How to Get the Best Out of Your DTF Transfers (10 Practical Tips)

Start with clean 300 DPI artwork at the size you want printed

DTF is brutally honest. If your file is soft or pixelated, the film will faithfully print it that way. The simplest way to avoid that is to work at 300 DPI at the final print size from the start.

Before you design anything:

• Set your document size to the exact print size (for example 28 cm high for a front print)
• Set resolution to 300 DPI

Then design in that space. If you’re not sure how to calculate sizes for left chest, sleeves and backs, I break it down in our DTF Artwork & Pressing Guide.

Use sRGB and export properly (don’t fight the colour profiles)

A lot of colour headaches come from random conversions between RGB and CMYK. For DTF with Brandum, keep it simple:

• Work in sRGB (standard RGB) while you design
• Export at 300 DPI as a PNG or PDF

That gives us a predictable starting point, and we handle the conversion inside our own colour-managed workflow.

If you’re confused about RGB vs CMYK and why screens never match garments perfectly, I’ve written a whole explainer here: RGB vs CMYK for DTF Printing.

Sort your backgrounds and transparency before you upload

DTF doesn’t know what was meant to be there and what wasn’t. If you leave a white box in the artwork, it’ll print a white box on the garment.

Best practice:

• Remove any unwanted backgrounds completely, don’t just hide the layer
• Use a transparent background unless you deliberately want a badge/patch effect
• Zoom in and check there isn’t a faint rectangle around the logo that will show on dark garments

Avoid tiny text and hairline details

DTF can handle detail, but that doesn’t mean it should be treated like a microscope. If you need to zoom to 6400% to read a line of text, it’s probably too small for a chest print.

Rules of thumb:

• Stick to at least 6 pt for bold fonts, more for thin scripts
• Keep line thickness above roughly 0.5 mm
• Outline text before sending so there are no font issues

Your customers care more about being able to read the design from a few feet away than whether a tiny paragraph of micro text is technically there.

Plan your gang sheets like Tetris

If you’re ordering A3/A4 sheets or 1-metre DTF gang sheets, your layout can be the difference between a tidy price and wasted space.

On each sheet:

• Use the full canvas size (for example 297 × 420 mm for A3, or 570 × 1000 mm for 1 m)
• Keep 2–3 mm between designs so you can cut them apart
• Group similar items together – size labels in one area, chest logos in another, backs in another

If you don’t want to deal with layouts, we can build gang sheets for you when you order DTF transfers – you just tell us how many of each design you need.

Prep the garment properly: lint, seams and moisture

Half of “DTF didn’t stick properly” is just lint, seams and damp garments. Before you press:

• Give the print area a once-over with a lint roller or masking tape
• Lay the garment flat on the platen and smooth out any ripples
• Pre-press for around 5 seconds to knock out moisture

This gives you a flat, dry surface and helps the adhesive do its job. It takes seconds and saves a lot of headaches.

Match your pressing settings to the fabric, not just the film

Yes, DTF film comes with suggested settings – but cotton and polyester behave differently. As a rule:

• Cotton: 150–160 °C, 10–15 seconds, medium–firm pressure
• Polyester/sportswear: 135–145 °C, 10–12 seconds, medium pressure

Cotton can handle more heat; polyester is prone to dye migration and shiny square marks if you press it like a tea towel. If you’re not sure, test a spare garment first – don’t experiment on a full paid order.

I’ve put our full cotton vs polyester recommendations in the DTF Artwork & Pressing Guide.

Use halftone fades instead of soft glows for blends

This one is a bit more advanced, but it makes a massive difference to designs that are meant to “fade out”. Because DTF uses white ink and adhesive powder, smooth transparency often prints as a solid cloud rather than a soft glow.

A better approach is to use halftone dots or patterns to create the fade:

• Build the blend as dots/lines that gradually space out into the garment colour
• Keep dot size sensible so they actually hold on the print
• Test on a small run first and adjust if needed

The bonus is that halftone fades also give you a lighter hand feel on big prints, because you’re not laying down one solid block of adhesive.

Test tricky colours and garments before you commit

Bright reds, royal blues and some neons can be awkward on certain fabrics. Before you order 200 hoodies for a client, buy yourself some insurance:

• Order a small batch of transfers and test on the exact garments you plan to use
• Wash them a few times at the temperatures customers will realistically use
• Check for dye migration, cracking or colour shift

Once you’re happy, scale it up. You’ll save more money in avoided mistakes than you spend on the test run.

Teach your customers how to look after the prints

You can do everything right on your side and still get blamed if a customer boils their hoodie at 90 °C and tumble dries it on max heat.

Protect yourself (and their prints) by giving simple, clear care instructions:

• Wait 24 hours before the first wash
• Wash inside out at 30–40 °C
• Avoid harsh stain removers directly on the print
• Air dry where possible; low-heat tumble if they must
• Iron inside out on low, never directly on the print

Put this on your website, in order emails or on a small printed card. It cuts down on complaints and helps your work last longer in the wild.