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FESPA NEWS Marshall Atkinson

Direct to Film (DTF) Printing

If you have been to a trade show recently, you know you can’t escape the constant presence of DTF. It is seemingly
everywhere.

Why now? What is behind this sudden demand to use transfers?

These aren’t your father’s transfers. Innovations in materials, print heads, and the consumables used to print DTF transfers

have impacted the surge in usage. It wasn’t too long ago that print shops had regular orders for large quantities of shirts

that would ship to a distribution center for orders.

Now, with the emergence of Print On Demand (POD), orders are coming from online platforms and being produced

individually. DTF transfers are used for everything from customer neck labels to shirt designs. Due to increased demand,
reliable industrial-strength DTF printers are in huge demand. Want to know what’s behind this surge in popularity? Simply

follow the money.

Millions of t-shirt orders are sold daily on platforms built on Shopify, CustomInk, Printful, Printify, Etsy, or custom industry

platforms such as DecoNetwork, Gooten, or MerchLoop.

Regardless of platform, these powerhouses use DTF technology to easily and consistently send print-on-demand orders

within a short window.

Ironically, screen printers everywhere lament that a DTF transfer isn’t the same as a screen-printed t-shirt and turn their

noses up at the decoration method. Meanwhile, millions of shirts are being decorated and sold, with extremely healthy

profit margins.

If your shop handles small runs or print on demand, you owe it to yourself to seriously consider incorporating DTF

technology into your operation.

There is currently an arms race in the DTF printer market. Have you attended a trade show lately? Then you know what I
mean.

October 2024 • 55