DIGITAL PRINTING INFORMATION
What is it? | See it in action | White Ink & Underbases
Prints w/out white Ink | Digital Vs Screen Printing | Definitions

What is Direct to Garment Digital Printing?

Inkjet technology has advanced greatly in the last several years. A handful of businesses are using inkjets to print directly on things from t-shirts to ceramic tiles to foods. Yes, even food! Inkjets are definitely coming into their own. Look at it this way, what ever image you can print on your printer at home, we can print it on a shirt, mouse pad, towels and more! Not to mention bigger than the average desktop printers with the ability to print as large as 12"x16".

Epson® printers are probably the best known for photographic quality prints. They are used by most professional photographers to do their digital printing.

We do our digital printing with a printer that was made specifically to print on apparel and other textiles. The print engine and head of the printer uses genuine Epson® parts inside. The parts are from the Epson® Stylus Photo 2200 series printer. The inks we use with our printer were chemically engineered for use with this printer to print on textiles. Direct to garment digital printing is still very much in it's infancy. Very few businesses own these digital printers and fewer still have a machine that can print white ink on dark garments. This means that most businesses out there, that can print on shirts digitally, can only print on white or light colored shirts. Here at Grow Promotional Solutions, we are one of the few with the ability to digitally print on black shirts.

Right now, the technology is not about to eliminate screen printing. This is because it is limited to non-specialty inks. All though, there is some research that is working to change this.

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DIGITAL QUALITY VS SCREEN PRINTING
This is a little of what we have found by comparison:
*DEFINITIONS
  DIGITAL PRINTING SCREEN PRINTING
PER SHIRT COST
no white ink		 Best value on small quantities, especially when multiple colors are used. Probably worth the extra money for larger quantities if printing photographic images. Best value on large quantities, even when multiple colors are used. Probably the better value for one and two color jobs.
PER SHIRT COST
w/white ink		 Best value for very small quantities with multiple or full color prints. Better value for most jobs above our minimum quantity.
SETUP COST
no white ink		 No setup cost. Setups do not include Artwork time. Should you need artwork touched up/created, you will be charged accordingly. There are setup fees and are based on per color per location. Color separation fees and other fees may apply. The more shirts you order, discounts may be given on setup/art charges.
SETUP COST
w/white ink		 There is a minimal setup fee for underbase creation which is based per location. Same as above, except there may also be a fee for underbase creation. Underbases are counted as a separate color even though white may not be a visible color.
  DIGITAL PRINTING SCREEN PRINTING
MINIMUMS No minimums. Order what you need. Minimum of 12 items.
TURN AROUND TIME Faster on small orders. The larger the print size and the more locations printed, the longer it takes. Prints with an underbase take more than twice as long than regular digital prints. Faster on large orders. The more colors used and the more print locations, the longer it takes.
VARIABLE DATA Less expensive all the way around. Cost is based on a percentage of how many items being to how many get variable data. Costs depend on how many of the individual prints fit on a screen.
PRINT FEEL
No white ink		 Very soft hand and breathable. It's like the print isn't even there. Not the softest thing around. You usually know it's there. At an extra charge, there is an additive to make the print softer. Not breathable.
PRINT FEEL
w/white ink		 Still soft hand but is not breathable. This is very similar to a screen print. No major change from above, except when there is an underbase. This causes the print to be even thicker thus giving it a harder hand.
  DIGITAL PRINTING SCREEN PRINTING
PRINT LIFE
No white ink		 The print itself will last the life of the shirt, as long as washing instructions are followed. The print will never crack or peel, as it is dyed into the fibers. Fibrillation can and does happen just as with screen printing. This can cause the print to look faded or washed out. Today's inks are great. While they are much better than they were 20 years ago, they're still not perfect. Prints should last several years, but eventually the print will crack and/or peel. Fibrillation can occur just as in digital printing. If you want to sacrifice feel, a thicker ink deposit will lengthen the time before fibrillation happens.
PRINT LIFE
w/white ink		 This is brand new technology. As with any new technology, it's not perfect. There are multiple factors that can cause the print to have a short life. No real change from above.
FABRICS
no white ink		 100% cotton, 50/50 cotton-polyester 100% cotton, blends of cotton-polyester, 100% polyester, nylon
FABRICS
w/white ink		 100% cotton, 90/10 cotton-polyester No change from above
DYE MIGRATION Tends to be a problem in anything other than 100% cotton. This is why we will not digitally print on anything less than a 90/10 blend. There is not as much of a problem with it. The white ink used for underbasing has a blocking agent to prevent it. Though it can happen over time with washings.
  DIGITAL PRINTING SCREEN PRINTING
COLOR MATCHING While your artwork can include PMS and other custom colors, the printers color gamut is narrow by comparison to what you see on the monitor. We will take a minute or two to try and adjust the artwork to print as closely as possible. We can do custom color matches and PMS colors. These will incur you color mixing fee. Ask for pricing.
WASHING Turn inside out, wash in cold water. Wash & dry on delicate cycle. Turn inside out, wash in cold water. Wash & dry on delicate cycle.
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DEFINITIONS:
Breathable The ability of air and moisture to move through the garment.
Hand This is how a print feels to you when you touch it.
 Fibrillation Fibrillation is where the fibers of the shirt protrude out from the surface of the shirt. You know all that lint in the trap on your dryer? This is where it comes from. Usually free of the dye from digital printing and plastisol from screen printing, all those little fibers sticking out causes the print to look faded or washed out.
Dye Migration The colors in polyester, and other synthetic fibers, tend to migrate into the printed colors. Reds seem to be the worst culprit. The main cause is from heat. The heat from washing, drying and curing inks after printing releases the dye from the synthetic fibers.
Underbase In order for most colors to appear, or at least appear properly, on dark colored items, they need to printed on a white layer of ink. This will ensure that your colors will "pop" on dark items.
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PRINTS W/OUT WHITE INK
White shirts, and most times Natural shirts, do not require white ink. Sometimes, other colored shirts do not require white ink or underbasing as determined by the colors in the art and shirt color used. For instance, black ink can be printed on all light and most medium colored shirts. In general, if the colors printed are darker than the shirt, you may not need an underbase. We can determine exactly what is needed once we see the art and know what color shirts you're wanting.

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WHITE INK & UNDERBASES
If you are printing on a black shirt, you WILL need an underbase no matter what you are printing. If your image requires areas of white and you are not printing on a white or natural colored shirt, you WILL need to have white ink printed.  We can determine exactly what is needed once we see the art and know what color shirts you're wanting.

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VIDEOS - SEE IT IN ACTION
Below are video clips produced by, U.S. Screen Print and Inkjet Technology. The USSPIT is the distributor/manufacturer of the digital printer we own. The featured printer in the videos below is a newer version of the one we own, but it is basically the same machine.

  • Gray shirt w/underbase: Video Quality (High) (Low)

  • White Shirt: Video Quality (High) (Low)

The U.S. Screen Print and Inkjet Technology company sells supplies and training for screen printing, and now inkjet technology.

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