What Is DTF Printing? A Simple Guide to DTF Heat Transfers

1. What does DTF actually mean?

DTF stands for Direct to Film. Instead of printing ink directly onto the garment (like DTG does), we print your design onto a special PET film first. That film, once cured, becomes a DTF transfer that you press onto fabric using a heat press.

The result is a flexible print that sits nicely on the fabric, with solid, bright colours and proper white ink where you need it. Once it’s pressed correctly, it feels similar to a good-quality screen print.

2. What are DTF heat transfers?

When people talk about DTF heat transfers, they’re talking about those printed DTF films themselves – ready to be applied with heat.

In other words, DTF heat transfers are:

• Your artwork printed in full colour onto a special film
• With adhesive powder melted onto the ink
• Shipped to you flat, ready to press with a heat press

You might also hear them called “DTF transfers”, “DTF prints” or “DTF heat transfer sheets”. It’s the same idea – a ready-to-press print you can keep on the shelf until you need it.

3. Why DTF transfers have become so popular

From where I’m sitting, the rise in DTF in the UK isn’t just hype. It solves a few real problems that brands, workwear companies and print shops have had for years.

There’s also a quiet environmental angle. Compared with traditional screen printing, DTF doesn’t involve constantly washing screens and reclaiming them, and it avoids some of the pre-treatment steps used in DTG. It’s not magically “impact free”, but for a lot of small to medium runs it can mean less water use and fewer chemicals in day-to-day production.

4. How DTF printing works (step by step)

Here’s what we actually do when we produce DTF transfers for customers at Brandum.

4.1 You send us your artwork

You create your design at the size you want it printed (we recommend 300 DPI) and send it to us as a PNG, PDF or vector file. If you’re not sure how to set that up, our DTF Artwork & Pressing Guide walks through file setup in detail.

4.2 We print the design onto film

We use a specialist DTF printer to lay down ink onto a clear PET film. This includes a white underbase where it’s needed, so your colours stay bright on dark garments.

4.3 Adhesive powder is applied

While the ink is still wet, a fine adhesive powder is applied to the printed areas. This powder is what will bond your print to the garment when you press it.

4.4 The transfers are cured

The film goes through a curing unit, which melts and activates the powder. Once cured and cooled, the DTF transfer is ready to ship. At this stage you have a ready-to-press transfer you can store flat and use when you need it.

4.5 You press the transfer onto your garment

With a heat press set to the right temperature and time, you place the garment on the platen, position the DTF transfer ink-side down, press, peel the film and give it a quick second press. That’s it – printed garment done.

5. DTF vs screen printing, vinyl & DTG

People rarely ask “What is DTF?” on its own. It’s usually “Is DTF better than what I’m already doing?” Here’s a simple comparison based on the work we do at Brandum.

6. What can you print on with DTF?

One of the reasons we’ve leaned so heavily into DTF at Brandum is how flexible it is. With the right film and settings, you can press onto:

• Cotton T-shirts – standard fashion tees, heavy streetwear blanks, etc.
• Hoodies & sweatshirts – front, back, sleeves and even hoods (down).
• Workwear & hi-vis – vests, jackets, gilets and sitewear.
• Polyester & sportswear – training tops, teamwear, performance fabrics.
• Bags & accessories – tote bags, gym sacks, some caps depending on the press.

Different fabrics like slightly different pressing recipes. Cotton is happy at slightly higher temperatures; polyester prefers lower heat to avoid dye migration. We’ve written a separate DTF Artwork & Pressing Guide that goes into specifics for cotton vs polyester, gang sheets and pressing settings.

7. Who DTF is ideal for (in real life)

Just to ground this in reality, here’s who we see using DTF heat transfers on a weekly basis.

7.1 Clothing brands & start-ups

If you’re building a brand, DTF lets you:

• Test designs with small runs without committing to thousands of units
• Offer full-colour, detailed graphics without huge setup charges
• Keep transfers on hand and press as orders come in

Some of our customers will order a batch of transfers and either press them themselves or ask us to supply the garments as finished products. If you prefer the second route, have a look at our T-shirt printing in London service as well.

7.2 Workwear, trades & corporate clothing

DTF works well on workwear because it sticks nicely to jackets, hi-vis and polos and takes daily wear and washing in its stride when pressed correctly. It’s ideal for:

• Builders, plumbers and trades who want tidy branded gear
• Corporate uniforms where you need consistent branding on multiple garments
• Events teams and staff clothing (festivals, expos, hospitality)

7.3 Print shops & decorators

We supply a lot of DTF transfers to other print shops who either don’t want to invest in a DTF printer or simply prefer to outsource that part and focus on embroidery, screen or fulfilment.

For them, DTF is a way of saying “yes” to more jobs without radically changing their setup – all they need is a reliable press and clear pressing instructions.

7.4 One-off and short-run orders

We also use DTF for smaller, budget-sensitive orders – things like charity tees, stag/hen groups, school events and club merch. It works nicely alongside our cheap custom T-shirts offering, because it lets us give people a decent print on decent garments without big setup costs.

8. How to get started with DTF through Brandum

There are a couple of different ways to dip your toes into DTF, depending on whether you already have a heat press and whether you want to print garments yourself or let us do the full job.

8.1 If you own a heat press

If you already have a press, the simplest way to start is to order transfers only:

• Choose your sheet size (A3, A4, or 1-metre gang sheets)
• Send your artwork at the sizes you want
• We print and ship the transfers to you, ready to press

You can read our DTF Artwork & Pressing Guide for file setup and pressing settings on cotton and polyester. Once you’ve nailed your first few presses, it quickly becomes just another part of your workflow.

8.2 If you want finished garments

If you’d rather not press anything yourself, we can simply take your artwork and supply the finished clothing instead. For example:

• Branded workwear and hi-vis for your team
• Merch for a brand launch, festival or tour
• Event clothing and budget-friendly printed T-shirts

In that case, we’ll usually discuss whether DTF, screen printing or embroidery is the best fit for the job and quote it accordingly.

8.3 If you’re still unsure which route to take

You don’t need to have all the answers before you contact us. Tell us roughly:

• What the garments are for (brand, workwear, event, etc.)
• How many you’re thinking of ordering
• Whether you have a press or just want finished items

From there we can recommend whether you should be looking at DTF transfers, full garment printing, or a mix of both.