text 'tnt' on them.
    An angled view of coloured aprons with DTF printed logos for 'MAPA' Military Art Program. The aprons have been laid flat and fanned out so the DTF transfer printed logo is visible on each. The various apron colours visible are blue, black, green, brown, orange, and cream.
    A cropped image of a navy blue and black check folded picnic blanket and marle grey cooler bag sitting on top of a second picinic blanket which has been laid out. Both the picinic blanket and cooler bag have a gold DTF print of the Boston Brewing Co logo which features a bluebird above their name in bold serif font.
    A top down view of a grey infants one-piece that has a DTF transfer print on the front for the band Mindsnare

    What are DTF Prints?

    Direct to Film (DTF) printing is the latest cutting-edge technique to hit the garment printing industry and allows for high-quality, vibrant & detailed designs to be transferred directly onto garments and promotional items. DTF offers greater flexibility than DTG, with a wider range of fabric and product types suitable for digital transfers. There is also a bigger choice of suitable locations to position your design on the garment.

    DTF is also perfect for print-on-demand as there are no minimum order quantities, and custom merchandise for special events or personalised gifts can be produced quickly.

    An image showing a hand pullign away the transfer film from a dtf printed logo that has been applied to a blue cooler bag, being peeled away.
    A close up cropped image of an angled grey marle cooler bag with a gold DTF printed logo for Boston Brewing Co which features a bluebird sitting above the bold 'BOSTON' in an old english style serif font. The cooler bag is sitting on a petrol blue shirt that has a screen printed coral and navy design with a second cooler bag out of focus in the right corner.

    DTF Print-on-Demand Services are Ideal for Personalised Gifts and Apparel

    Digital garment printing used to be limited by fabric and garment type, but with Direct to Film Printing we can put your design on a huge variety of merch with no minimum order quantity. The print-on-demand product range has grown massively from T-shirts and Hoodies to include Custom Trucker Caps, Bucket Hats, Tracksuits, Shorts, and more. It’s now possible to get Personalised Aprons, Cooler bags, and Picnic Blankets so you can give meaningful gifts and create memorable branded merchandise that your customers will love.

    A photo of multiple black mesh trucker caps sitting on a bench, that have a DTF print of the 'Ocker Brewing' logo on the front panel. A heat press visible in the background loaded with a black hat to be pressed.
    A close up of a DTF print of the Barlot Social Club logo on a pistachio and black hoodie. The logo features a full colour illustrated rams skull with blue tinged horns. Wild West style red lettering of 'Barlow' is arched above, and 'Social Club' below.
    An cropped image of DTF printed graphic on PET film not yet transferred, laying on top and partially obscurring the same graphic that has been transferred onto a black garment. The black, red, and white design features a graphic novel style illlustration of a Skull with a barbell in the jaw and a weight plate lodged in the forehead.
    A photo of multiple black mesh trucker caps sitting on a bench, that have a DTF print of the 'Ocker Brewing' logo on the front panel. A heat press visible in the background loaded with a black hat to be pressed.
    A close up of a DTF print of the Barlot Social Club logo on a pistachio and black hoodie. The logo features a full colour illustrated rams skull with blue tinged horns. Wild West style red lettering of 'Barlow' is arched above, and 'Social Club' below.
    An cropped image of DTF printed graphic on PET film not yet transferred, laying on top and partially obscurring the same graphic that has been transferred onto a black garment. The black, red, and white design features a graphic novel style illlustration of a Skull with a barbell in the jaw and a weight plate lodged in the forehead.

    How DTF Printing Works

    Direct-to-Film prints are created by digitally printing designs onto PET Film, which is then powdered with a thermo-adhesive. This allows designs to be heat transferred onto a wide range of fabrics, including polyester, fleece, nylon, and classic cotton.

    For a step-by-step overview of the process CLICK HERE:

    1. 1. Design: We start with your digital artwork, which can be created using our design-your-own online system or standard graphic design software such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Ensure the design is high-resolution with a transparent background for the best print quality.

    2. Printing on Film: The design is printed in reverse onto a special DTF PET film using a Direct-to-film printer or a DTG printer in DTF mode. Our Ink Giant prints 4-colour CMYK plus an extended colour of Orange, Red, Green and Blue, offering a larger colour gamut. After your coloured design is printed, a layer of white ink backing is added to give a solid base and ensure colour vibrancy when transferring onto dark fabrics.
    3. Powdering: A special thermo-adhesive powder is applied to areas of printed ink on the film. This powder sticks to the ink and acts as an adhesive when heated to transfer the design onto the garment.
    4. Curing: The film with adhesive powder is then heated to 140c to cure both ink and powder, turning it into a solid, dry form that will be reactivated and bond to the fabric during the transfer process.
    5. Cutting: The individual transfers are cut out in preparation for application.
    6. Heat Application: The cured film transfer is placed onto the garment in the desired location. Heat & Pressure are applied using a commercial heat press. The heat activates the adhesive, transferring the design from the film to the fabric.
    7. Peeling: After the glue has cooled, the film is peeled away, and the design is repressed to ensure a permanent bond. You’re left with a vibrant, bold, durable design on your garment!
    7. Quality Check: Each item undergoes a thorough quality check to ensure it meets our high standards before it's ready for pickup or shipping.

     

    Our DTF Printer Produces the Boldest colour Prints on the Market

    Our in-house state-of-the-art Ink Giant 8 colour plus white Direct to Film printer, paired with 3 Epson 1400dpi print heads and Flexi RIP software, delivers unrivalled colour brilliance. While many T-shirt printing companies opt to run the standard 4-colour CMYK system, our additional orange, red, green, and blue ink allows us to offer customers a larger colour gamut, producing outstandingly bold prints. The water-based pigment inks are also eco-friendly, offer great stretch, and have excellent washing durability. Our 60cm wide roll-to-roll printer allows us to pre-print large volumes of logos, maximise production efficiency and minimise film wastage.

    Where Direct to Film Printing Excels

    A top down cropped view of three baby one-piece garments in pink, green and cream laying on a white table with a DTF transfer of the 'Clinko' logo on the front centre. The logo features an 8 bit style image of an MS-DOS era computer with a red heart on the screen and 'CLINKO' in bright green text on a black strip below. The text 'software for people who care' is writen in an arch above framing the computer graphic.
    A top down cropped view of an angled orange hi vis vest with a DTF print for JD Carpentry on the back, laying on a grey textured concrete floor. The vest is child sized and has the words 'Little Apprentice' in black above the JD Carpentry logo.
     
    • Promotional Items - Perfect for branded merch like caps, picnic rugs, cooler bags, and other accessories.
    • Custom Apparel - Allows branding consistency across a range of apparel items like hi vis vests and jackets, aprons, outerwear and industry-specific garments.
    • Personalised - A great option for adding customisations like names or numbers to uniforms and party favours.
    • Short-run orders and mixed garments - Excellent for small to medium batch printing with no minimum quantity requirements and a variety of garments to choose from.
    A 2x2 rectangular collage of images showing different DTF transfer prints, with a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the bottom left corner. The top left image shows a folded, angled black check picnic rug with a white DTF transfer of the 'Wild Hop Brewing Company' logo. The top right image shows a bright orange surf cap with a DTF transfer of a white faced panda with black ears, eye patches, mouth and nose, and black arms wrapping around to a central orange section of stomach. The text 'Panda Bao' in orange inflated style font with white stroke sits next to the panda. The bottom left image shows an angled crop of printed DTF transfer film with rows of logos for 'kalyakoorl' featuring an orange and pink gradient framing the shape of a grass tree above white scriptive text. The bottom right image shows a full colour DTF print on a black bomber jacket for WA Fire & Rescue 90th Anniversary. The design features an illustrated kangaroo and eagle wearing firefiighter uniforms sitting on top of the number 9 and 0 respectively, with arched text 'Western Australia' on scroll edged banner above, and 'Fire & Rescue' sitting below.

    DTF Transfers can expand your custom merch range

    A cropped view of various coloured mesh trucker caps sitting on a bench, with a DTF transfer for 'Finlay's' on the front panel. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the top right corner

    Wider Product Range

    DTF prints are dry before application allowing us to apply your logo onto difficult areas that require precise alignment. This includes small sections on bags, caps, shorts, and accessories that are not suitable for traditional screenprinting. DTF transfers can also be applied to a range of fabrics that DTG printing is not suitable for like polyester, fleece, and nylon.

    A cropped view of a boldly coloured DTF print on a garment with bright yellow, red, green, and blue textured graphic fill inside a large U for the Mr & Ms. Universe Australia Competition. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the bottom left corner.

    Bold, Vibrant Colours

    Our Ink Giant roll-to-roll DTF printer uses CMYK colours (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) plus an extended colour range of Orange, Red, Green and Blue allowing for a larger colour gamut and delivering brighter, bolder and more vibrant colours than a straight CMYK DTF printer.

    A cropped view of a full colour DTF printed transfer on a garment. The design features a detailed design of a skull surrounded by decorative flowers and leaves. The predominantly white and grey skull design has been illustrated in a realism style with detailed shading and gradients creating a dimension and depth. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the bottom right corner.

    Detail and Gradients

    Our expanded ink range, coupled with 1400dpi Epson print heads, handles fine detail, subtle gradients, and complex colour transitions easily. DTF allows your full-colour design to be digitally printed and replicated across a broad merchandise collection outside of traditional cotton-based garments.

    A top down cropped view of an angled orange hi vis vest with a DTF print for JD Carpentry on the back, laying on a grey textured concrete floor. The vest is child sized and has the words 'Little Apprentice' in black above the JD Carpentry logo. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the top left corner.

    Superior Durability

    With premium DTF film, quality ink, and the correct application technique, DTF prints can resist cracking, fading and peeling even after multiple washes. Through rigorous testing and refinement of technique, the fabric printer has developed a process that produces the most durable DTF prints on the market.

    A cropped view of various coloured mesh trucker caps sitting on a bench, with a DTF transfer for 'Finlay's' on the front panel. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the top right corner

    Wider Product Range

    DTF prints are dry before application allowing us to apply your logo onto difficult areas that require precise alignment. This includes small sections on bags, caps, shorts, and accessories that are not suitable for traditional screenprinting. DTF transfers can also be applied to a range of fabrics that DTG printing is not suitable for like polyester, fleece, and nylon.

    A cropped view of a boldly coloured DTF print on a garment with bright yellow, red, green, and blue textured graphic fill inside a large U for the Mr & Ms. Universe Australia Competition. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the bottom left corner.

    Bold, Vibrant Colours

    Our Ink Giant roll-to-roll DTF printer uses CMYK colours (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) plus an extended colour range of Orange, Red, Green and Blue allowing for a larger colour gamut and delivering brighter, bolder and more vibrant colours than a straight CMYK DTF printer.

    A cropped view of a full colour DTF printed transfer on a garment. The design features a detailed design of a skull surrounded by decorative flowers and leaves. The predominantly white and grey skull design has been illustrated in a realism style with detailed shading and gradients creating a dimension and depth. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the bottom right corner.

    Detail and Gradients

    Our expanded ink range, coupled with 1400dpi Epson print heads, handles fine detail, subtle gradients, and complex colour transitions easily. DTF allows your full-colour design to be digitally printed and replicated across a broad merchandise collection outside of traditional cotton-based garments.

    A top down cropped view of an angled orange hi vis vest with a DTF print for JD Carpentry on the back, laying on a grey textured concrete floor. The vest is child sized and has the words 'Little Apprentice' in black above the JD Carpentry logo. The image is framed by a mask that mimics the curling edge of paper on the top left corner.

    Superior Durability

    With premium DTF film, quality ink, and the correct application technique, DTF prints can resist cracking, fading and peeling even after multiple washes. Through rigorous testing and refinement of technique, the fabric printer has developed a process that produces the most durable DTF prints on the market.

    A composite image of various products that are suitable for DTF printing. The items all have full colour space themed graphics DTF printed on them and include (from left to right) a black bumbag, pink infant one-piece, blue cooler bag, dusty mauve shorts, black messenger bag, black laptop case.
    A composite image of various products that are suitable for DTF printing. The items all have full colour space themed graphics DTF printed on them and include (from left to right) a black bumbag, pink infant one-piece, and blue cooler bag
    A composite image of various products that are suitable for DTF printing. The items all have full colour space themed graphics DTF printed on them and include (from left to right), dusty mauve shorts, black messenger bag, black laptop case.

    Why Choose DTF Printing

    No Minimum Orders

    1. Perfect for small businesses or individuals looking to create limited runs or single pieces. Get creative and try your design across a variety of garments & accessories.

    Bold Colour Replication

      1. Enjoy vivid, true-to-life colours that pop on With an expanded ink range, DTF produces the brightest, most vivid digital colours and can most closely replicate full-colour designs.

    Versatility

      1. DTF printing can be applied to a wider range of fabrics including cotton, polyester, fleece, and nylon blends - expanding the range of apparel items that can be printed on.

    Online Ordering

    1. Our online design-your-own system makes ordering simple, hassle-free and super fast.

    Full Customisation

    1. Using our design-your-own online tools, you have full control over your project, from design placement to garment selection.

    Durability

      1. Our refined technique and premium materials mean the fabric printer’s DTF prints have long-lasting durability and resist cracking, fading and peeling.

    Cost Effective

    1. For complex designs and small runs, DTF can be more affordable than traditional screen printing, which requires the preparation of separate screens for each colour.
      Digital DTF printing makes it possible to personalise uniforms and gifts, create merchandise for events, and realise your last minute gift ideas!

    Quick Turnaround Times

    With no need extensive setup and screen preparation, DTF printing can deliver faster turnaround times, perfect for meeting tight deadlines. We offer the following DTF production services:
    Sameday Production
    24-hour turnaround
    Rush Order
    2 to 3 days
    Standard
    4 to 14 days

    Create Your Own Affilate Store

    Selling your own merchandise has never been easier! With our Print-On-Demand affiliate store program you can set up a free website to sell your custom designs and leave the printing & shipping to us. We can assist you in building the basic site and you can get creative customising and adding merch!
    Get in touch today for more information.

    DTF Printing FAQ's

    Is DTF printing long lasting?

    With the correct application and premium materials, DTF prints can resist cracking, fading and peeling even after multiple washes. We have rigorously tested our products and refined our techniques to produce the most durable DTF prints on the market.

    Is DTF printing better than sublimation?

    Although both decoration methods involve thermo-adhesion, direct-to-film printing and sublimation are entirely different processes. The sublimation method uses a digitally printed dye that can only be transferred onto white polyester fabrics. It is generally used for sporting garments and all-over-print designs due to the weightlessness of the print, leaving the garment breathable. DTF transfers, on the other hand, do add ink weight to the garment but have the ability to be applied on different coloured garments and to wide range of fabrics and product types.

    Can a regular printer print DTF transfers?

    No, a normal inkjet printer cannot print onto DTF PET film. DTF printers use specialty ink, rip software, and thermo-adhesive powders that have been customised for the DTF process.

    What are the disadvantages of DTF?

    DTF Transfers sit on top of the fabric secured with thermo-adhesive. If designs with large areas of high solid ink volume are applied to thin fabrics, they can occasionally have a sticker-like feel. Our expert staff can advise you on which decoration method is best suited to your artwork and garment.

    Does DTF crack or peel?

    If made or applied incorrectly with non-commercial materials and equipment, DTF transfers can crack and peel off garments. However, when processed correctly, printed on high-quality PET film, and applied with a commercial heat press, DTF transfers can be as durable as DTG and last many washes.

    Can I buy the DTF transfers?

    As a full-service company, we do not offer printed film transfers without garments. To ensure we provide the highest quality product, we have extensively tested the garments and accessories we offer for DTF transfer application. Plenty of online vendors provide a transfer-only service that requires you to apply yourself. However, be warned: a commercial heat press is required to achieve the correct heat and pressure for the application. Our staff is properly trained in this area to give you peace of mind when purchasing.

    Is DTF cheaper than screen printing?

    DTF is cheaper than screen printing on small to medium-sized orders with multi-coloured designs. However, screen printing is still king when it comes to larger orders due to lower ink costs, and the machine's capability to produce large print quantities per hour.

    What products are suitable for DTF Printing?

    DTF printing is ideal for a large number of garment types & promotional items including

    Apparel: T-shirts, Tanks, Hoodies, Polos
    Uniform: Workwear & Hi Vis Safety Wear  
    Bags: Gym Bags, Tote bags, backpacks, bum bags & laptop sleeves.
    Headwear: Caps and bucket hats
    Accessories: Aprons, Blankets, Flags
    Sportswear: Custom Names & Numbers for playing Jerseys and shorts.

    How long does it take?

    Production Times
    You will have the option to select your production time in the online designer.

    Same Day Express: - 24HR
    Available for black & white Tees only, in a range of tees, long sleeves, and tanks shown under the ‘Same Day Production’ category. All other rush-order items may be subject to a $25 airbag fee if higher quantities are needed.

    Rush Order: 2- 3 DAYS
    Available for most products in Black and White only.
     
    Standard: 4 - 14 DAYS
    Standard production on non-inventory items that require the stock to be ordered in.
     
    Australian Postage
    There are no guarantees for delivery times; the guide below is only for reference.

    Express Post: Overnight to 3 Days, depending on your location

    Parcel Post: 3 to 7 days, depending on your location

    Please note: During periods of high demand the Express 24HR & Rush Order 2-3 day service may not be available, we will notify you if there are any issues.

    What are the Artwork Requirements?

    Depending on the artwork you wish to print, there are optimal file formats that will deliver the best quality print of your design. Once your file is uploaded, our designer tool will prompt you with Green (High Quality), Yellow (Mid Quality), or Red (Low Quality) warnings where relevant. Low-quality images will look pixelated once printed; the severity of this depends on the detail in your design.

    High-resolution graphics (300dpi) are always best for full colour graphic elements and photographs, preferably supplied as either transparent .PNG or rasterised .JPG, .TIF, and .BMP files.

    Vector files (.EPS, .PDF, .CDR) are ideal for logos and scalable designs with intricate linework. After you have uploaded the vector, our online design tool allows you to adjust the colours in your design to suit the garment you have chosen.

     

    The ideal file type and specification can vary depending on both the style of artwork you are printing and the chosen decoration method but it's always best to provide us with the highest resolution file you have available. Check out our Artwork Specs but if you're unsure just ask our expert staff!