Screen Printing vs. DTG vs. DTF: Which One Actually Fits Your Order

Every Indianapolis print shop offers some combination of screen printing, DTG, and DTF — and almost none of them will tell you upfront which one is the better deal for your specific order. That's not usually because they're hiding it. It's because the honest answer is "it depends on your quantity and your artwork," and that's a harder sales pitch than just quoting whatever method the shop happens to specialize in.

The short version

Screen printing gets cheaper the more you order, because the setup cost (burning a screen per color) is fixed and gets divided across the run. DTG and DTF barely change in price per unit no matter how many you order, because there's no per-color setup at all — you're paying close to the same amount whether you print 1 shirt or 40.

That means the real question isn't "which method is best" — it's "where's my order on the volume curve." Somewhere between 24 and 48 identical shirts, screen printing usually starts beating DTG and DTF on price. Below that line, DTG or DTF is very often the cheaper choice, even though people assume screen printing is always the budget option.

When screen printing wins

Bulk, simple designs. A single-color or two-color logo on 100+ shirts is screen printing's best-case scenario — the setup cost barely registers once it's split across that many units, and the ink sits on top of the fabric in a way that holds color extremely well over time.

When DTG wins

Small orders with complex art. If your design has a photo, a gradient, or more colors than you can count on one hand, DTG reproduces it without any extra per-color cost — because it's printing the whole image at once, the same way an inkjet printer would.

When DTF wins

Small orders on fabric that isn't 100% cotton. DTF adheres to polyester, blends, and even nylon in a way DTG and screen printing both struggle with, which makes it the default choice for athletic wear, hats, and bags in small quantities.

The mistake most people make

Calling one shop, getting quoted their specialty method, and assuming that's the market rate. If a shop only runs DTF, they'll quote you DTF pricing even if screen printing would save you money at your quantity — not out of dishonesty, just because it's the tool they have. Getting two or three quotes across different method specialists before committing is the single best way to avoid overpaying in the Indianapolis market.