Screen Printing is an extremely established industry, with countless companies making and innovating new products. Screen Printing is relatively inexpensive to get into, with just a few hundred dollars getting you a basic manual press and the supplies needed to print a shirt in a spare room. Inks and supplies are generally very affordable, and special formulations of inks can be mixed to make custom colors or to match customer requested Pantone (PMS) colors.

Screen printing typically utilzed a printing press (either manual or automatic), screens coated with an emulsion for each color needed, and a dryer.   Other equipment needed may included a flash cure unit, and exposure unit, and other equipment that can help with quality and efficience as needed. 

Screen Printing scales extremely well. Large businesses may get orders for thousands of garments at a time, and large automatic presses that can be run by a single user keeps labor costs down and can be run extremely fast.

Screen Printing inks also are able to offer colors and effects that DTF inks cannot, such as glitters, shimmers, foils, reflectives, puffs, neons, glow-in-the-dark, water or heat activated, color changing, and more. There are also inks that offer a far different feel, such as silicone inks.

Some disadvantages compared to DTF may include cost; though very cheap to acquire the basic equipment, professional shops interested in automation see significantly higher prices. Another disadvantage is that typical screen printing requires an exposed frame for every color needed (though four-color-process printing, a more advanced screen printing technique, can eliminate this need). This can also require more artwork optimization before you print. Setup and cleanup time is also a disadvantage and more 'comsumables' are used compared to DTF printing.

Direct To Film (DTF) printing is a relatively new method of printing, primarily in the apparel (shirt) industry. It utilizes a special printer and ink system to print your graphics on a specialized film. A bonding powder is added and the print is 'cured' before it is ready to be adhered the garment. When heat of a certain temperature and duration is applied the film can be peeled off, leaving a durable and vibrant artwork on the garment.

DTF is relatively new to the printing world, and takes advantage of modern digital printing techniques and new ink formulations for farment printing. It can print full color without the need for screens and color separations and exposures.

For a more comprehensive breakdown of DTF printing advantages and disadvantages, head on over to our DTF Printing page on our website. 

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These emulsions are pre-sensitized and ready to use right out of the container. They feature the fastest exposure times of any emulsion type (see products for support inks).

Durable emulsions that are suitable for high detail and high production runs, these emulsions may work with plastisol or water based inks (see products for supported inks).

Low cost yet durable emulsions for either plastisol or water-based inks (see products for supported inks). Add diazo powder (included), mix, and use.

Offering the performance of the best emulsions and a smooth even coat without the mess, capillary films are a no-mix, easy to apply option to liquid emulsion types.