The Truth About Direct To Film Printing | Watch This Before You Buy A DTF Printer
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- Today, we're talking about the easiest way to get into DTF, or Direct To Film Heat Transfers. It’s a huge buzzword in the apparel decorating industry these days (for good reason) but, just like when direct to garment printers became widely available close to a decade ago, there was a huge rush to buy the equipment and supplies.
Direct To Film Transfers are pretty cool with awesome capabilities:
✔️ Full Color Prints
✔️ Almost Limitless Color & Detail
✔️ No Minimum Quantities
✔️ Quick Turnaround Printing
✔️ Applies to Cotton, Blended and Polyester Garments
But, that doesn't mean you should rush into an investment to buying your own DTF Printer for your small business.
We'll go over some of the challenges we've faced here at Transfer Express over the year we've been producing Direct To Film Transfers and some of the common pain points we've heard from other decorators who have DTF setups of their own.
This video is a must-watch before purchasing your own Direct To Film (DTF) Printer and supplies.
New to heat printing? Try samples of UltraColor Max Direct To Film Heat Transfers for Free: www.transferexpress.com/ultra...
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I’m going to buy my own equipment. I have been in business for over 20 years. You must do your research and learn how to not only work your equipment but also repair it if needed. We do embroidery, screen printing, heat pressing, laser engraving all in house. Buying transfers is great but it adds up. We still at times but transfers if we don’t have the time to print something in house but the bottom line is profit. If you can make it work do it and keep all the profit yourself.
100% correct. Managing a cheap printer and a clean environment to replicate what these guys do is incredibly hard. Sell shirts instead and just charge a bit more for what the experts do.
what you mean?
Way to sell your service by scaring people! Lol!
Haha, we didn't mean to scare anyone! We just wanted to share our own experiences with manufacturing DTF- as it's not all sunshine and roses, there's a lot more to it (similar to how Direct To Garment printing was made out to be years ago). Ultimately, it comes down the solution that aligns with your own business goals without the burden of the financial risk.
Just this past week at the Printing United Expo in Las Vegas I talked to two different apparel decorators who essentially described their DTF printers as " expensive paperweights"- as they're currently waiting either on supplies or replacement parts. Luckily they had other pre-existing methods to print that continue to move orders out the door.
I was thinking the same thing. I buy transfers from them for storefront business but since Ive learned to run dtf sheets on my epson dtg printer ive stopped and now about to buy a dtf commercial unit. This vid scares the small thinker and diy'ers.
A few years ago I spent about 5k on a bullshit dtg machine…so yeah expensive paper weight 😅
@@willsp8 shouldve went with the Epson f2100 or f2000 used tho,buying new too expensive. Buy used for a 2 grand or less(likely bad printhead) then call epson theyll replace any/all parts needed to get it running and send a tech to install them. I know cuz I paid the 2400 to do so myself on mine when it was out of warranty and aftermarket ink killed the printhead.
Ipayed 1500 for my dtf printer and shaker oven system. I bulk buy print heads, Adhesive and color, and i have not had any issues with printed colors. Prints come out exceptional and it was easy from the start. You do not need expensive equipment to start of with. If there is a will, there is a way.
WOW…. I would expect this from someone trying to sell transfers. FEAR MONGERING… if you buy equipment, then you should learn how to use and maintain it. Of course there’s going to be a learning curve if they are new to the game…
I don't know if we would call this "Fear Mongering", but, only a tale of our own experience vs what we hear at tradeshows or see in DTF printer ads (They sure do make it look 'too easy').
We do this to help businesses not go underwater on expensive investments they can never pay off (like Direct To Garment Printers). We only want to help businesses succeed, with minimal risk and maximum profit- If DTF solutions fit into your business, go for it!
I'm preaching to my customers the same things. I sure don't want them to buy a machine and stop buying transfers from me!
Hahaha, yeah its definitely an undertaking to produce quality transfers!
@Jon you do custom prints as well?
I can't tell if you're being cynical or actually own a transfer business. Nonetheless, I have a question. Have transfer businesses ever stolen the client's design? Who's to say they won't turn around and market the design the client sends in?
Since we started business about a year ago, we’ve worked with stahls and Transfer express to order DTF. In fact, their educational materials on CZcams and their websites helped us to succeed. But we’ve now reached a point wherein we want to have total control of our business, produce our own transfers, maximize profit and cut down turn around time. So, we’re actively in the market for a DTF. Our research in this process landed us on this video. But this video has scare the hell out of us. Maybe it’s all talking points for us to keep ordering transfers from Stahls and transfer express, but I also believe that there’re elements of truth to what he’s saying. This is some discouraging video, but something worth listening to. Now, I have a second thought.
Hey Daniel! So happy to hear our content here on CZcams and beyond has helped your business grow, I love hearing the small business success stories. Now, I don't mean to scare anyone away from DTF here, I just wanted to compile all the challenges we faced while working with Direct To Film printers commercially for over 2 years (we produced DTF for contract business before releasing it for all customers). It sounds like your business is at the point where owning DTF equipment may make sense as an investment, and I do want your business to have control of the process and your profits- with that in mind, keep some points in mind while you're shopping around for setups and researching your options:
- Reliable Company with real support: When technical issues arrive (and they will) having expert help is worth it.
- Readily-Available replacement parts: Ran in a commercial environment, things will break and every day your investment isn't running it's going to cost your business. Supply has evened out after the pandemic, but bootleg parts are still everywhere.
- Hot Peel vs Cold Peel: Those PET carriers differ widely from manufacturer to manufacturer, and many of the low cost carriers are exclusively cold peel, which can effect the way the finished result looks- sometimes requiring a second press. Those additional steps can affect your efficiency and may slow down your production.
- Adhesives: Similar to the carriers, be sure to select an adhesive option with a low melt temperature application- Many DTF options I saw on the floor at the Impressions Expo a couple weeks ago in Long Beach were 330 degrees or more, which made it less than ideal for those heat sensitive 100% polyester garments.
-Vents & Filtration: Check those specs and be sure to have the correct ratings if they're required.
I truly do want to see your business succeed (regardless of if its with our products or not) and there's a lot of shiny DTF marketing out there making it all look "too good to be true". I saw the birth and rise of Direct To Garment printers first-hand years ago, and in 2022, we asked a room of 150 decorators in Atlantic City "How many people actually turned a profit buying a direct to garment printer or still use theirs?"... only 4 decorators raised their hand- And those were more expensive than DTF printers are now.
This is a sales pitch lol to buy from them.
Totally get it. While good advice, the primary reason for the video is for people to keep buying from stahls
Can i create the art and have you print it and if so generally how much does something like that on an average cost?
Absolutely Cindy, you can design online in our designer using the thousands of customizable layouts and clipart and order prints. You can also upload files and combine them with our art too. We have a few different types of transfers, but our UltraColor Max (The DTF transfers we talk about in this video) are just 6 cents per square inch- So anything you can fit on a 20 x 20" sheet is around $25. We also have screen printed transfers (like our goof proof), but the pricing varies based on quantity and colors in the design. We have free, easy to use pricing calculators for all of our transfers here: www.transferexpress.com/pricing
Looking to start in my garage ! Wt do u guys suggest ?? I feel the cheapest way to start was with sublimation printer and heat press . Pls help with ur suggestions
Thankyou
Absolutely! We would recommend starting with a heat press for sure, however, sublimation printers can get costly and limit you to printing on white or light colored polyester garments only.
To reduce your initial investment into your business, purchasing custom transfers (DTF or screen printed plastisol ink transfers) when you need them is the easiest way to not have to maintain printers / print heads and keep stock of ink or paper. You won't have to figure out settings or print software.
We've got a great guide for starting up a t-shirt business here: czcams.com/video/_LmpVyl3Irs/video.html
And even printing on demand for online store fulfillment: czcams.com/video/Ja4vXMgaaOU/video.html
I want to print on memory foam covered with velvet or memory foam rugs for bathrooms. What can be used to not burn the fabric?
Oooh, velvet is going to be a tricky one for a couple reasons: The fabric content of velvet varies widely, so that changes the heat sensitivity depending on the specific make up of the fabric you have. Since modern velvet is commonly synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, viscose or rayon, you'll want a low low temperature transfer and test a sample before doing any production runs. High quality velvet sometimes contain silk, which can withstand temps 290 and under. If your velvet contains nylon, you'll need a heat transfer that has an adhesive formulated for nylon like our UltraColor Stretch Transfers (although 290 degrees for application may be too high depending on the fabric content).
The texture of the velvet is another variable and can likely have issues under the pressure of a heat press where it will flatten the fibers permanently, again, this depends on the specific content.
The velvet should be removed from the memory foam before printing, otherwise the viscoelastic polyurethane foam (memory foam) will collapse (melt) with the heat and never recover from being inside of the heat press.
I uploaded my artwork for the ultra color max and for a graphic that is 10 inches wide, I would be paying $6 a graphic and not able to do a gangsheet for this graphic. It's hard to keep cost down per shirt when spending that kind of money. It would be nice if the price changed based on quantity but no matter how many I wanted the price didn't change. Is there a way to get the cost down for a full color graphic?
Hey Nick, for full color, large graphics in higher quantities, our UltraColor Pro transfers ( www.transferexpress.com/heat-applied-transfers/ultracolor-pro ) will most likely be the more cost effective option as they do have quantity breaks at 12, 18, 24, 36 etc quantities. They are available on large 11.5" x 18" gang sheets and have a similar quick and easy hot peel single-step application like UltraColor Max.
@@transferexpress Thank you!
Thats what im doing also, i create high quality street art that i was on shirts. the only way to make profit is to do it myself or ill only be making 3$ a shirt
I couldn't find the dtg section on your website, would you please send me a link. I would like to order some dtf prints.
Hey Jorginho, you can find our UltraColor Max DTF heat transfers here: www.transferexpress.com/heat-applied-transfers/ultracolor-max
To sum it all up.. It’s not what you do it’s HOW you do it. 🎉
where can i find out when are the trade shows that you all will be at ?
Hey Damian, you can see our full schedule up to September here: www.transferexpress.com/events-schedule
@@transferexpress ok sweet thanks
Can I get neck labels with DTF?
You sure can! For higher quantity orders it will be more cost effective to use plastisol transfers like our Goof Proof screen printed transfers: www.transferexpress.com/heat-applied-transfers/goof-proof-screen-printed-transfers
Do you ship to the Caribbean? If yes how long for shipping?
Hi TheNosdivad! We do ship to select islands in the Caribbean: US & British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Saint Kitts, French West Indies and St Maarten.
Shipping times depend on a few factors including any customs delays. Please contact us at info@transferexpress.com for a more accurate shipping time.
Im thinking of switching to dtf from white toner but to tell you honestly. I'd rather have white toner than dtf. dtf is too slow. its like 17-20 mins per shirt. just know the right temp of your heat press to your white toner and i think its better.
Hey LM Custom Merch! If white toner is working for you and your business now, you might not see too much of an advantage switching over to DTF. While some DTF printers are on the slower-side in terms of print speed, there's no "marrying" process, cold peels (some DTF is still cold peel) or double-press that's common with white toner prints.
I always recommend doing what makes the most sense for your business.
I’m a small business looking for custom dtf transfers my design is pretty simple and one color which type should I get on your website?
Great question, thanks for asking! We would recommend our UltraColor Max Direct To Film Transfers ( www.transferexpress.com/heat-applied-transfers/ultracolor-max ) for anything under 12 quantity. For single-color images over 12 pieces, Our Goof Proof Screen Printed Transfers will be a more cost effective option. ( www.transferexpress.com/heat-applied-transfers/goof-proof-screen-printed-transfers )
sublimination or just getting a 150$ cricut would be perfect for your business if you just going simple patterns why wouldnt u just use a cricut to cut the dtf paper and then you can just peel and transfer onto the shirt
HTV is still a viable solution for quick turn simple artwork for sure, but in even low quantities, our DTF prints make it easy to create anything without an investment or learning curve of a cutter and stocking material.
I wished you had a european selling point, if I would try to order these here in europe especially in the netherlands I would pay crazy amounts of money. (the screenprinted ones, not supaco)
Hey Amsterdam! We have a partner company in the UK that offers screen printed transfers (and I believe they ship to Europe!) Check them out here: www.targettransfers.com/
@@transferexpress oke Cool thanks I'll check them out
Which printer is best for dtf in t shirt ?🤔🤔..
We'd recommend purchasing custom prints as DTF printers can get very costly with limited supply chains and low quality parts. Until the market stabilizes with reliable machines, inks, films and replacement parts you're going to waste a lot of time, frustration and money.
UltraColor Max DTF Prints are available with next day turn times, no minimum quantities and low cost 6 cents per square inch pricing: www.transferexpress.com/heat-applied-transfers/ultracolor-max
so basically buy from them and fuck you trying to make money.. I will never buy from this company for this selfish reason alone.
can you wash glass in dishwasher
We don't recommend heat-applied Direct To Film Transfers to be applied to glass or ceramic materials.
We are manufacturer of DTF PET films in China ❤
Sorry, we use our own proprietary formulas for inks and film to ensure consistent quality with the unreliable supply chains that are a challenge in the DTF printing industry. We ensure our customers only receive a quality product that they can count on being consistent in application and print quality from order to order. We appreciate the offer though.
Do u ship overseas??
Sorry Ocean 11, we're currently only shipping to the US and Canada
Bought this printer but think I'm gonna study the printer for the remainder of the year.
There's definitely a learning curve when producing your own heat transfers, from software, to color management, print quality and much more
Although no minimum your pricing and where your price breaks are is a profit margin killer. I agree it makes most sense not to buy equipment for all the good reasons you stated but for someone like me who has over 250 designs and makes 100 shirts of week there is mo way I can pay what I calculated to be $9.24 for a 11 x 14 design which is alot and I saw no quantity pricebreak
Hey there Kilah Lipstick, we completely agree. For huge bulk runs, No Direct-To-Film transfer will be able to provide the profitability you find in other print methods. It's a fixed time to produce, so there is no advantage to bulk runs, it takes the same amount of time to produce each piece and uses the same amount of supplies.
If you artwork is not photographic and uses limited color (1-2), at 100 quantity, Our Goof Proof screen printed transfers are as low as $1.82 per 11.25 x 14" gang sheet. Even with 2 colors it's as low as $3.19 each. (pricing here will vary based on if you file is designed online, vector uploads or even raster/bitmap artwork)
For Full Color artwork, our UltraColor Pro transfers have quantity discounts and gang sheets, so 100 would be down to $4.50 per sheet.
You can request free samples of all of those different transfer types right here to see what will work best for your business: www.transferexpress.com/marketing-tools/free-samples
I absolutely appreciate your very thorough and solution based answer. Right after my comment I requested some samples be sent out and I am working with someone in your design area mow to tighten up one of my designs for print. This is going to be one of those things that I as a business have to work in gradually to my business which has managed to somejow flourish off 95% dye sublimation shirts. My biggest issue is when people order from they get 3-4 different shirts at a time so it makes if difficult to figure out a plan to get Ultramax (all I am interested in) in the most cost effective way. My customers love my shirts but want them on black tees which is what has taken me down this DTF rabbit hole. I am most likely going to have to get a DTF printer and then use you guys for bigger runs. My business is a print on demand business that works for sublimation but with no DTF printer I dont see how possible with buying DTF sheets. Ok my brain hurts now lol
It's a rip off. Buy your own DTF printer
What’s the best DTF printer to buy for small business?
For a small business we wouldn't recommend purchasing a printer, for the reasons we outlined in this video. It would be much more cost effective with higher quality results and less risk to purchase custom transfers on demand when needed.
Similar to Direct To Garment machines, the vast majority of people jumping to buy these new printers will never recoup the cost of the initial investment into the machines required to produce quality direct to film transfers.
@@transferexpress I need the website for this so I can start ordering and figure out how much it costs.... This sounds like the answer 1st I need to figure out the cost 🤔
Can I use a 3820 Espon inkjet?
Hey 2EAZYTV, It looks like there's some conversions for the 3820 to print sublimation inks, but it doesnt look like it can be used for DTF printing.
You say briefly mention the environment and health but you do not even spend a full minute explaining what the possible issues might be which leads me to believe you're simply trying to stop someone from spending $3000-5000 on a DTF printer because you're going to lose a crap ton of business. My mother in law and wife have done screen printer, embroidery, vinyl and even dye sublimation for nearly 20 years now. While screen printing does cause a massive mess and cleanup sucks, DTF seems to be an acceptable alternative to still provide full color prints at a decent price to customers not willing to pay $20/shirt or that just want 5-6 shirts for a Disney trip or something but want more than just what vinyl can be provide. Instead of trying to scare business owners and current customers about DTF so that you do not lose business how about instead, you explain the real benefits and start selling the equipment and providing support as well as the needed consumables. That sounds like a better business practice to me.
Hey Adam, we're not trying to scare anyone here, we're just sharing our experiences with working with and refining DTF technology in a commercial environment for over 2 years now. We saw so many smoke and mirrors when Direct to Garment hit the industry years ago and a lot of decorators were never able to pay off their investment, harming the growth of their small business- We merely want to help decorators not make the same mistakes with DTF now and provide a low-risk solution for any decorator wanting to incorporate DTF into their services.
If bringing DTF in-house makes sense for you, your brand and your customers; by all means go for it, we don't want to hold your business back, but please keep the topics we cover here in mind when you're shopping for equipment.
For your example, those small customers ordering 5-6 shirts for a Disney trip: how many of those types of jobs are required to justify the equipment / supplies / maintenance? If this is your core customer base, then DTF makes perfect sense- If this is a every 'now-and-then' type job, purchasing DTF transfers on demand simplifies the added burden of equipment, rip software, environment, etc for small businesses and decorators.
Why can't you do business here in the Philippines, DHL, FedEx, and UPS, can?
While DHL, FedEx and UPS ship internationally, the cost of shipping our boxes typically eliminates any profit margins for apparel decorators.
@@transferexpress Which printer is best for dtf in t shirt ?🤔🤔
This might be a great solution until your shirt biz takes off and you can afford a commercial dtf printer. EDIT* Nevermind. They charge waaaaay too much. 😂 Website needs an overhaul too. Not user friendly at all.
How can we help? We're always looking for ways to improve. The online designer at transferexpress.com allows you to upload artwork, price out your project and and resize designs all in one place- As we exclusively produce custom transfers, there's a lot of variables that affect pricing like size, quantity and colors in the design.
Our Direct To Film Transfers are offered at 6￠ per square inch, available in no minimum quantities with next day turnaround if ordered before midnight EST. They're a hot peel transfer that applies at a low temperature 290 degrees that's great for cotton, polyester, cotton/poly blends or even spandex.
@@transferexpress How can you help? Don’t charge so much.
I just looked it up and a 10 x 6 was $3.60. That is not charging waaaaay too much. That price is great. And I was able to navigate the website just fine. Maybe reach out to TE and someone on the phone can help walk you through the site. I have to do that sometimes with other companies.
This video is so disingenuous! I'm definitely buying a machine now.
We used our own experiences running DTF printers for 2 years to make this video to help out small businesses, entrepreneurs and decorators make the right decision for their own business. We're not here to stop you from purchasing your own DTF printer if it makes sense for you and your business, but for many it is a large financial risk and with many unknowns that can impact their overall profitability with hidden costs and maintenance.
Geez all your doing is up selling your business and mocking everyone else.