REBYL | Direct to film transfers

What is Direct to Film, aka DTF?

Although Direct to Film Heat Transfers have been around for a long time, the process has just recently taken the world by storm. The appeal of DTF Transfers is the ability to create a design with unlimited colors. Whereas screen printing is very expensive to print multiple colors in low quantities, DTF closes the gap to now provide customers with the solution to finding an economical option on multi-colored designs and logos.

The process is very simple. A design is created in your favorite platform; like Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Procreate, etc. A transfer is then printed on to a special transfer application sheet, that is then heat pressed on to a garment.

There are quality levels to DTF Transfers. Rebyl has sourced and tested several options before landing on the best quality DTF Transfers in the industry. Not all DTF Transfers will give you the same quality, although they look almost identical. We have found that many other DTF Transfers looked very poor after just a handful of washings; however, the product we are using has been holding up very well wash after wash.

Pros and Cons of DTF

Although DTF providers the perfect solution in situations that were previously impossible, it is important to consider all the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Unlimited Colors for Designs
• Economical for Low Quantity Orders
• Works well on most products, including jackets
• Fast Turn Around, Especially if You Buy Extra Transfers for Inventory

Cons:

• Not as High of Print Quality as Screen Printing
• Washability is Not as Durable as Screen Printing
• Higher Quantity Orders Do Not Have a Big Discount as Screen Printing Does

Recommendations

• Although design latitude is almost unlimited, try to keep your designs with minimal ink coverage. A large ink coverage is not an ideal look and feel. In addition, the more ink in the design increases the likely hood of visible “wear look” after several washes.
• Because of the possibilities customers are tempted to “get crazy” with their design, which is great; however, like screen printing, try to use the shirt color as part of the design to limit the ink coverage.
• Washing inside out on cold with cool dryer, or hang drying is HIGHLY recommended.