Textile Printing Methods: Screen, Rotary, Digital, DTF and Sublimation

Textile printing methods: how they are classified

Methods read on two axes: the stage of printing (on the fabric roll, or on the product after cutting and sewing) and the colourant (pigment, reactive, disperse or acid dye). The pairing of colourant and fibre shapes the result as much as the method does.

What “transfer printing” means: heat transfer versus dye transfer

The trade uses “transfer printing” for quite different jobs. Here it has one meaning: transfer printing is the umbrella name for methods in which a design is first printed on a carrier, such as paper or film, and then moved onto the fabric or product. It has two subgroups, named separately throughout:

• Heat transfer (film transfer; garment printing): an ink and adhesive layer on a carrier film is bonded to the finished product with a heat press. DTF, HTV (heat transfer vinyl, or “flex” on Turkish quotations) and flock belong here; the print sits on the surface.
• Dye transfer: the colourant moves from paper into the fibre. On a garment, with heat, it is sublimation; on a roll of fabric it is roll-to-roll transfer printing. For cotton, a “cold transfer” that needs no heat has been developed.

If a quotation says only “transfer”, ask which of the two it means.

Textile printing methods compared

The table is qualitative. Quantities are low, medium or high, not numbers, because thresholds depend on set-up cost and the printer. Every durability cell means “test it”: only a test report proves results, which depend on ink, curing and wash conditions.

Garment printing methods

Screen printing

Each colour needs its own screen; ink passes through the open areas onto the fabric. The set-up is done once, so its burden per piece falls as quantity rises: the method is strong for few-colour, repeat designs at medium to high quantities. A multicolour or photographic design needs as many screens as colours, and set-up grows quickly.

The ink family shapes the result. Plastisol, a heat-cured ink widely used on T-shirts, covers dark fabric well and forms a film on the surface; water-based ink leaves a much thinner layer and a softer handle. Discharge printing removes the ground dye with a chemical to create the design. It works only on fabric whose dye can be discharged (in practice mostly cotton dyed with a suitable dye), so ask your fabric supplier.

Digital garment printing (DTG)

DTG (direct to garment) sprays the design straight onto the product, like an office printer. With no screen or film, preparation is short and even one piece can be printed. Colour count adds no set-up work, so photographic and gradient designs are its strength.

Fabric compatibility depends on the machine and ink system. For example, Epson’s SureColor F2270 guide supports fabrics with 50–100% cotton or 50–100% polyester (recommended: 100% cotton or 100% polyester) and calls for pretreatment liquid on polyester, and on cotton when white ink is used, that is, on dark fabric. For blends and synthetics, confirm ink and pretreatment from the machine maker’s data sheet and a sample print.

DTF

DTF (direct to film) prints the design, with a layer of white ink, on a special transfer film. Before the print dries, hot-melt powder adhesive is scattered on it, the excess is shaken off and the powder is melted with heat. The film is then heat-pressed onto the product and the carrier is peeled off. Because the print is made on the film, the product gets no pretreatment; Epson’s DTF guide gives separate press conditions for cotton and polyester T-shirts. Confirm the suitable fabric range from your film and powder data sheet.

The print does not penetrate the fibre: it sits on the surface and, because of the adhesive layer, can feel like a thin film. Durability depends on the film, adhesive and press conditions (see the testing section on why not to ask for a number of washes).

Heat-transfer film: HTV (flex) and flock

HTV (flex) and flock are shapes cut on a plotter from ready-made film, weeded and pressed on with a heat press. Flex is, for example, a thin, stretchy polyurethane (PU) film; flock is a velvet-textured film covered with short fibres such as viscose or polyamide. The film maker’s data sheet decides which fabrics suit it: one maker’s standard flex and flock films, for example, are not suitable for nylon and water-repellent fabrics, and a separate nylon product is recommended. They suit names, numbers and simple logos; colours are limited to the film range, and photographic or gradient designs are not what they are for.

Sublimation

The design is first printed in mirror image on transfer paper. A heat press vaporises the disperse dye on the paper and the dye enters the polyester fibre. Because it forms no separate surface film, the fabric’s texture is largely preserved; the method suits full-colour, large-area designs.

Disperse dyes enter synthetic fibres such as polyester, nylon, acetate and acrylic, and do not dye cellulosic fibres such as cotton. Cotton Incorporated (2018) makes the same point: what it calls standard heat transfer printing, dye transfer in this guide’s terms, works on polyester and nylon, not cotton. Manufacturers recommend 100% or high-percentage polyester; colours fade as the polyester share of a blend falls. The dye is not opaque: white cannot be printed, the print blends with the ground colour, and colours do not show on a dark ground.

Fabric (yardage) printing: industrial methods

In fabric printing the colourant and later steps matter as much as the method: the print paste is printed, dried, fixed (by steaming or dry-heat curing) and, where needed, washed. According to CottonWorks, a significant share of print defects trace back to fabric preparation.

Rotary screen printing

Perforated cylindrical screens rotate over the fabric and the print paste is forced from inside the cylinder onto the cloth. The process is continuous. According to Cotton Incorporated it is the fastest printing method for cotton, and its 2018 comparison says most printed cotton apparel is printed this way. Each colour needs its own cylinder. Engraving cost and the downtime for pattern changes are spread over a long run; on short runs rotary is generally not profitable.

Its limits: it prints only flat (spot) colours, is not suited to very fine detail and cannot print onto made-up garments. The repeat length is limited by the cylinder’s circumference. Its strength is openness to special effects such as glitter, puff and metallic.

Flat-bed screen printing

A flat screen for each colour is lowered onto the fabric. The process is semi-continuous (stop-and-go), so it is slower than rotary, and the repeat length is limited by the screen size. In return, multi-pass squeegeeing can work the print paste deep into pile surfaces. That is why flat-bed stands out on pile fabrics such as towels and blankets and on very wide goods such as bed sheets and flags.

Industrial digital fabric printing

Inkjet heads print the design from a file directly onto the cloth. There is no screen, the colour count is practically unlimited and the downtime for a pattern change is very short. This makes it the usual choice for samples, multicolour patterns and short runs.

According to Cotton Incorporated, reactive ink always needs pre- and post-treatment (steaming, washing) and pigment ink needs post-treatment (curing). The same document says non-contact printing lets the dye penetrate the fibre less, so fastness can be an issue, but that dye selection is the real determinant. If you print the sample digitally and the bulk by rotary, approve the difference in appearance at the start.

A 2019 master’s thesis at Bursa Uludağ University in Turkey (Rüzgar) used life cycle assessment to compare reactive printing on viscose apparel fabric on rotary and multi-pass digital machines, with 1-, 6- and 12-colour designs. Rotary’s energy and water use and environmental impacts rose with colour count while digital’s did not change noticeably; digital came out better in many impact categories as colours increased, rotary in electricity and natural gas use. It covers one facility and one fabric, so do not generalise it.

Roll-to-roll transfer printing

The design is first printed on paper and then moved onto the fabric roll. On polyester and nylon the transfer uses disperse dye and heat. On cotton, either dyes suited to pretreated fabric are transferred under heat and pressure, or cold transfer (no heat) is applied. Cotton Incorporated’s 2018 comparison says cold transfer can print photorealistic images on cotton with a soft handle, at a speed comparable to rotary, but calls it relatively new at that date, names cost and performance as the main barriers and notes it offers no raised effects such as glitter and puff. Ask the printer whether it is currently available.

Which colourant for which fibre?

Pigment adheres to the surface with a binder; dyes (reactive, disperse, acid) interact with the fibre or enter it. This directly affects handle, rubbing fastness and whether the cloth must be washed after printing.

Cationic (basic) dyes are used for acrylic; this guide covers the four most common classes.

Which print method for which fabric?

The table shows general pairings; for the fabrics themselves, see our guide to T-shirt fabric types. It is guidance only: print a sample on your product’s actual fabric before deciding.

How to choose a printing method

Work through these steps; each eliminates candidates:

1. Fabric or garment? A pattern covering the whole surface and repeating continuously is fabric printing; a logo in a specific placement is garment printing.
2. Which fibre? Sublimation goes to polyester or high-polyester fabric; cotton and blends separate the other candidates.
3. How many colours; a photograph? Few colours favour screen printing; many colours and gradients favour digital methods.
4. What quantity? Small runs favour methods without screens or cylinders; large runs favour methods that spread their set-up. The printer sets the minimum order quantity (MOQ): ask for it per method.
5. What handle and durability? Dye transfer or water-based systems for a soft handle; plastisol or DTF for an opaque, vivid look. Write durability as a test condition, not a number.

When several methods fit, get quotes from a few printers and decide on a sample: prints made on the same fabric, design and wash conditions compare more reliably than any table.

Quality, durability and safety: what to have tested

Colour fastness to washing and rubbing

Colour fastness measures how well colour survives washing and rubbing; the widely used international methods are in the ISO 105 series. ISO 105-C06 (2010) covers domestic and commercial laundering and ISO 105-X12 (2016) covers dry and wet rubbing, for both dyed and printed textiles. Accredited laboratories in Turkey list these as TS EN ISO 105-C06 and TS EN ISO 105-X12, so you may see the TS prefix on a Turkish report. Results are graded 1 to 5 on grey scales (intermediate grades such as 4-5 are given): ISO 105-A02 for colour change and ISO 105-A03 for staining of adjacent fabric. A 5 means no change or staining; lower grades mean more. AATCC’s accelerated laundering (TM61) and crocking (TM8) methods serve a similar purpose, so ask at the start which system your market expects.

In the test specification, state:

• The standard number and year (e.g. ISO 105-C06:2010)
• The wash programme and temperature
• The minimum grade (colour change and staining separately)
• Which fabric, colour and print method the tested sample used
• The laboratory’s name and the report date

The “how many washes will it last?” claim

“Lasts 50 washes” on seller pages is a manufacturer claim. A figure without a stated test standard and condition cannot be compared with another print. Under ISO 105-C06, a single (S) test corresponds roughly to one wash, and a multiple (M) test, in some cases at temperatures not exceeding 70 °C, to at most about five washes. In AATCC TM61 too, a single 45-minute test represents roughly five home launderings.

These tests give colour change and staining grades; cracking, peeling or edge lifting of the print layer is not expressed by them. For prints that form a surface film (DTF, HTV, plastisol), assess such damage separately: write the wash programme, number of cycles and acceptance criterion for film damage into the specification. ISO 6330 domestic washing and drying procedures are one option; according to the standard, each wash procedure represents a single domestic wash, and differences in washing machine, detergent and dryer type can affect the result.

Ink and chemical safety

Ink and chemical safety is a separate subject, proved with separate documents. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 tests textile products, from yarn to finished article, for harmful substances, including all components such as yarn, buttons and accessories. OEKO-TEX ECO PASSPORT is aimed at companies that make or distribute the chemicals, dyes and auxiliaries used in textile and leather production. ZDHC MRSL is a restricted substances list for chemical formulations used in production, with conformance documented at levels in the ZDHC Gateway.

Do not accept ink claims such as “phthalate-free” without a certificate or a test report with a defined scope. Check what the document covers (product, chemical or facility) and its validity date; see our textile certificates guide.

Briefing a print supplier: what to send and what to ask

A printer quotes what you describe. Before ordering, complete this checklist and copy it into the tech pack and purchase specification:

• Artwork file: vector if possible (AI, EPS, PDF); if raster, sufficient resolution.
• Colour separation and references: screen and rotary printing use a separate screen or cylinder per colour, so state the colour count and reference codes.
• Print area: size and position (for example, distance from the centre of the collar), drawn on the tech pack.
• Fabric: fibre content, weight (GSM), knit or woven, pre-finishing (preparation) status.
• Method and ink: name in writing the method and the ink or film system.
• Sample and test: approve the printed sample before and after washing; write the standard, wash programme and accepted grade into the specification.

Also settle what the quotation covers. A cut-make-trim (CMT) quote may not automatically include printing, so confirm in writing whether it does and by which method. Ask for set-up items (screens, cylinders, film, samples) as separate lines. Embroidery is a separate thread-based process, and special textured finishes such as embossing, foil and stones are outside this guide; quote them as separate lines and approve them with a sample. Printing cost is driven by the method and ink or film system, quantity and reorders, colour count, print area, fabric and pretreatment needs, set-up items, test requirements and lead time. As with MOQ, get MOQ and lead time in writing for your exact design, fabric and method.

Print terms on Turkish quotations

Summary: choosing a method

Screen printing stands out for few-colour, repeating designs; DTG or DTF for multicolour small runs; sublimation for full-colour prints on light polyester; rotary for long runs of printed yardage. Tie the decision to a sample printed on your own fabric and a clear test specification. To find printers that meet these criteria, browse our printing companies directory. If you are planning production in Turkey more broadly, see how to find a clothing manufacturer in Turkey and sourcing fabric from Turkey.