We offer both CMYK-ONLY and CMYK+WHITE direct to garment printing. Top Banana USA printing owns and operates a Brother GTX Pro and a Brother GT-541 direct to garment printer for all of our DTG printing production. These machines are tried and true in the garment printing industry. DTG has no minimum order requirements.
Direct to garment (DTG) printing uses an Inkjet printer to shoot a water based ink directly onto a t-shirt to embed an image directly onto the garment or textile. This service offers more flexibility than screen printing in terms of color variation, making it the best choice for images with various colors and gradients. Since we do not have to burn screens, DTG is optimal for small orders, online fulfillment, and fast turn-around.
Top Banana USA printing owns and operates a Brother GTX Pro and a Brother GT-541 direct to garment printer for all of our DTG printing production. These machines are tried and true in the garment printing industry. DTG has no minimum order requirements.
The basic artwork requirements for CMYK+WHITE DTG printing are high resolution with a transparent background.This process requires either vector formatted or high resolution set to 300 dots per inch (DPI) or higher and roughly to scale designs. Our printers can print up to 1200 DPI for a really high quality print!
The quality of the image will be sharper and more cost-effective than screen printing. DTG has the capability to create photo realistic prints on t-shirts for any occasion.
DTG has no minimum order requirements.
DTG Ink Solutions are engineered for cotton and cotton blends only. We are capable of printing with our Direct To Garment process onto cotton/polyester fabrics, but the end print will not look as good as a full cotton garment. The waterbase ink binds to the cotton of the garment, so the more polyester in a garment, the less vibrant a print.
When searching for garments for Direct To Garment, ringspun cotton is the keyword. While this process does not require ringspun cotton, the higher the quality and stitch count and the tighter the weave, the better the print quality will be.
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW KEY (BLACK)
CMYK-ONLY is cost effective, but can only print on white tees or lighter colored garments. This DTG process does not have white ink or white ink under-base capability, and white in the design is negative or the color of the garment.
The ink for this process is water-based and eco-friendly, so the end print feels like it is part of the garment, giving it a nice, clean fashion finish. The end print for CMYK-ONLY is more muted than a plastisol screen printing or CMYK+WHITE direct to garment print, so the print will not feel heavy on your shirt.
Other lighter color garments such as ash, natural, light pink or blue and so on, are more of a "vintage" print.
This is a two-step process that does not require pre-treatment. Once the tee shirt or garment is printed, it is put through the curing process- and that's it! Get started today.
CMYK+WHITE is more labor intensive than CMYK-ONLY DTG printing. This process requires pre-treatment, heat pressing, two white print passes, a CMYK+WHITE pass, and then curing. CMYK+WHITE prints will have more of a hand then a CMYK only print. Since this print has a white underbase, the print comes out heavier, but still lighter than a screen print.
The CMYK+WHITE printing process is typically used for printing on black or darker garments since we need to create a white underbase to get the image to print.
We also use the CMYK Plus white printing process for fashion brands that are really looking to make their prints pop. This process is sometimes used on white shirts too if you are looking to print white ink on a white shirt to change the look of the garment.
You can print on any color garment with this process. All prints are under based with white, then printed CMYK+WHITE on the second pass. Get started today.
We are capable of printing with our CMYK-ONLY
process onto polyester fabrics, but the prints, will
not hold up through the wash cycle.
CMYK+WHITE cannot print on polyester fabrics with our direct to garment printing processes.
Heather pattern cotton/poly garments can be
printed but will result in a vintage effect.
Ringspun cotton is optimal for CMYK+WHITE.
Moreover, stock or lower quality,
including carded cotton, garments are not recommended with the CMYK+WHITE process.
A T-Shirt is like a car. The better you take care of it, the longer it lasts.
To ensure the life and print of the garment, here are some simple care instructions to follow:
1. Turn the garment inside out when washing.
2. Always machine wash cold
3. Hang dry, if this is not an option, then tumble dry low
4. If ironing is necessary, iron inside out on the lowest setting.
5. Avoid bleach and do not dry clean.
Direct to garment typically lasts longer than the garment itself if you make sure to take care of it. Screen-printed plastisol ink will crack over time. DTG prints will fade over time into a nice vintage style. With good care, you can maximize the lifespan of your digital printed t-shirt and enjoy it for as long as possible in the best condition possible.
+ NO MINIMUM
+ SUITABLE FOR FULFILLMENT; SMALL BATCHES
+ UNLIMITED COLOR SELECTION; NO SCREEN CHARGE
+ MINIMAL SET UP
+ EXTENSIVE COLOR OPTIONS
+ ABILITY TO HOLD PARTICULAR DETAIL FROM BEGINNING TO END OF RUN
+ UNLIMITED NUMBER OF PRINT COLORS (WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS)
+ COST EFFECTIVE FOR LARGE BATCHES
+ SCREEN CHARGE PER COLOR
+ LENGTHY SET UP PROCESS
+ CAN ONLY PRINT SIMPLIFIED IMAGES
+ MINIMUM 24+ DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF SCREEN PRINTING REQUIRED
+ 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS TURN AROUND
Drywall is primed with primer before painting. The primer creates a protective barrier for the drywall that also ensures better adhesion for the paint while also increasing the durability. Likewise, if the paint soaks into the drywall without first priming the surface, the paint will be muted and off color.
The same is true with pretreating any direct to garment shirt. The pretreatment acts just like the primer in the drywall example. It allows the white ink printed through the DTG printer to adhere to and sit on top of the shirt.
If we allow the white ink to soak into the shirt, it will become rey, muted and give us a rough surface for the CMYK inks to print on, resulting in an imperfect, unsellable shirt.
Pretreatment also reacts with the white ink. This reaction is similar to when a screen printer uses a "flash" unit to semi-cure the plastisol ink, which allows the next colors printed on top to stay put and not smear (a result of printing wet-on-wet). The pretreatment "flashes" the white ink causing it to change properties and become more or less a semi-solid surface so when you print CMYK on top of the white ink, it does not mix and look muddled.
Pretreatment is the cornerstone of direct to garment printing. The pretreat process, which is eco-friendly, may or may not leave a faint box around the print. This goes away after one wash cycle. Pretreatment is an eco-friendly liquid solution used in the CMYK+WHITE direct to garment printing process that allows the printing and washability of white ink, or full color images on a variety of colored shirts, most commonly black shirts.
Printing with a direct to garment printer is an easy process with a fast turnaround time that comes out looking high-quality and long lasting.
Shirts printed via DTG are great for parties and other events that do not meet the higher minimums for our screen printing services.
Here are a few good examples for DTG:
+ Bachelor or bachelorette parties with different text and images on each tee
+ Tees for events with different designs or text on each shirt
+ Practical jokes or gag gifts for your family or friends
+ Last minute shirts for sport games or events
We are able to print custom sweatshirts and hoodies with our CMYK-ONLY direct to garment printer.
Due to the nature of the pretreatment process, we currently do not offer CMYK+WHITE DTG printing on any fleece garments.
Top Banana USA has sleeve pallets and other specialty equipment for printing on sleeves, pockets and other locations of the garments.
Direct to garment can be used to print on things such as totes, canvas aprons, tea towels, and koozies!
While we offer low minimums for DTG orders, wholesale shirt printing orders are easily accommodated as well. The more you order, the cheaper it gets.
Do you have a clothing line that needs fulfillment?
A business that needs bulk t shirt printing?
A sport's team that needs shirts for different games or seasons?
Top Banana can fulfill your custom shirt needs and have your bulk t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies and sweatshirts ready for you in advance — when you need them.
Shipping is also available if you need them on the go, and garments can be printed and shipped to meet you wherever you need them anywhere in the world.
We’re ecstatic to work from our home in Philadelphia, America’s sixth-largest city. Top Banana USA prides itself in excellence, both in quality and customer service.
If you have any inquiries about large quantity direct to garment orders or if you are interested in exploring other printing services, please contact us via our email: [email protected]. Please provide us your order quantity, design and design specifications in your email so that we can better assist you.
Monday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Tuesday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Thursday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Friday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Saturday – Sunday: CLOSED
