Screen Printing vs. DTF vs. Embroidery: How to Choose
One of the first questions we get on a custom apparel order is “which kind of printing should I use?” It's a great question — the right decoration method depends on your design, your garment, your budget, and how the gear is going to be used. Here's how we think about the four methods we run in our South Delta shop: screen printing, DTF, embroidery, and sublimation.
The short version
| Method | Best quantity | Colour limit | Feel | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen printing | Larger runs | A few solid colours | Soaks into the fabric | Cotton and cotton-rich tees, hoodies |
| DTF | Any — one piece to thousands | Unlimited, full colour | Sits on the surface | Cotton, poly, and blends |
| Embroidery | Any | Limited by thread colours | Raised, textured | Hats, polos, jackets, bags |
| Sublimation | Any | Unlimited, full colour | Dyed into the fibre — no hand-feel at all | White or light polyester only |
Screen printing
Screen printing is the classic. We burn your design into a mesh screen and push ink through it, one colour at a time. It's the gold standard for durability and for larger runs.
- Best for: bigger quantities, bold designs with a few solid colours — team names, crests, spirit wear.
- Why we like it: the per-piece cost drops fast as quantity goes up, and a good screen print will outlast the garment.
- Keep in mind: each colour is a separate screen and a separate pass, so setup grows with your colour count. Photo-realistic or many-colour art isn't the sweet spot.
If your design is a two-colour logo going on 150 shirts, this is almost always the answer.
DTF (direct-to-film)
DTF is the newer workhorse, and it has quietly become one of our most-used methods. We print your design onto a special film, cure it with adhesive powder, then heat-press it onto the garment.
- Best for: full-colour and detailed designs, small quantities, one-offs, and personalisation like names and numbers.
- Why we like it: no per-colour setup. A twelve-colour design costs the same to run as a one-colour one, and it presses cleanly onto cotton, polyester, and blends alike.
- Keep in mind: the print sits on top of the fabric rather than soaking in, so the hand-feel is slightly different from a screen print. On a very soft tri-blend you'll notice it.
What quantity actually does to the price
Our published price sheet is full-colour digital print, and it shows the quantity effect plainly. A Gildan 5000 cotton tee with a one-location print:
- 1–10 pieces — $21.27 each
- 11–30 pieces — $16.62 each
- 30–100 pieces — $12.04 each
- 100+ pieces — $10.47 each
Same shirt, same print, half the price at volume. That's garment and printing included, before tax. Screen printing is quoted separately — on a large enough run it can come in under the digital rate, which is exactly the conversation worth having before you commit.
Embroidery
Embroidery stitches your design directly into the garment with thread. It's the premium, corporate-and-classic look.
- Best for: hats, polos, jackets, bags, and left-chest logos where you want a high-end, textured finish.
- Why we like it: it's extremely durable and looks sharp. Nothing signals “quality” quite like a clean embroidered logo, and it survives industrial laundering better than any print.
- Keep in mind: fine detail and very small text don't always translate to thread. As a rule, if a letter is under about a quarter-inch tall it will start to fill in. Embroidery also adds weight and stiffness, so it suits a left chest far better than a full back.
Sublimation
Sublimation turns ink into gas and dyes it directly into polyester fibre. There is no layer sitting on the fabric — the colour is the fabric.
- Best for: all-over designs, sublimated jerseys, and anything where you want zero hand-feel.
- Why we like it: it cannot crack, peel, or fade the way a surface print eventually can, and it lets us print edge to edge.
- Keep in mind: it only works on polyester, and only on white or very light garments — the dye is translucent, so it can't lighten a colour underneath it. For dark team kit, the garment is manufactured from sublimated panels rather than printed after the fact.
How the garment changes the answer
The fabric matters as much as the design:
- 100% cotton — takes screen printing beautifully. DTF works too.
- 50/50 and poly blends — DTF is the safe choice. Some polyesters dye-migrate under heat, where the garment's own colour bleeds up into the print; we account for that with the right underbase.
- 100% polyester performance wear — DTF or sublimation.
- Hats, bags, structured items — embroidery, almost always. A heat press needs a flat surface.
- Fleece and heavy hoodies — all of the above work; the decision is usually budget and colour count.
You can see the full range of blanks we keep, with fabric weights and compositions, on our go-to garments page.
What we need from you
Whichever method you choose, better artwork means a better result. Vector files (.AI, .EPS, .SVG) are ideal because they scale to any size without going soft. High-resolution .PNG or .PSD with a transparent background works well for DTF. If all you have is a logo off a website, send it anyway — artwork prep is free, and we'll tell you honestly whether it will hold up at print size or needs redrawing. There's more detail in our guide to sending artwork.
Making it last
Most decoration failures are laundry failures. Whatever method you end up with:
- Wash cold, inside out.
- Tumble dry low, or hang dry. Heat is what kills prints.
- Skip the fabric softener — it coats fibres and dulls a print over time.
- Never iron directly on top of a print or an embroidered patch.
So which should you choose?
A quick rule of thumb: screen print for larger runs of simple, bold designs; DTF for full-colour, detailed, or small-batch work and personalisation; embroidery for hats, polos, and a premium logo look; sublimation for jerseys and all-over prints on polyester.
The good news is you don't have to figure it out alone. Send us the artwork and tell us what it's for, and we'll recommend the method that gives you the best result for your budget — including telling you when the cheaper option is the right one.
Want a recommendation for your project? Get a free quote or reach out using the form below. You can also read up on how ordering works before you start — standard production is ten business days, with rush available when you're against a deadline.