If you’re pricing custom shirts in Melbourne, you’ll run into two names constantly: screen printing and DTF (direct-to-film). Both put your design on a garment. They get there very differently — and the right choice depends on your artwork, your quantity and your deadline.
How each method works
Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh stencil, one screen per colour. It’s the century-old workhorse of the industry: brilliant for big runs of simple designs, but every colour adds a screen, and every screen adds setup cost.
DTF prints your entire design — every colour, gradient and detail at once — onto a special film with CMYK plus white ink, bonds it with a heat-activated adhesive powder, then presses it onto the garment. One process, unlimited colours, no screens.
Where DTF wins
Full-colour and detailed artwork. Photographic designs, gradients, fine linework and multi-colour logos print exactly as designed at 300 DPI. In screen printing, that same design might need six screens and a colour-separation bill.
Low minimums. Because there’s no screen setup, small runs stay affordable. Our minimum is 10 shirts — a quantity where traditional screen printing setup fees often make each shirt absurdly expensive.
Mixed garments in one run. Cotton, polyester, blends, dark or light fabric — DTF transfers bond to all of them, so you can mix tees, hoodies and polos in a single order.
Turnaround. No screens to burn means jobs move from approved mockup to press quickly.
Where screen printing still wins
Honesty matters here: at very large volumes (think 500+ units) of a simple one- or two-colour design, screen printing’s per-unit cost can edge ahead once setup is amortised. It also produces a distinctive thick ink layer some retro designs specifically want. If your job fits that profile, a good screen printer is the right call — and we’ll tell you so.
Durability: the question everyone asks
Modern DTF transfers are rated for 50+ washes without cracking, peeling or fading when washed cold and inside-out — comparable to quality screen prints and far beyond old-school heat-transfer vinyl. The failure stories you’ve heard usually involve cheap transfers pressed at the wrong temperature, which is exactly why every job we press is quality-checked before it leaves the bench.
The quick decision guide
Choose DTF if you need fewer than a few hundred units, your artwork has more than two colours, you’re mixing garment types or sizes, or your deadline is tight. Consider screen printing for very large single-design runs of simple artwork with a flexible timeline.
Still not sure? Send us your design and quantity — we’ll give you a straight answer, even if that answer is “screen print this one.” Get an instant estimate with our quote calculator, or read about our workwear printing if you’re kitting out a crew.