DTG vs screen printing for small orders

For a few shirts, or any design with many colours or a photo, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is usually the better fit: there is no setup for each design, so one shirt is made the same way as fifty. Screen printing needs a screen for each colour, so it gets cheaper per shirt only on larger runs of a design with few colours.

How each works

DTG is like an inkjet printer for fabric: the design is printed straight onto the shirt in full colour, one shirt at a time. Photos, gradients and many colours cost no more than a one-colour logo.

Screen printing pushes ink through a stencil, one screen per colour. Making the screens is the setup cost, paid once per design, which is why screen printers usually set a minimum order.

Which suits your order

DTGScreen printing
One or a few shirtsSuits it: no setupSetup is spread over few shirts
Photos and many coloursSame price as one colourEach colour adds a screen
Large run, one or two coloursCost per shirt stays similarCost per shirt falls as the run grows
Specialty inks (metallic, puff, glow)Not availableAvailable

What ChatAttire uses

ChatAttire shirts are printed to order by our print partner, Printful, with direct-to-garment printing. There is no minimum and no setup fee: a Classic Tee with one print is $27.99, with free standard US shipping. Larger orders get a quantity discount: 10% off from 10 shirts, 15% off from 24 shirts.

We don't offer screen printing or specialty inks. One order takes up to 250 shirts; for more, contact support. For hundreds of identical one-colour shirts, a screen printer may well cost less per shirt.

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