When is screen printing used and when is DTG?
Orders of 24 or more shirts of one design are screen printed, and orders under 24 are printed direct-to-garment. Screen printing pushes ink through a stencil (the screen) onto the shirt, one screen per ink color, and each screen takes time to make. DTG is an inkjet printer built for fabric: it sprays the design straight onto a shirt that has been sprayed with a base coat first, with no setup, one shirt at a time.
That is why the line sits where it does. Below 24 shirts the screen setup would cost more than the printing, so DTG is cheaper and just as good. At 24 and above the setup is spread over enough shirts that screen printing wins on price and on ink quality. The pricing table for each garment shows the method next to every tier.
How does the price change with quantity?
DTG costs about the same per shirt whether you print one or twenty, and screen printing gets cheaper the more you print, which is why the per-shirt price drops sharply at 24. On the Classic Cotton Tee a one-side print is $19.95 for one shirt, $14.95 at 12, then $11.45 at 24, $9.45 at 50, $8.25 at 100 and $7.45 at 250+. The first two tiers are DTG; the rest are screen printed.
There are no separate setup or screen fees on Merch to Order: the screens are built into the per-shirt price at each tier. A back print is a per-shirt add-on on either method, $3.50 a shirt at 24+.
Which handles colors better?
DTG handles photos, gradients and designs with many colors better, and screen printing handles solid brand colors better. A DTG printer mixes colors like a home photo printer, so a full-color illustration prints from your file with no extra work. Screen printing lays down one solid ink per screen, which gives bright, solid, Pantone matched color on screen-printed runs, but a photo would need many screens and a dot pattern.
On dark shirts both methods put down a white base first. With DTG that is a pretreatment plus a white underbase layer; with screen printing it is a white screen under the colors. Either way, white or light ink on black, navy and charcoal comes out bright, and the proof shows the combination before printing.
How do the prints feel and how long do they last?
A screen print sits on top of the fabric as a thin, slightly raised layer of ink, and a DTG print soaks into the fibers so it feels softer and thinner. Both are durable with normal care. Screen-print inks are heat cured and outlast most shirts. DTG inks are heat cured too and hold up well, though very large solid areas can soften a little faster in the wash.
Care is the same for both: wash inside out in cold water, skip bleach, and avoid the dryer's hottest setting. Do that and the print will fade at about the same rate as the shirt itself.
- Screen print: bolder, slightly raised, extremely durable, best for solid colors.
- DTG: softer to the touch, no setup, best for photos and small quantities.
- Both: wash cold, inside out, low heat.
How do I choose between screen printing and DTG?
You do not have to choose: the quantity decides, and the method is shown on the pricing table. If you want to influence it, think about the design and the number. A photo-style design on twelve shirts is a perfect DTG job. A two-color logo on fifty shirts is a perfect screen-print job. A photo on fifty shirts can be screen printed as a dot pattern, and the proof shows how it will look. If you would rather keep DTG, order in batches under 24 and pay the higher per-shirt price.
Whatever the method, every order gets a digital proof within 24 hours before printing, ships in 7-12 business days door to door (or 5 business days door to door on rush), and comes with a tracking number. The full method comparison, including how we handle Pantone matching, is on the printing methods page, which explains how Merch to Order prints your order.