DTF vs DTG: film transfers or printing straight on the shirt?

Short answer: choose DTF if you print on mixed fabrics, dark garments or awkward items, or if your budget is under $5,000: a desktop DTF printer starts at $1,599. Choose DTG if you sell mostly cotton tees and want the softest print, ink sitting in the fabric with no film layer. One machine in our comparison does both: the Epson SureColor F1070, $4,995.

What is the difference between DTF and DTG?

Both are inkjet processes with white ink. The difference is where the ink lands.

• DTG (direct to garment) prints on the shirt itself, which lies flat on a platen inside the printer. The ink soaks into the fibers.
• DTF (direct to film) prints on a film. You powder it, cure it, and press the finished transfer onto the shirt later, today or in three weeks.

That one change has consequences for everything: fabric, feel, speed, price and how you organize your day. If the DTF steps are new to you, read what a DTF printer is and how it works first.

Which one prints on more fabrics?

DTF, clearly. The transfer bonds with an adhesive layer, so the fabric matters less: xTool lists cotton, polyester, denim, canvas, spandex and nylon for its Apparel Printer Plus. DTG ink is made for cotton and cotton-rich blends, and dark shirts normally need a pretreatment liquid before printing so the white ink holds.

DTF also reaches places a DTG platen cannot: caps, sleeves, pockets, bags, shoes. Epson makes the same point about its own hybrid: the F1070's film mode is there to "transfer to a wider variety of materials, including uniquely shaped items".

Which one feels better on the shirt?

DTG, on cotton. The ink is in the fabric, so a light design on a white tee has almost no hand: you barely feel it. A DTF transfer is a thin, flexible layer on top of the fabric. On a small logo you will not notice. On a full 12-inch front it feels like a smooth print, closer to a good screen print than to bare cotton.

Customers who buy vintage-soft tees notice this. Customers who buy team hoodies, workwear or polyester jerseys mostly do not, and DTF's bright white on dark fabric is what they see first.

Which one is cheaper to buy and run?

DTF is cheaper to enter. The desktop models we compare run from $1,599 to about $3,200 with a single head; a complete setup with an oven starts around $2,200. See the DTF printer price guide for the detail.

A DTG printer from a major maker costs more. The Epson SureColor F1070, which is Epson's compact entry model and prints film too, is $4,995 at Epson, and it weighs 152 lb. It takes Epson ink packs only: the box includes six 250 ml packs.

On running cost, a letter-size DTF transfer comes to under a dollar in ink, film and powder with the brands' own supplies, by our calculation. DTG has no film or powder to buy, but dark garments need pretreatment and more white ink goes into the fabric. We have no sourced per-print figure for DTG, so we will not put a number on it.

A DTG and DTF hybrid next to three DTF printers

Printer	Score	Price	Width	Stated speed	White ink care	Computers	Warranty	Where
Epson SureColor F1070Epson PrecisionCore Micro TFP	7.6/10	$4,995 Nov 15, 2026	10 in	Not stated	Scheduled self-cleaning	Windows, macOS	12 mo machine · head not stated	Check price at Epson
xTool Apparel Printer PlusDual Epson I1600	8.8/10	$4,899 Nov 15, 2026	14 in	Up to 50 sq ft per hour (at 720 x 1200 dpi)	Circulation, stirring, scheduled self-cleaning, humidity control	Windows, macOS, iOS, Android	6 mo head · 12 mo machine	Check price at xTool
HTVRONT D2Epson F1080 (original, per HTVRONT)	8.6/10	$2,549 Nov 15, 2026	13 in	Up to 16 sq ft per hour	Circulation, stirring, scheduled self-cleaning	Windows	6 mo head · 12 mo machine	Check price at HTVRONT
Procolored K13 LiteLH-500 (Procolored LiteHead)	8.2/10	$1,999 Nov 15, 2026	13 in	Letter/A4 print in 12.5 min, 5 prints per hour	Circulation, scheduled self-cleaning	Windows	6 mo head · 12 mo machine	Check price at Procolored

What equipment goes around each printer?

A DTF printer never works alone. It needs a curing oven or a shaker for the powder, and a heat press for the transfer. Several brands sell them in kits, and the oven adds $100 to $500: see the DTF printers sold with a shaker or an oven.

A DTG printer needs a heat press or a dryer to cure the ink, and for dark garments a way to apply pretreatment evenly. The Epson F1070 ships with a small garment platen; its spec sheet lists three platen sizes, 10 x 12, 7 x 8 and 4 x 4 inches.

Space matters too. The desktop DTF printers with a published weight run from 22 to 75 lb and sit on a table. The F1070 is 35 inches wide, 28 deep and weighs 152 lb: plan a sturdy stand and two people to move it.

Which one is easier to learn?

DTG has fewer steps; DTF is more forgiving. With DTG, the shirt has to be loaded flat and square, and a print that goes wrong costs you the garment. With DTF, a bad print costs a few cents of film: you bin the transfer and print another, and only good transfers reach a shirt.

Software is part of the learning curve. Epson's Garment Creator 2 runs on Windows and macOS. Most DTF software is Windows only; xTool Studio is the exception in our comparison, with macOS, iOS and Android versions as well.

Which one is faster for orders?

For one shirt, DTG is quicker door to door: load, print, cure, done. For a batch, DTF pulls ahead, because you can gang many designs on one roll, print them unattended and press them later. Dual-head DTF printers are stated at 30 to 50 square feet an hour.

DTF also lets you split the work. Print transfers on Monday, press on demand all week. Some shops sell the transfers themselves. With DTG, printing and the garment are tied together: no shirt in the machine, no print.

Which one needs more maintenance?

Both use white ink, so neither likes to sit idle. DTF printers under $3,000 lean on automatic routines: white ink circulation, timed head cleaning, and on some models stirring. You still shake bottles and wipe the capping station; our DTF printer maintenance guide lists the routine with the makers' own schedules.

Epson's answer on the F1070 is an automated fabric head wiper, nozzle verification and paid service plans ($1,132 for one extra year). You pay more and get a service network. Neither approach saves a printer that is switched off for a month.

So, DTF or DTG for a small shop?

• Mixed fabrics, dark colors, caps and bags, budget under $5,000: DTF. Start with the DTF printers for beginners or the best DTF printers for small business.
• Premium cotton tees where softness sells: DTG, or the hybrid route with the Epson SureColor F1070.
• Not sure your designs will sell: neither yet. Order transfers or printed shirts from a service, test the market, then buy.

Many shops end up with both, and start with DTF because the entry ticket is lower. If you want the most output for the money, read the xTool Apparel Printer Plus review; if you want the lowest complete kit, the HTVRONT D2 review.

Frequently asked questions

Our selection

Three printers from this guide, with their score and the price we read on the maker's store.

Epson SureColor F1070

7.6/10

A shop that wants to print straight onto shirts and onto film with one machine, with Epson's service network behind it.

$4,995Read Nov 15, 2026 at EpsonIn stockCheck price at Epson

xTool Apparel Printer Plus

8.8/10

A shop that prints every day and wants the machine to look after its own white ink.

$4,899$5,399Read Nov 15, 2026 at xToolIn stockCheck price at xTool

HTVRONT D2

8.6/10

Crafters moving up from a heat press who want a kit that arrives complete.

$2,549$3,499.99Read Nov 15, 2026 at HTVRONTIn stockCheck price at HTVRONT