Which printing method will my order get?
Screen printing, on every order. Ink is pushed through a stencil (the screen) onto the shirt, one screen per ink color, and each screen takes time to make. That is why there is a 30 shirt minimum per order: across 30 shirts the setup is spread thin enough that the screens are built into the per-shirt price with no setup fee, and every shirt gets the boldest, longest-lasting print there is.
Direct-to-garment is an inkjet printer built for fabric. It sprays the design straight onto a shirt that has been coated first, with no screens, so it can reproduce a photograph or a soft gradient that would need many screens and a dot pattern. If your artwork is that kind of image, we may print it DTG instead. We decide that when we prepare your proof, within 24 hours of ordering, and the proof tells you which method your order gets. The price is the same either way.
How does the price change with quantity?
The per-shirt price falls at 200 and 500 shirts and does not depend on the method. On the Classic Cotton Tee a one-side print is $7 a shirt from 30, $6 at 200+ and $5 at 500+. The Premium Soft Tee has its own row on the pricing page with the same breaks, and mixed sizes and colors on one design count toward the same break.
There are no separate setup or screen fees on Merch to Order: the screens are built into the per-shirt price. $1 more per shirt for a back print, at any quantity, and standard ink colors are included on both sides however many you use. $1 more per shirt for XL and 2XL.
Which handles colors better?
Screen printing handles solid brand colors better, and DTG handles photos and gradients better. Screen printing lays down one solid ink per screen, which gives bright, opaque, Pantone matched color: put the codes in the order notes and the proof names them. A DTG printer mixes colors like a home photo printer, so a full-color photograph prints from the file with no separations, which is exactly the case where we reach for it.
On dark shirts both methods put down a white base first. With screen printing it is a white screen under the colors; with DTG it is a pretreatment plus a white underbase layer. 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 logos, text and solid colors. Every order.
- DTG: softer to the touch, best for photographs and soft gradients. Only when the artwork needs it.
- Both: wash cold, inside out, low heat.
Can I ask for one method or the other?
You can tell us what you prefer in the order notes, and we will say on the proof whether it suits the artwork. A two-color logo is always screen printed. A photograph on a shirt can be screen printed as a dot pattern, which looks like a poster up close, or printed DTG, which looks like the photo; we usually pick DTG for that and the proof shows the result before you approve it.
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 short version of this comparison is on the printing methods page.