Can sublimation print on cotton?

No. Sublimation dye only bonds with polyester fibres, so a cotton shirt has nothing for the dye to hold. The usual floor is at least 65% polyester, and the result is best on 100% polyester in a white or very light colour.

Is DTG or screen printing better for a small order?

DTG, in most cases. DTG has no screens and no setup fee, so one piece costs roughly the same per piece as twenty. Screen printing only becomes cheaper per piece once the setup cost spreads across a larger run, typically from around 24 pieces.

Which print lasts longest in the wash?

Sublimation on polyester and properly cured screen print on cotton are the most durable — sublimation because the dye is inside the fibre, screen print because the cured ink bond is strong. DTG is durable with proper care but generally does not outlast the other two over very many washes.

Can I print a photo on a T-shirt?

Yes — with DTG on cotton or sublimation on light polyester. Screen printing can reproduce photos but usually with less detail and at higher cost, so it is rarely the best choice for photographic art.

What is DTF printing, and when should I use it?

DTF prints onto a film and heat-bonds it to the garment. It works on nearly any fabric in full colour with no minimum, which makes it useful for mixed-fabric orders. The trade-off is a smooth film feel on the surface, so for a single-fabric order DTG, sublimation, or screen print usually feels better.

How do I get an exact price for my print?

Send the artwork, fabric, colour, quantity per size, and print placement through the quote form. RGBING confirms the method, per-unit price, setup fee, and lead time per quote — the method itself changes the price, so it is quoted together, not separately.

Sublimation vs DTG vs Screen Print: How to Choose for Custom Apparel

Why the print method is decided by the fabric, not the design

Most buyers start with the artwork. Printers start with the fabric. The same design can look perfect with one method and fail with another, because each method bonds with the fibre in a different way: sublimation dyes polyester from the inside, DTG sprays water-based ink into cotton, and screen printing lays ink on top of the garment through a mesh. Choose the method after you know three things — the fabric, the order quantity, and how detailed the artwork is. Get those three right and the print lasts; get one wrong and the garment can fade, crack, or reject the print entirely. This guide compares the three main methods on the factors buyers actually decide on, then gives a simple decision path. Where a number depends on the exact garment and print setup RGBING quotes for you, we say so: confirm it per quote.

Sublimation: dye inside the fabric, polyester only

Sublimation turns solid dye into gas under heat and pressure, and that gas bonds permanently with polyester fibres. The print is technically inside the fabric, not on top of it — so there is nothing to crack, peel, or feel. That is why sublimation dominates team jerseys, performance tees, and all-over prints that run seam to seam: full colour, photographic detail, and zero hand feel, with durability that typically outlasts the garment itself. The limit is strict: sublimation only works on polyester, and only on white or very light colours. The usual floor quoted across print guides is at least 65% polyester, and the colour is strongest on 100% polyester; below that floor the image looks washed out, because the dye has too little polyester to bond with. It does not work on cotton or on dark shirts at all — the dye is transparent, so on a dark garment there is nothing to see. If your order is light-coloured polyester — sports kits, esports jerseys, lightweight fashion pieces, cut-and-sew capsules — sublimation is usually the best-looking option. If your blank is cotton, cross it off the list before anything else.

DTG: full colour on cotton, no minimum, best in small runs

Direct-to-garment (DTG) works like an inkjet printer for fabric: the print head sprays water-based ink directly into the fibres, in one pass, with no screens to make and no per-colour setup. That makes it the most flexible method for detailed, photographic, or full-colour artwork — gradients, shading, and fine lines reproduce well — and there is no minimum quantity for the economics to work, so an order of one piece is as feasible as an order of twenty. DTG performs best on 100% cotton or cotton-rich blends; on polyester-heavy fabric the result can look washed out and uneven. Dark garments need a pre-treatment step so the white underbase holds, which adds cost and a slightly heavier feel. The print itself is soft and breathable — the ink sits in the fibres rather than as a layer on top — but it generally does not outlast a well-cured screen print over very many washes. Use DTG when the design is detailed or photographic, the garment is cotton, and the run is small: custom gifts, samples, one-off pieces, or a test run before a bigger order. Confirm the exact per-unit price and wash guidance per quote, since both depend on the garment and the artwork coverage.

Screen printing: cheapest per piece at volume, boldest on cotton

Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen, one screen per colour, layer by layer. Every colour adds a screen and a setup step, so the upfront cost is real — but once the screens exist, each additional shirt is cheap. That is why screen printing is the default for group orders of around 24 pieces and up: at volume it typically delivers the lowest cost per unit and, with properly cured ink, a bond on cotton that holds through hundreds of washes. The trade-off is design range. Screen printing is strongest on bold, simple artwork with a limited number of colours — logos, text, clean separations, strong spot colours. Photographic images and complex tonal transitions are possible but costly and rarely as sharp as DTG or sublimation. It works on cotton, cotton blends, and polyester with the right inks, and it handles dark garments well. A typical shop minimum is around 12–24 pieces, though RGBING's exact minimum for a given order is confirmed per quote. Use screen printing when the design is bold, the garment is cotton or a cotton blend, and the quantity is large enough for the setup cost to spread thin.

DTF: the flexible middle (worth knowing, not a fourth headline)

Direct-to-film (DTF) prints the design onto a transfer film first, then heat-bonds it to the garment. It handles full-colour artwork on nearly any fabric — cotton, polyester, blends, denim, even bags and hats — with sharp edges and no minimum. The catch is the finish: the transfer sits as a thin, smooth film on top of the fabric, so the hand feel is less soft than DTG or sublimation and on premium garments it can read as less refined. DTF is the right answer when one order mixes fabrics, or when the artwork needs full colour on a fabric that neither sublimation nor DTG fits. If the garment is a single fabric type, one of the three main methods above usually looks better.

Comparison table

Best fabric: Sublimation — Polyester, light colours (65%+ poly as a floor; best at 100%). DTG — 100% cotton or cotton-rich blends. Screen printing — Cotton, cotton blends; polyester with specialty inks.
Dark garments: Sublimation — No. DTG — Yes (needs pre-treatment). Screen printing — Yes.
Design type: Sublimation — Full colour, photos, all-over print. DTG — Full colour, photos, fine detail. Screen printing — Bold, simple art; typically 1–6 colours.
Order size: Sublimation — Any size; ideal for team rosters. DTG — 1 piece up; best in small runs. Screen printing — Around 24+ pieces for best unit cost.
Hand feel: Sublimation — None — dye is inside the fibre. DTG — Very soft. Screen printing — Medium; ink sits on the surface.
Wash durability: Sublimation — Excellent; cannot crack or peel. DTG — Good. Screen printing — Excellent on cotton when properly cured.
Setup cost: Sublimation — Medium. DTG — None (no screens). Screen printing — Per-colour screens; falls with volume.

Decision path: answer three questions

What is the fabric? Polyester and light-coloured → sublimation. Cotton or cotton-rich → DTG or screen print. Mixed fabrics in one order → DTF.
How many pieces? One to around twenty → DTG (or DTF for mixed fabrics). Around 24 and up with a simple design → screen print, where the per-unit cost drops as quantity grows.
How detailed is the artwork? Photographic or full-colour gradients → sublimation (on poly) or DTG (on cotton). Bold logo or text in a few colours → screen print.

If two methods both fit, the tie-breaker is feel and use: sublimation for performance wear that must stay breathable, DTG for a soft retail feel on cotton, screen print for workwear and team orders that will be washed hard and often. When in doubt, send the artwork and the garment spec through the quote form at https://www.rgbing.com/en/request-quote and confirm the method per quote — a good printer will tell you when your first choice is the wrong one, before the order is cut.

What to send so the printer can quote the method, not just the price

A quote that only names the garment is a guess. Send the artwork file, the fabric and colour, the quantity per size, the print size and placement, and whether the same design repeats across sizes or changes per piece (names and numbers are sublimation's home turf; they cost more as separate DTG or screen setups). If the design is not final, say so — a printer can advise on the method from a draft and confirm the price once the artwork is locked. RGBING's exact MOQ, setup fee, and lead time for each method are confirmed per quote.

FAQ

Can sublimation print on cotton? No. Sublimation dye only bonds with polyester fibres, so a cotton shirt has nothing for the dye to hold. The usual floor is at least 65% polyester, and the result is best on 100% polyester in a white or very light colour.
Is DTG or screen printing better for a small order? DTG, in most cases. DTG has no screens and no setup fee, so one piece costs roughly the same per piece as twenty. Screen printing only becomes cheaper per piece once the setup cost spreads across a larger run, typically from around 24 pieces.
Which print lasts longest in the wash? Sublimation on polyester and properly cured screen print on cotton are the most durable — sublimation because the dye is inside the fibre, screen print because the cured ink bond is strong. DTG is durable with proper care but generally does not outlast the other two over very many washes.
Can I print a photo on a T-shirt? Yes — with DTG on cotton or sublimation on light polyester. Screen printing can reproduce photos but usually with less detail and at higher cost, so it is rarely the best choice for photographic art.
What is DTF printing, and when should I use it? DTF prints onto a film and heat-bonds it to the garment. It works on nearly any fabric in full colour with no minimum, which makes it useful for mixed-fabric orders. The trade-off is a smooth film feel on the surface, so for a single-fabric order DTG, sublimation, or screen print usually feels better.
How do I get an exact price for my print? Send the artwork, fabric, colour, quantity per size, and print placement through the quote form. RGBING confirms the method, per-unit price, setup fee, and lead time per quote — the method itself changes the price, so it is quoted together, not separately.