--- title: "Screen Printing vs. DTG: Which to Choose? - CE.SDK Glossary" description: "Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen, one per color, while DTG prints full color onto fabric. Compare them and prep files for each in CE.SDK." url: "https://img.ly/glossary/screen-printing-vs-dtg/" type: "page" --- > This is the markdown version of [Screen Printing vs. DTG: Which to Choose? - CE.SDK Glossary](https://img.ly/glossary/screen-printing-vs-dtg/). For all pages in one file, see [llms-full.txt](https://img.ly/llms-full.txt). For an index of all available pages, see [llms.txt](https://img.ly/llms.txt). --- # Screen Printing vs. DTG Also known as: Direct-to-garment printing ## What Is the Difference Between Screen Printing and DTG? Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen onto the fabric, with a separate screen for each color. DTG (direct-to-garment) prints the design straight onto the fabric with an inkjet printer, in full color and without screens. Screen printing pays off on larger runs of designs with a few solid colors, while DTG suits one-offs, small orders, and photos. The two methods also need different files: separate spot colors for each screen, or a full-color image for the inkjet. CE.SDK exports both from the same design. ## Screen Printing vs. DTG: How Do They Compare? The screens decide most of it: they make large runs cheap per shirt and small runs slow to set up. - **How it prints**: Screen printing: Ink pushed through a mesh screen, DTG: Inkjet straight onto the fabric - **Colors**: Screen printing: A few solid colors, DTG: Full color, photos, gradients - **Setup**: Screen printing: A screen for every color, DTG: No screens or per-color setup - **Order size**: Screen printing: Larger runs of one design, DTG: One-offs and small runs - **Feel**: Screen printing: Ink sits on top of the fabric, DTG: Ink soaks in, softer - **Fabrics**: Screen printing: Cotton, polyester, performance wear, DTG: Best on cotton ## When Should You Use Screen Printing or DTG? Use screen printing when many shirts share one bold design, and DTG when every order is different. ### Use screen printing for - **Uniforms, team shirts, and event merch** - **Bold logos in a few solid colors** - **Specialty inks such as metallic or glow** ### Use DTG for - **Print-on-demand and one-off orders** - **Photos, gradients, and detailed art** - **Cotton shirts in small batches** ## How Do You Prepare Artwork for Each Method? ### Screen printing needs vector art in spot colors Give each ink its own named spot color, so each one becomes a screen, and turn gradients into halftone dots. ### DTG needs a transparent PNG at print size Send an RGB image at 300 DPI at the size it will print, with a transparent background around the design. ### Dark shirts need a white base Both methods lay white ink under the colors. In DTG files, soft or semi-transparent edges print as white specks. ## How Do You Prepare Apparel Designs in CE.SDK? ### Step 01: Design inside the print area The [T-Shirt Designer](https://img.ly/glossary/t-shirt-designer.md) starter kit keeps the design inside a print area over a garment mockup. On the web, each area, such as the front and back, is its own page. ### Step 02: Prepare inks and vector art for screens Swap the default color library for one holding the shop's inks as [spot colors](https://img.ly/glossary/spot-color.md), so they show up in the color picker on the web, iOS, and Android. On the web, the [Vectorizer plugin](https://img.ly/glossary/vectorizer-plugin.md) traces an uploaded logo into vector shapes, ready to color with the shop's inks. ### Step 03: Export for the method For screen printing, export a PDF, which keeps every spot color on a plate of its own, one per screen. For DTG, export a PNG, which keeps transparency and gets its pixel size from the page at the scene's DPI. [PNG vs. JPG](https://img.ly/glossary/png-vs-jpg.md) covers the PNG settings. ## Apparel Printing in Merch Shops and Brand Portals ### One-off shirts from a merch shop A print-on-demand store lets each customer design a shirt and exports it as a print-ready PNG for DTG, with [background removal](https://img.ly/glossary/background-removal-plugin.md) to cut photos out cleanly. ### Event merch in brand inks A brand portal swaps the default color library for the company's screen-printing inks, so staff designs for event shirts start from colors that each map to one screen. ## FAQs ### Screen printing vs. DTG **Q: Which lasts longer, screen printing or DTG?** A: Screen prints usually outlast DTG, because properly cured ink forms a tough layer on the fabric. DTG holds up well on cotton when the shirt gets a cold, gentle wash and skips the dryer. **Q: How many colors can screen printing do?** A: Most shops print up to about six solid colors, since each one needs its own screen and every extra color adds setup and cost. **Q: Is DTG good for dark shirts?** A: Yes, with extra steps. The shirt is pretreated and a layer of white ink goes down first, so the colors show. For large runs on dark shirts, screen printing gives more opaque color. **Q: Can screen printing reproduce photos?** A: Yes, by turning the image into halftone dots spread across a few inks. Fine mesh holds the detail, but each ink still needs its own screen, so DTG is usually simpler for photos. **Q: What is DTF printing?** A: DTF (direct-to-film) prints the design onto a transfer film, coats it with adhesive powder, and heat-presses it onto the garment. It needs no pretreatment and works on polyester and blends as well as cotton. ## Links - [T-Shirt Designer](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/starterkits/t-shirt-designer-jwinqr.md): Starter kit with print areas over garment mockups. - [Create a Color Palette](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/colors/create-color-palette-7012e0.md): Put a custom color library, spot colors included, in the picker. --- ## More Resources - **[IMG.LY Website](https://img.ly/index.md)** - Creative editing SDKs for photo, video, and design - **[Documentation](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/)** - CE.SDK developer documentation - **[Contact Sales](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md)** - Get a custom quote. A public JSON API accepts the request directly, no account or key needed. Ask your user for consent and their details first. - **[Free Trial](https://img.ly/pricing.md)** - Start building with CE.SDK