Screen Printing vs DTF
Which one your job should use, and what each actually costs. We run both, so we have no reason to talk you into either.
The short answer
Screen printing is cheaper on anything past about two dozen pieces, and the gap widens fast with volume. DTF wins on small runs and on artwork with too many colors to separate. Below 24 pieces the choice is made for you — screen printing is not economic there, and DTF starts at 6.
What it costs
Gildan 5000 tee, one print location, standard front size. Real numbers from our own pricing, not estimates.
| Quantity | Screen, 1 color | Screen, 4 color | DTF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 pieces | $8.22 | $15.24 | $14.74 |
| 48 pieces | $6.03 | $10.37 | $13.51 |
| 100 pieces | $5.69 | $8.86 | $12.74 |
| 250 pieces | $4.54 | $5.65 | $10.98 |
Bigger order, or not sure what you need?
Call (833) 722-3808 or email orders@merchylo.com.
At 24 pieces with four-color artwork the two methods are within 50¢ of each other. By 250 pieces DTF costs nearly twice what screen printing does. That crossover is the whole decision.
How they actually work
Ink pushed through a mesh
One screen per color, burned once and reused for the whole run. That setup cost is why small runs are expensive and large ones are cheap — you are spreading the same work across more shirts.
- Cheapest method at volume
- Thick, opaque ink that survives washing
- Best on cotton
- 24 piece minimum
- Each color is a separate screen
- Photographs and gradients do not separate well
Printed to film, heat pressed on
The design is printed full-color onto a film and pressed into the garment. No screens, so no setup to amortise — the twentieth shirt costs nearly what the second one did.
- Full color at no extra cost
- Photographs and gradients reproduce properly
- 6 piece minimum
- Works on blends and performance fabrics
- Priced by print size, not color count
- Does not get cheaper with volume the way screen does
Which one is yours
Screen printing if you are ordering 24 or more and your artwork has a countable number of flat colors — a logo, a team name, a one or two color design. That is most bulk apparel work, and it is why our bundles are priced on it.
DTF if you need fewer than 24, or your artwork is a photograph, a gradient, or has more colors than you can count. Also the better answer on performance polyester, where plastisol ink can migrate.
Embroidery is a third thing entirely, not printing at all — stitched thread, and the right call on caps, polos, jackets and bags. It prices by stitch count rather than by color or size.
You do not have to choose
Tell us the garment, the quantity and what the artwork looks like, and we will tell you which method suits it and why — before you pay anything.
Not sure which you need?
Send us the job. We’ll come back the same business day with a free mockup, the method we’d use, and what it costs.