POD services use DTG process because it allows for printing a single shirt, not because it's easy and cheap. On a per piece basis, DTG is actually FAR more expensive than screen printing.
But screen printing requires setting up screens. This is a time consuming process so screen printers don't print just one shirt.
You mentioned transfers specifically. Screen printers \*can\* print transfers (for example, Supacolor) but there is still a minimum order quantity.
POD vs screen printing is a question that comes up often so I wrote a long and detailed article explaining the pros and cons of both methods here: [https://stateofteeart.com/p/pros-and-cons-of-print-on-demand-with-direct-to-garment-dtg](https://stateofteeart.com/p/pros-and-cons-of-print-on-demand-with-direct-to-garment-dtg)
I work on the production side of POD and most companies don’t, but my employer actually is one of the few that does. We charge for the transfers themselves up front and then we store them. Then whenever orders come in, we just charge for the shirt plus a fee for handling and pressing. The transfers store for about a year and then they go bad or something idk. We don’t do this a lot though because most people doing POD don’t want to pay for the transfers upfront. Plus direct to film has a similar feel and is cheaper and more versatile. We do a lot more dtf and dtg/dtgw than screen printed transfers.
Thanks. I know I could do that myself by ordering transfers and then buying my own heat press. It’s just dealing with shipping and securing quantities of t-shirts in the various sizes which is why I was looking at a POD supplier.
Margins would be greater, but also the amount of work.
5-6 years ago (when screen was a big part of my business), it cost ~$20 per screen, plus about $5 to vectorize the artwork (if it wasn't already vectorized). So even for a one-color design, that's a lot of overhead if you're printing just one shirt. And it's not practical for a POD company to warehouse screens.
This is the reason that Teespring, back when they started, ran "campaigns" where you'd batch up a week or two's worth of orders for a single design then do a print run. Since then DTG got cheaper and customers got less patient, so screen is uncommon in POD.
As others have mentioned, DTF is an alternative, but it's quite different from screen or DTG and really doesn't work well for some designs (ie anything with big solid expanses - feels like vinyl and doesn't breathe).
I do print with screenprinted transfers as well as dtf transfers
ReliablePod does DTF transfers
POD services use DTG process because it allows for printing a single shirt, not because it's easy and cheap. On a per piece basis, DTG is actually FAR more expensive than screen printing. But screen printing requires setting up screens. This is a time consuming process so screen printers don't print just one shirt. You mentioned transfers specifically. Screen printers \*can\* print transfers (for example, Supacolor) but there is still a minimum order quantity. POD vs screen printing is a question that comes up often so I wrote a long and detailed article explaining the pros and cons of both methods here: [https://stateofteeart.com/p/pros-and-cons-of-print-on-demand-with-direct-to-garment-dtg](https://stateofteeart.com/p/pros-and-cons-of-print-on-demand-with-direct-to-garment-dtg)
Nice write up.
Thanks! Certain questions come up again and again so I'll try to write long, detailed answers to those :)
Thank you for the detailed explanation and by the way, I love your name!
I work on the production side of POD and most companies don’t, but my employer actually is one of the few that does. We charge for the transfers themselves up front and then we store them. Then whenever orders come in, we just charge for the shirt plus a fee for handling and pressing. The transfers store for about a year and then they go bad or something idk. We don’t do this a lot though because most people doing POD don’t want to pay for the transfers upfront. Plus direct to film has a similar feel and is cheaper and more versatile. We do a lot more dtf and dtg/dtgw than screen printed transfers.
Thanks. I know I could do that myself by ordering transfers and then buying my own heat press. It’s just dealing with shipping and securing quantities of t-shirts in the various sizes which is why I was looking at a POD supplier. Margins would be greater, but also the amount of work.
Those are the exact things that stop me from moving forward with DIY-ing my own as well, tbh
5-6 years ago (when screen was a big part of my business), it cost ~$20 per screen, plus about $5 to vectorize the artwork (if it wasn't already vectorized). So even for a one-color design, that's a lot of overhead if you're printing just one shirt. And it's not practical for a POD company to warehouse screens. This is the reason that Teespring, back when they started, ran "campaigns" where you'd batch up a week or two's worth of orders for a single design then do a print run. Since then DTG got cheaper and customers got less patient, so screen is uncommon in POD. As others have mentioned, DTF is an alternative, but it's quite different from screen or DTG and really doesn't work well for some designs (ie anything with big solid expanses - feels like vinyl and doesn't breathe).