What is DTF printing?
DTF stands for Direct-to-Film. Your design is printed in full colour onto a special film, backed with a white layer and TPU textile adhesive, then pressed onto your textile. The white underbase keeps colours bright on cotton and cotton-rich blends, light or dark.
There are no screens and no setup to pay for, so a short run is just as practical as a long one — perfect for full-colour artwork, photos and personalisation.
How we print it
- 1
We print the colour
Your artwork is printed in full CMYK onto film.
- 2
We add white & adhesive
A white underbase locks in opacity; adhesive bonds it to fabric.
- 3
We press it on
We heat-press it onto your garment and finish the piece.
Why choose it
- Full colour, no per-colour cost
- Photos, gradients and unlimited colours at no extra cost per colour.
- No minimum order
- No screens and no setup to pay for, so short runs are just as practical as long ones.
- Works on dark fabric
- The white underbase keeps colours bright on any garment colour.
- Durable & flexible
- Washed at 30 °C inside out, it stays vibrant well past 40 washes, and it stretches with the fabric.
Good to know
- Exact Pantone matching
- DTF prints CMYK, so spot colours are approximated. For exact Pantones, screen-print is better. See screen-print →
- Not for coated fabrics
- Waterproof or heavily coated materials can stop the adhesive bonding — ask us if unsure.
- Coloured polyester and sportswear
- On dyed polyester the fabric's own dye can migrate into the print over time and tint light colours. DTF is at its best on cotton and cotton blends — for coloured polyester or sportswear we'll recommend sublimation instead.
Prefer to press the transfers yourself? DTF Transfer
What we print it on
DTF is the versatile choice — it's at its best on cotton and cotton-rich blends, in any colour.
T-shirts
Sportswear
Hoodies
Polos
Caps
Bags
Frequently asked questions
The film is 600 mm wide; the printing width is 565 mm.
Production involves printing a colour motif onto a special synthetic film. White ink is then applied, followed by textile TPU adhesive and fixation in a drying tunnel.
Lifespan depends on the quality of application to the textile and on the wash temperature. We recommend lifespan tests, but in our experience a correctly applied print typically withstands 40 washes or more, though actual lifespan varies with fabric, application and care. If you need higher quality, consider a screen-printing transfer.
Ideally wash at 30 °C, turned inside out — this maximises the print's lifespan. When correctly applied, the print also withstands washing at 40 °C.
It depends on the dryer. Cheaper dryers blow air that's too hot into the drum, damaging the print. In general we don't recommend tumble-drying, as it also damages the textile itself.
No, the iron would damage the print. We recommend ironing from the reverse side. If you need an ironable print, we recommend direct water-based printing or sublimation.
We profile our printer regularly, but naturally the full CMYK gamut can't be achieved. If you need a specific colour, order a test print before a larger run. We can also send you our current ICC profile for soft-proofing.
We can print Pantone colours that have a CMYK representation, but only as that CMYK representation, which isn't always perfect — so we recommend a test print. For an exact Pantone colour or artwork with spot colours, a screen-printing transfer is more suitable.
DTF is at its best on cotton and cotton-rich blends. It also works on light (white) polyester, but we don't recommend it on coloured or dark polyester or on sportswear — the fabric's own dye can migrate into the print.
Why it happens: polyester is coloured with disperse dyes that become active above roughly 130 °C, when the fibres release them to the surface. We press DTF at around 160 °C, so over time the fabric's dye bleeds into the print and tints light areas in particular (for example, a white print on a red jersey starts to turn pink). On sublimation-dyed polyester (jerseys, performance tees) it can show within hours or days; on regular dyed polyester it typically takes weeks. Softshell is the highest-risk material.
Cotton doesn't have this problem. If you need a print on coloured polyester or sportswear, sublimation (on light polyester) or a screen print with a blocker layer is more suitable. If you're unsure about a material, send us a sample and we'll test it.
Pressing temperature depends on the material. For a cotton T-shirt it's usually 160 °C for 12 seconds.
Pressure depends on the material and the desired effect — we usually use 0.1 kg/cm². Higher pressure transfers the textile's texture into the print, reducing opacity but increasing resistance to mechanical damage. We recommend testing the pressure on a sample.
Cold peel is best, but our film also allows peeling while the transfer is still warm.
Yes — re-pressing through dark-brown baking paper significantly increases the print's durability. We recommend re-pressing cotton T-shirts at 160 °C for 10 seconds.