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Choose a print or decoration method
The method determines how the design feels, which products you can use, and what the artwork must be able to reproduce.
Start with the product, the finished look, and the artwork—not the acronym. DTF is often useful for vivid art on many apparel fabrics; DTG is often useful when you want ink to feel more like part of a compatible cotton garment; embroidery creates a stitched result; engraving marks a supported hard good.
Start with the result you want
A decoration method is simply the way your design is applied to the product. Answer these questions before you open the product catalog.
- What are you making? A lightweight shirt, performance shirt, polo, fleece, cap, bag, tumbler, and wooden award do not share the same options.
- How should it look and feel? Decide whether you want a printed surface, ink that sits more within the garment, raised thread, or a mark in the material.
- What is in the artwork? Photographs, soft fades, distressed texture, tiny text, and simple solid logos behave differently.
- How will people order? One-at-a-time store orders and a planned bulk quantity can lead to different methods.
- Where will the design go? A flat front panel is easier to decorate than a seam, zipper, pocket, curved tumbler, or structured cap.
In the product builder, the Decoration technique you select—the interface label for the method—filters the catalog. If a product disappears, that usually means the product is not available for that technique—not that the catalog is broken.
Compare the common methods
Use this as a starting point. The exact product still needs to appear in the live catalog for the method you choose.
| Method | Often useful when | Finished feel | Pay attention to |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTF | Vivid, multicolor art—including fully opaque color gradients—with solid outer edges and adequate line and space weight; smaller quantities; polyester, cotton, and many blends | A transfer with an opaque underbase sits on the surface; large solid areas feel more noticeable | Partial transparency or feathered alpha, underbase behavior, line and space weight, heat tolerance, seams, and large solid blocks |
| DTG | Cotton and approved blends; fine detail; photographs, fades, and a softer printed feel | Ink is printed into the garment and usually feels softer | Garment compatibility, dark-garment pretreatment, and how muted colors reproduce |
| Embroidery | Polos, fleece, jackets, structured caps, bags, and small premium logo placements | Raised, dimensional thread | A product- and size-specific DST file, minimum detail, and fabric stability |
| Engraving | Products shown as engraving-compatible in the current catalog, or an exact hard good confirmed by production | The material determines the color and appearance of the mark | One-color, one-layer artwork; curvature; and the fact that it is not a full-color print |
| Screen print | Planned bulk runs with controlled colors and known quantities | Durable ink layer; feel changes with ink coverage and formula | Quantity, color count, print locations, artwork separation, and a current quote |
| Sublimation | Exact supported sublimation SKUs—primarily approved drinkware—using the product’s current template and live area | Dye becomes part of the coated surface | Product template, wrap area, seams, handles, and substrate color |
Why DTF and DTG both exist
They can both make a full-color shirt, but they solve different combinations of fabric, artwork, color, and print feel.
Choose DTF when compatibility and color are the priority
The design is printed onto film and transferred with heat and pressure. An opaque underbase helps bright colors stand out on dark garments and makes DTF useful across many cotton, polyester, and blended products.
- Good starting point for vivid logos, illustrated art, and fully opaque color gradients
- Useful for many performance fabrics and blends
- Efficient for one-at-a-time or small-quantity programs
- Partial transparency and feathered alpha can reveal the opaque underbase or create a harder edge than intended
- Large solid areas can feel heavier on the garment
Choose DTG when garment feel and tonal detail are the priority
Water-based ink is printed directly onto a compatible garment. On cotton and approved blends, the print can feel softer and can reproduce photographs, soft shadows, and transparent-looking edges more naturally.
- Strong choice for cotton garments and detailed raster art
- Better suited to fades, shadows, and continuous tone
- Usually softer to the touch than a large DTF transfer
- Some dark, heather, neon, pastel, or burnt-style colors can show pretreatment residue or staining; compare DTF or ask for a product-specific review when that risk matters
For a bright school logo on a polyester team shirt, start by checking DTF. For a photographic or softly faded design on a compatible cotton tee, check DTG. If both methods support the product, choose based on artwork and the finished feel you want.
Embroidery creates a stitched, dimensional result
An embroidery machine follows a digitized .DST file to place thread in a planned order, direction, density, and stitch type. Choose it for compatible polos, fleece, jackets, bags, and caps when raised thread fits the look you want.
Think twice when the design depends on tiny text, hairline detail, gradients, distressed texture, or a very light or stretchy product. Those details may need to be simplified, and the product must provide a stable embroidery area.
A DST is made for a product type, placement, and finished size. A left-chest polo file should not automatically be resized or reused on a structured cap. Thread colors come from a physical thread chart; an exact Pantone match should not be promised. The product must appear in the embroidery catalog, and unusual placements need review.
Engraving lets the product material create the mark
Engraving removes or changes the product’s surface so the material underneath determines the finished color and texture. Choose it when a clean, permanent one-color mark fits an exact hard good shown in the engraving catalog or confirmed by production.
Think twice when the design needs full color, photographic tone, subtle color differences, or fine detail on a curved or textured surface. Prepare a deliberate one-color, one-layer mark; vector artwork is preferred. A large monochrome raster file still needs review.
A polo and tumbler use the same source logo differently
The polo may use a simplified crest digitized for a left-chest placement. The tumbler may use a one-layer mark sized to that exact product’s live area. The source logo can begin both projects, but each method needs its own production file.
Screen printing fits planned quantities
Screen printing pushes ink through prepared screens onto the product. A separate screen is usually needed for each spot color, so quantity, art colors, product colors, print locations, and artwork complexity affect the quote.
Choose it when one buyer knows the approximate quantity, product, color mix, and distribution plan. Think twice for a one-at-a-time storefront or a small uncertain order, because setup is spread across the run.
Spot-color vector artwork is the simplest starting point. Gradients, photographs, shadows, and complex full-color artwork require art review and a process or simulated-process quote; the decorator creates the final production separations. Always use a current quote rather than an old order as a price promise.
Sublimation uses dye on an exact supported product
Sublimation uses heat to turn printed dye into gas so it bonds with a compatible coated surface. The finished design becomes part of that surface rather than sitting on top of it.
Choose it only for an exact supported sublimation SKU—primarily approved drinkware—and use the current template and live area for that product. Keep important text and artwork away from seams, handles, wrap edges, and unprintable areas.
Product color matters. White and stainless-looking surfaces do not create the same background or color result. A product that merely looks coated is not automatically suitable for sublimation.
Ask us about specialty methods before planning the product
UV printing, UV DTF, heat-seal patches, and screen-print transfers solve particular combinations of surface, artwork, quantity, and handling. They are not interchangeable menu choices. Start with the exact product, artwork, expected quantity, and desired result so our production team can confirm the method.
A screen-print-transfer program requires approval before transfers are offered, quoted, purchased, stored, or applied. An approved program can reduce finished-garment size inventory, but the transfers remain inventory and require a tested product, transfer formula, application recipe, storage owner, and reorder plan.
Use your choice in the builder
- Choose the likely Decoration technique in the builder.
- Confirm the exact product appears in that technique’s live catalog.
- Check the artwork against the method-specific requirements.
- Build one product and review the preview at its final size.
Last reviewed August 10, 2026.