Digital printing
How digital printing works
A digital printer reads the artwork and lays the ink directly onto the item, the way a desktop printer lays it onto paper. There is no screen to burn and no plate to etch, so there is no per-colour setup and no minimum quantity imposed by the setup cost.
That makes it the practical choice for artwork with many colours, gradients or photographic content, and for short runs where making screens would cost more than the job. On dark textiles a white base layer is printed first so the colours above it read true, which is why a dark garment takes longer and costs more to print than a light one.
What digital printing suits
Digital printing suits complex, colourful artwork and small quantities. Over a long run of a simple one-colour logo, screen printing is usually the cheaper answer, so this is the method for the other end of the job.
Products and materials it works on
- Full-colour logos, gradients and photographs
- Cotton t-shirts and light garments
- Short runs, samples and one-offs
- Flat rigid items on a UV flatbed
- Designs with too many colours to screen
Lead time, minimum quantity and artwork
- Lead time
- Confirmed with your quote, against stock and quantity
- Minimum quantity
- Depends on the product and the branding method
- Artwork
- Vector artwork where the design allows it, otherwise a high-resolution raster file at around 300dpi at final size. Colours are built from CMYK inks, so a Pantone reference is matched as closely as the process allows rather than exactly.
Other branding methods
Embroidery
Screen printing
Laser engraving
Sublimation
Pad printing
Debossing and foiling
Doming and badges
Vinyl heat transfer
Pen branding
Ask us to price your order
Add the products you want to a quote list, tell us the quantity and how you want them branded, and we come back with pricing. Nothing on this site carries a price because every job is costed on the product, the quantity and the decoration.