Silkscreen vs DTG printing for corporate apparel in Tbilisi

Name: Merch.com.ge
Address: GE

When silkscreen is the right answer for high-volume apparel, and when DTG (direct-to-garment) digital print is the right answer for short-run full-colour artwork on cotton apparel.

Pick the print process Corporate tee

What the two processes do

Silkscreen pushes ink through a mesh screen onto the fabric using a stencil of the artwork. Each colour is a separate screen; the screens are registered and the ink is cured after printing. The artwork is limited to solid colours (each colour is a separate screen) and the per-unit cost decreases as the volume increases.

DTG (direct-to-garment) prints the artwork directly onto the garment using an inkjet print head. The garment is loaded onto a platen, pre-treated with a sizing solution, and the print head renders the image directly onto the fabric. The artwork is unrestricted on colour count (the print head handles photographic-quality) and the per-unit cost is constant regardless of volume.

Each process has a sweet spot. Silkscreen is the right answer for high-volume single-colour or limited-colour artwork where the per-unit cost matters. DTG is the right answer for short-run full-colour artwork where the setup cost matters.

Cost, durability and the break-even volume

Silkscreen cost is dominated by the screen-exposure step. Each screen is a one-time cost of GEL 30 to 80; the artwork preparation is a one-time cost per artwork; the run cost is the ink consumption per garment. For a 1-colour print on a 500-unit programme the per-garment decoration cost is roughly GEL 1.50 to 3.00.

DTG cost is dominated by the pre-treatment and the ink. The pre-treatment is a per-garment cost of GEL 0.30 to 0.60; the ink consumption is based on the artwork coverage; the print-head cycle is roughly 60 to 90 seconds per A3 area. For a full-colour A3 print on a 100-unit programme the per-garment decoration cost is roughly GEL 5 to 9.

The break-even between the two depends on the colour count. For a 1-colour print, silkscreen is cheaper above 80 to 120 units; for a 4-colour print, silkscreen is cheaper above 300 to 400 units. For full-colour photographic-quality artwork, silkscreen is not feasible.

Durability differs. Silkscreen is more durable — the ink is cured into the fabric and survives 50+ wash cycles. DTG is durable but the print is inside the fabric rather than on top, so the hand-feel is softer but the durability is slightly lower (30 to 50 wash cycles depending on the wash care).

When each process is the right answer

Silkscreen is the right answer for: high-volume single-colour or limited-colour corporate polos and t-shirts; corporate uniform programmes above 200 units per SKU; sustainability-mandated programmes that use OEKO-TEX water-based ink; programmes where the print has to survive daily commercial laundry.

DTG is the right answer for: short-run programmes (below 100 units per SKU) where the screen-exposure cost cannot be amortised; full-colour photographic-quality artwork on cotton apparel; one-off personalised programmes where each unit has a different name or image; sample programmes where the buyer needs to see the artwork on a finished garment before committing to a volume run.

For a programme that combines both — for example, a 500-unit corporate t-shirt programme where most are 1-colour but 50 are full-colour personalised — the answer is silkscreen for the standard units and DTG for the personalised units.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper for a 500-unit 1-colour tee programme?

Silkscreen. Per-garment cost is roughly GEL 1.50 to 3.00 versus GEL 5 to 9 for DTG on a full-colour print.

Which supports photographic-quality images?

DTG. Silkscreen requires a separate screen per colour and cannot reproduce photographic-quality images economically.

Which is OEKO-TEX-certified?

Both. We use OEKO-TEX-certified silkscreen inks and DTG inks.

Which is better for corporate uniform programmes?

Silkscreen. The print survives daily commercial laundry for 5+ years.

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

Pick the print process

Send the artwork, the volume, the colour count and the substrate. A named production lead will reply within one working day with the recommended process and the per-garment cost.