Go with DTF when the art is full color, has fine detail, or changes from guest to guest. Go with screen printing when one or two bold colors land on the same shirt hundreds of times. Plenty of Anaheim events use both.
DTF transfers
- Good at: photo-real art, gradients, small type, and a name or number on each piece.
- How it runs: the design is printed onto film before the event, then heat-pressed onto the garment while the guest waits. No screens, so switching designs mid-event costs nothing.
- Keep in mind: it's pressed, not pulled. The finish feels thinner than screen ink and there's less to watch at the table.
Screen printing
- Good at: a one- to three-color logo, bold shapes, and long runs of the same design.
- How it runs: each color gets its own screen. The printer pulls plastisol ink through it and flash-cures it right there, and guests watch every pull.
- Keep in mind: new art means new screens, so changing the design halfway through the day isn't realistic.
How it tends to split in Anaheim
A show day at Anaheim Convention Center with one sponsor logo going on a few hundred tees is a screen printing job. A Platinum Triangle launch where every guest wants their name on the sleeve is DTF. Fan conventions often want both, a fixed event design on the press and a DTF table for full-color art, and we can run the two side by side in one booth. Caps are their own thing: that's the hat bar or embroidery. Compare the live DTF and live screen printing stations, or send us your art and we'll say which one it suits.