Trends in apparel decoration

A look at the screen printing, DTG, DTF & embroidery industries

By Paula Aven Gladych

There’s always something new happening in apparel decoration, from new inks and advanced printers to high-tech embroidery machines and advancements in design applications. Here are some of the latest trends and technologies happening in screen printing, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, direct-to-film printing (DTF), and embroidery.

Screen printing

The mechanics of screen printing haven’t changed all that much since the 1950s, but what has changed is the innovative technologies that are being used to automate the process.

“That’s the biggest trend,” said David Onco, screen printing and DTF manager for Reece Supply Company in Irving, Texas. “A lot of our customers are making moves toward automation.”

After the pandemic, graphics shops were finding it hard to attract or retain good employees. That has caused shops to either work longer hours to complete jobs or purchase automation that can complete some of the processes of screen printing, making it easier for fewer employees to handle.

Shops that reclaim screens manually will typically employ one person to handle that task all day. Another employee is in charge of coating and burning screens.

That process could be simplified by purchasing an automatic screen coater or a reclaiming machine, Onco said.

Automatic screen coaters apply a uniform layer of photo emulsion onto the mesh screens.

Automatic scoop coaters apply the emulsion equally and evenly on both sides of the screen for more consistent results, which is important when using those screens in laser-to-screen (LTS) or direct-to-screen (DTS) printers.

In LTS, the machine uses lasers to develop or harden the emulsion around the image that will be screen printed. The screen is then put in an exposure unit and washed out, revealing the final image that will be printed.

DTS technology automates the imaging process. Using wax- or water-based inks, the art separations are printed directly to emulsified screens, eliminating the need for film output. This saves time and money in the screen-printing process. LTS is more expensive than DTS but uses fewer consumables, Onco said.

Screen printers are also adding DTF printers to their arsenal of printers to fill the gaps that traditional screen printing can’t fill, such as multicolor prints and smaller order sizes. It isn’t economical to use screen printing for designs that take more than three colors or orders of one to 15 shirts.

Even though graphics shops are branching out into DTG, DTF, and embroidery, Onco said that he gauges the popularity of a certain type of printing based on how many of those machines are moving out.

“Considering everything, we have been quite steady. It seems like screen printing is not stopping. It is still going,” Onco said. He added that when he goes on sales calls, he likes to challenge himself to find new shops that have popped up, driven by new technology and automation.

Images courtesy of Reece Supply Company

Direct-to-garment printing

DTG printing didn’t gain much traction until the early 2000s. Since then, DTG has continued to evolve, from the printers themselves to the inks. The DTG printer filled a gap that wasn’t being filled by screen printers. It made it relatively inexpensive for graphics shops to produce small orders of T-shirts, hats, and other apparel without the added time and expense it would take to produce multicolor designs in screen printing. When DTG was invented, many thought screen printing was dead. It is still going strong.

DTG “really slumped for two years because all anybody could talk about was DTF,” said Terry Combs, sales and training at Equipment Zone. That trend reversed sometime last year, “where it was kind of like a pendulum swinging. People are coming back to DTG.”

As an Epson reseller, Equipment Zone usually sells more of the normal-size DTG printers than the large industrial versions, but in the last two months, Combs said he has personally sold three of Epson’s largest DTG printers, which sell for $55,000. A shop doesn’t invest that amount of money in something they think is temporary, he said.

One of the biggest reasons for the swing back to DTG is that screen printers like that the images feel a lot like they were screen printed. The other thing that revolutionized DTG was figuring out how to do DTF transfers on DTG printers, Combs said.

“A lot of folks had DTG printers or wanted to do DTF transfers but didn’t want to commit to a full-fledged DTF printer,” he said. “DTG printers are more forgiving than DTF printers.”

A lot of DTF printers need to be run every day to stay in good operating condition. Shops don’t have to do that with DTG printers.

Many customers just like the feel of DTG more than DTF. “A DTF transfer still feels like a transfer, no matter what you do. Customers want a more screen print type feel.”

In the past, shops would have to go through several steps to make DTG printers print on film transfers. “Now every DTG machine has the option to do DTF. It can flip the artwork on the screen and print in reverse order,” Combs said.

Decorated apparel sales have never wavered, he said. They just keep going up while the quantities keep going down.

Images courtesy of Howard Custom Transfers

Direct-to-film printing

Howard Custom Transfers started in 2002 as a screen print transfer manufacturer. Instead of screen printing on garments, the company screen printed on paper carrier sheets to ship across the country. In about 2020, the world shifted to a new technology, DTF printing, “and it really took everything we knew and tossed it on its head,” said Jody Mazade, director of sales and marketing for Howard Custom Transfers.

Now, instead of only being able to screen print a few colors on a transfer, DTF offers full-color prints.

“I think a lot of shops that were early adopters of DTF became DTF-only shops. They said, ‘We don’t need screen printing equipment or vinyl or sublimation,’” she said.

The biggest trend in apparel decorating right now is for “decorators to use all of the tools available to them and not just landing with one decoration technique,” Mazade said.

DTF is the perfect solution for low volume and low cost. The technique has come a long way since its inception and has a similar durability and washability to other apparel decorating techniques. It really depends on the manufacturer and supplier and the materials they are using.

Transfers are applied to apparel with a heat press. DTF uses eco-solvent inks, which are similar to what comes out of an inkjet printer.

Decorators are “diving into the design aspect and what they can do with special effect inks,” she said, combining different ink types on the same transfer as a way to leverage possibilities with customers and show them how to increase profit while maintaining the same level of effort on their part.

Specialty inks such as puff, shimmer, or glitter demand a much higher price while a shop’s overhead costs stay the same.

“DTF was such a buzzword, and we were lucky to have it bring so many people into the industry,” Mazade said. Now shops are figuring out the best printing method for the design, type of garment, and order to find the best fit for the needs of their customers.

She added that if shops are not utilizing all of the different options, they are “probably not leveraging all of the greatness that is the apparel decorating industry and are probably not profiting as much as [they] should be.”

“DTF is great for small five or six-color runs. Screen printing printers are scalable. Embroidery is for branding, and sublimation is good for polyester,” she explained.

Another trend in DTF is live activations. Bringing DTF transfers to an event where attendees can choose the garment, image, and placement, and watch while the apparel is decorated in front of them. This is popular at trade shows, concerts, sporting events, and schools.

Both analog and digital technologies have a place in apparel decoration, Mazade stated. “People still love the look and feel of analog printing, of old-fashioned printing. I don’t think it is going anywhere. I think it is here to stay.”

Images courtesy of Equipment Zone

Embroidery

Print on demand has evolved into production on demand, which means it is carrying over to multigraphical technologies such as embroidery, print, DTF, DTG, and other models, said Ed Levy, vice president, technology for Hirsch Solutions.

“Embroidery has and always will have a higher perceived value. It is textured. It is raised. It has substance. The perceived value is what pushes embroidery, anything requiring a higher-end look, feel, or touch,” he said.

Production on demand is a major trend in the industry, including unique personalization and smaller quantities.

As in printing, many embroidery shops are trying to reduce labor costs and the costs associated with smaller runs, so they are turning toward automation to address those challenges.

In embroidery, automation software takes and routes finished designs, sets thread colors, and provides an entire workflow of processes to help streamline it, Levy said. “From a personalization standpoint, it can auto-read data from the entry system and create personalization or templates without any human intervention.”

Embroidery machinery can only go so fast. Speed comes from streamlining production with faster color changes and trims. The machines themselves have gotten smaller over the years. Twelve-head machines were common 15 years ago. Today, six- to eight-head machines are outproducing what the 12-head machines from 20 years ago could do, Levy explained.

“Smaller order size combined with faster machines makes a six- or eight-head machine the smart choice,” he added.

Tajima Group makes machines that offer intelligent thread management. AI functionality reduces the learning curve with tension, pressure, and foot height adjustments handled automatically, he said. It also adjusts for the thickness of the fabric. Coloreel offers instant direct-to-embroidery thread dyeing, which allows shops to offer unlimited color options for each embroidery or produce multiple personalized designs without downtime.

Growth in the embroidery industry is measured by customer demand. “It is fantastic,” Levy said. “Over the last several years, many companies relied on offshore production, but now they are bringing production back to the U.S. The supply chain and tariffs have something to do with that.”