Embroidery vs DTG printing for corporate apparel from Tbilisi

Name: Merch.com.ge
Address: GE

When single-head or multi-head embroidery is the right decoration for polos, fleeces, caps and beanies, and when direct-to-garment (DTG) digital print makes sense for full-coverage artwork on apparel.

Spec the decoration Corporate polo

The two processes in plain language

Embroidery stitches thread onto the garment. The thread is fed from cones into a needle, the needle pierces the garment on a programmed path, and the resulting pattern is a stitched version of the artwork. The thread is typically polyester (the standard) or rayon (a softer, more lustrous option for premium programmes); the colour range is the thread colour range, which on our 12-needle machines is unlimited within the thread-cone palette; the back of the embroidery is a reverse-side stitch that is hidden inside the garment on most placements.

DTG (direct-to-garment) prints ink onto the garment with a digital print head. The garment is loaded onto a platen, pre-treated with a sizing solution that helps the ink bond to the fibres, and the print head renders the image directly onto the fabric. The ink is water-based pigment ink; the colour gamut is wide (photographic quality); the print sits inside the fabric rather than on top of it, so the hand-feel is softer than a screen print or a transfer; the durability is good for the lifetime of the garment if the wash care is followed.

Each process has a sweet spot. Embroidery is the right answer for logos, marks, crests and short-text placements on apparel — the chest position of a polo, the cuff of a sleeve, the front of a cap. The thread gives a tactile, premium finish that ages well and signals "this is a corporate garment". DTG is the right answer for full-coverage or photographic-quality images on apparel — an all-over print on a t-shirt, a multi-colour graphic that cannot be reduced to a few thread colours, a one-off personalised print with a name and a portrait.

What this means for a corporate apparel programme

For a 500-unit corporate polo programme with a single-position left-chest corporate mark, embroidery is the right answer. The setup cost is the digitisation of the artwork (a one-time fee per artwork, typically GEL 30 to 80 per design), the thread cost is a few lari per garment for a 6,000 to 10,000 stitch mark, and the run cost is the per-stitch labour on the embroidery machine. Total decoration cost is roughly GEL 6 to 12 per polo depending on the stitch count and the garment colour. The result is a premium, durable mark that looks the same after 50 washes as it did on day one.

For a 200-unit t-shirt programme with an all-over print or a photographic-quality graphic, DTG is the right answer. The setup cost is the pre-treatment of the blanks (a wash-and-dry cycle plus a spray application) and the artwork preparation for the print head. The run cost is the ink consumption per square metre of fabric printed; for an A3 print area the ink cost is roughly GEL 4 to 8 per garment. The result is a full-colour, photographic-quality print with no restriction on the colour count.

For a 100-unit programme where the buyer wants the corporate mark on the chest and a full-coverage graphic on the back, the answer is mixed: embroidery on the chest, DTG on the back. We run this configuration frequently for hospitality uniforms (where the corporate mark is on the chest and the brand graphic is on the back), for music and entertainment-sector merchandise, and for one-off event merchandise where the front mark and the back graphic are commissioned by different stakeholders in the buying organisation.

Durability, wash care and the lifetime question

Embroidery is the more durable of the two. The thread is a continuous filament stitched into the garment; the only way to remove it is to cut it. The thread does not fade in normal wash cycles; the colour is locked into the thread by the dye process at the thread mill. A polo with an embroidered chest mark will look the same after five years of regular wear and weekly wash cycles as it did on day one, modulo normal fabric wear.

DTG is durable if the wash care is followed. The water-based pigment ink bonds to the cotton fibre; the bond is not as strong as a dye-based bond but is sufficient for the lifetime of the garment under normal wash conditions. The wash-care instructions for a DTG-printed garment are: wash inside-out at 30°C, do not bleach, do not tumble dry on high heat, iron inside-out. A buyer who follows the wash-care instructions gets a print that survives 30 to 50 wash cycles without visible degradation; a buyer who does not will see fading and cracking within 10 to 20 cycles.

For corporate uniform programmes (where the garment is washed daily in a commercial laundry) DTG is not the right answer; embroidery is. For one-off event merchandise (where the garment is worn once or twice and kept as a souvenir) DTG is the right answer because the wash-cycle count is low. For mid-cycle programmes (corporate merchandise that the recipient will wear a dozen times a year for two years) either is acceptable; the choice is aesthetic and budget, not durability.

Cost, setup and lead time

Embroidery setup is the digitisation of the artwork. The artwork is converted from a vector or a high-resolution raster into a stitch file (.DST or .EMB format) that the embroidery machine reads. The digitisation fee is a one-time charge per artwork, typically GEL 30 to 80 per design depending on the stitch count and the complexity. We hold the digitised artwork in our archive for 24 months; if the same artwork is used on a subsequent programme the digitisation fee is waived.

DTG setup is the pre-treatment of the blanks and the colour profile for the artwork. The blanks are washed to remove the manufacturer's sizing, dried, sprayed with the pre-treatment solution, and dried again; the colour profile is calibrated against the fabric type and the ink batch. The pre-treatment is a per-garment cost built into the decoration price; the colour profile is a one-time cost per artwork, typically GEL 15 to 40.

Embroidery lead time is 2 to 4 working days for a 500-unit programme. DTG lead time is 3 to 6 working days for the same programme because of the pre-treatment cycle and the slower print-head speed. For rush programmes (24 to 48 hours) embroidery is the only viable option because DTG cannot compress the pre-treatment cycle without compromising the print durability.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper per garment, embroidery or DTG?

Embroidery is cheaper per garment for small marks (the chest-position corporate logo, the cap front, the sleeve cuff); DTG is cheaper per garment for full-coverage prints (the all-over t-shirt, the back-of-tee graphic). For a 6,000 to 10,000 stitch chest mark the embroidery decoration cost is roughly GEL 6 to 12 per polo; for an A3 print area the DTG decoration cost is roughly GEL 4 to 8 per t-shirt.

Which is more durable over the lifetime of the garment?

Embroidery. The thread does not fade in normal wash cycles and is not affected by UV exposure. DTG is durable if wash-care instructions are followed (inside-out, 30°C, no bleach, no high-heat tumble); a DTG print survives 30 to 50 wash cycles without visible degradation.

Can a single garment have both embroidery and DTG?

Yes. We run this configuration frequently for hospitality uniforms and event merchandise: embroidered chest mark with a DTG back graphic, or DTG body with an embroidered crest. The two processes run on separate machines and the garment is decorated in sequence.

Is DTG or embroidery better for corporate uniform programmes?

Embroidery. Corporate uniforms are washed daily in a commercial laundry at 60°C with industrial detergent; DTG cannot survive that wash regime. Embroidered marks survive 5+ years of commercial laundering without degradation.

Corp-Merch is an independent corporate merchandise producer in Georgia. We are not a partner, sponsor or official supplier of any embroidery machine vendor, DTG printer vendor, thread supplier, certification body, conference, awards body, association or government body named anywhere on merch.com.ge.

Spec the decoration

Send the artwork, the SKU list, the volume and the placement. A named production lead will reply within one working day with the per-garment decoration cost for each process and a recommended decoration plan.