Screen Printing vs DTG: Best for Custom T-Shirts

Most people ordering custom tees for the first time pay significantly more than they need to — not because they chose the wrong supplier, but because they chose the wrong printing method. Get that one decision right and you can halve your cost per unit.

Whether you're producing band merch, launching a streetwear label, kitting out a sports team, or ordering personalised gifts, the printing method you choose affects your cost per unit, colour vibrancy, wash durability, and minimum order quantity. Screen printing and DTG are the two dominant commercial methods — and they're genuinely optimised for different briefs.

This guide breaks down exactly how both methods work, where each one excels, and gives you a clear framework for deciding which is right for your specific project.

What Is Screen Printing?

Screen printing — sometimes called silk-screen or serigraphy — is one of the oldest garment decoration methods still in mainstream commercial use. Ink is pushed through a finely meshed stencil (the "screen") directly onto the fabric, one colour layer at a time. Each colour in your design requires a separate screen to be prepared and aligned.

The resulting print is thick, vivid, and exceptionally durable. Properly cured screen print inks sit on top of the fabric fibres and can outlast the garment itself. A well-printed tee washed weekly can still look sharp two or three years later. This is why screen printing remains the go-to for band tees, promotional clothing, sports kits, and any large-volume uniform order.

The main drawback is setup cost. Creating a screen for each colour in your design typically adds £30–£60 in setup fees per colour, regardless of how many shirts you print. That overhead is easily absorbed across 100 units; across six shirts, it can nearly double your per-shirt price.

What Is DTG Printing?

Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing is essentially an industrial inkjet printer adapted for fabric. The garment is loaded flat onto a platen, and the printhead passes over it, depositing water-based inks directly into the fibres. There are no screens to prepare, no per-colour setup fees, and no meaningful limit on the number of colours in your artwork.

DTG handles photorealistic imagery, full-colour gradients, and intricate illustrations that would be prohibitively expensive — or impossible — to screen print. It's also the natural choice for on-demand and personalised printing, since you can produce a single unique shirt economically. This makes it ideal for one-off gifts, limited drops, and any scenario where no two garments are the same.

The trade-off is unit cost at scale. Because each DTG print takes roughly the same machine time regardless of order volume, per-unit prices drop far less dramatically than screen printing as quantities increase. The prints also tend to have a softer hand feel than screen prints, though they can fade faster if not properly cared for after printing.

The Real Cost Breakdown

Here is a typical UK pricing comparison at different order quantities for a standard chest print on a quality blank like a Gildan Ultra Cotton t-shirt — the most widely used blank in the UK custom printing industry:

The crossover point sits around 30–50 units for most UK printers on a simple one-colour design. Below that threshold, DTG is almost always the more cost-effective choice. Above it, screen printing scales aggressively.

One critical caveat: add colours to a screen print design and the economics shift quickly. Each additional colour means another screen, another setup fee, another alignment step. A four-colour logo can cost £120–£200 in setup alone. If your artwork has more than three distinct colours, DTG may remain cheaper even at moderate volumes — run the numbers before you commit.

Quality and Durability: What Actually Lasts

Screen-printed graphics sit on top of the fabric as a solid layer of cured plastisol or water-based ink. Done properly, the print resists cracking, peeling, and colour fading far better than most other methods. The colours are vibrant and punchy straight off the press, and they stay that way with normal wear and washing.

DTG prints are deposited into the fabric fibres rather than on top of them, which gives them a noticeably softer hand feel. For fashion-forward streetwear, this is often a selling point — a print that looks and feels like part of the garment rather than an applied sticker. The softness also means there is no risk of cracking on stretch or movement, which matters for activewear pieces.

Where DTG can underperform is in long-term colour retention, particularly if the printer skips or rushes the curing step (usually a heat press or tunnel dryer at the end of the process). Always ask your printer whether DTG prints are fully cured before dispatch. A properly cured DTG print will comfortably survive 40–50 washes looking fresh; an under-cured one may begin to fade after ten.

On dark fabrics, DTG requires a white ink underbase to be laid down first so colours register vividly against the background. This adds a faint texture to the print and is worth factoring in if a completely smooth surface finish matters to you.

Which Method Is Right for Your Project?

Here is a plain decision guide for the most common use cases:

• Band or event tees (50+ units, bold logo): Screen printing, consistently the best value.
• Streetwear drop (small batch, detailed or photographic artwork): DTG, or a combination of both methods for different pieces.
• Personalised gifts (individual names, numbers, or photos): DTG — no setup cost per unique design.
• Sports team kit (same design, 15–30 units): Screen printing if colours are limited; DTG if the design is complex.
• Corporate uniforms (consistent logo, 50+ units): Screen printing for maximum cost efficiency and longevity.
• Testing a new brand concept: DTG for the first 20 units, then switch to screen printing once a design proves popular.

If you are launching a streetwear label, the smartest move is often to use DTG for small initial drops — 10 to 20 units — to validate demand before investing in screen print setup costs. Extend your range early by pairing tees with a Gildan Heavy Blend custom hoodie, which takes both DTG and screen prints exceptionally well, giving you a cohesive two-piece range without heavy upfront commitments.

Pro Tips for Getting the Best Results

Whichever method you choose, the quality of your finished garment depends as much on your artwork and fabric choice as on the printing process itself.

File format matters enormously. For screen printing, always supply vector artwork — an AI, EPS, or high-resolution PDF file. Vector paths scale infinitely without quality loss and allow the printer to separate colours cleanly. For DTG, supply a PNG with a transparent background at a minimum of 300 DPI at print size. Avoid JPEGs — the compression artefacts are more visible on fabric than on screen.

Choose the right fabric composition. DTG inks bond to natural fibres and work best on 100% ring-spun cotton. On high-polyester blends, water-based DTG inks sit less readily in the fibres, producing duller, less saturated colours. For screen printing, a 50/50 cotton-poly blend is perfectly serviceable, though pure cotton gives the most vibrant, accurate colour reproduction.

Wash care extends print life significantly. For both methods: turn the garment inside out before washing, use a cool or warm cycle (not hot), and avoid tumble-drying on high heat. This simple habit can extend the life of a DTG print by 30–40 additional washes and keeps screen prints looking sharp for years.

For premium streetwear pieces where the base garment is part of the brand statement, choose something like a Fruit of the Loom Original Zip Hoodie — a heavier, cleaner-cut blank that elevates the finished piece and holds both screen and DTG prints well. The quality of what you start with is inseparable from the quality of the final product.

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