Direct-to-garment printing sprays water-based inks onto the fabric with an inkjet process. Because the ink sits in the fibres rather than in a thick film, DTG gives soft prints with fine detail, which suits small runs and photographic artwork. Some fading with washing is normal for any print, but a clear loss of colour after a few washes is a sign that something in the process needs attention.

Fabric choice

DTG generally works best on fabrics with a high cotton content, since the ink bonds well to cotton fibre. Polyester blends can give duller colours and weaker bonding, and 100% polyester is generally not suited to standard DTG. Ask the decorator what fabric content they recommend, and test your actual fabric, not a sample blank of another quality.

Pretreatment

On dark garments, a pretreatment liquid is applied and heat-set before printing, so the white ink sits on top of the fibre. If the pretreatment is applied unevenly, too lightly or not dried properly, the print can look patchy, feel rough or wash out faster. Ask about the pretreatment product, the amount applied and how it is controlled.

Curing

Water-based ink needs enough heat and time to be fully cured. Under-curing is a common cause of fading and wash-out. Ask for the curing temperature and time, and how they are checked, for instance with a temperature probe. Over-curing can damage the fabric and discolour it, so both ends matter.

Tests to ask for

Wash several finished tees with a named procedure such as ISO 6330, using the same drying method as your care label. Check colour fastness to washing with ISO 105-C06 and to rubbing with ISO 105-X12, dry and wet, in the printed area. Compare against an unwashed sample and photograph under the same light.

What to agree

Write the fabric, pretreatment, cure settings and test requirement into the order, and keep a washed sample as the reference. Expect some change and agree what counts as acceptable. Also ask how the decorator checks pretreatment and cure on every run, for example with test prints on the first piece of each batch, and ask to see those test prints for your order. For orders with several colours of tee, confirm that settings for dark garments are not simply reused for light ones, since each needs its own pretreatment decision.