Which method suits a job depends on the material, the artwork and the quantity — not on preference. Our configurator picks the ones that will work on the product you chose.
Direct-to-garment
Ink jetted directly into the fibres of a cotton garment, like a printer for fabric.
- Best for
- Full-colour and photographic artwork on cotton, in small quantities with no setup charge.
- The limitation
- It only works on cotton. The ink cures into cotton fibres and will not bond to polyester, which rules it out for almost all hi-vis and most technical workwear.
- Artwork we need
- A high-resolution image with a transparent background. Photographs and gradients are fine.
- Minimum
- 1 piece
- Lead time
- ~5 days
- Setup
- No setup
- Durability
- Good — soft hand, gradual fade over many washes.
- Works on:
- cotton, cotton blends
- Never on:
- polyester, polyester mesh, nylon, coated and waterproof fabric, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- Applied at:
- up to 330°F
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Offered on workwear.
Direct-to-film transfer
The design is printed onto a film, powdered with adhesive, and heat-pressed onto the garment.
- Best for
- Full-colour logos on polyester and blends — the usual answer for hi-vis, where DTG cannot go.
- The limitation
- It sits on the surface as a thin film rather than soaking in, so a very large solid area is less breathable than a print that penetrates the fabric.
- Artwork we need
- A high-resolution image with a transparent background.
- Minimum
- 1 piece
- Lead time
- ~5 days
- Setup
- No setup
- Durability
- Very good — stretches and resists cracking.
- Works on:
- cotton, cotton blends, polyester, polyester mesh, knitted fabric, leather, nylon
- Never on:
- aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton, coated and waterproof fabric
- Applied at:
- up to 280°F
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Offered on hi-vis vests, hi-vis shirts and jackets, workwear, caps and beanies, cooling towels and vests, work gloves, cut-resistant sleeves.
Screen print
Ink pushed through a stencil screen, one screen per colour.
- Best for
- Large runs of a design with a few flat colours. The per-piece cost drops further than any other method as quantity rises.
- The limitation
- Each colour needs its own screen, so setup is charged per colour and small runs of a many-coloured design are poor value. Photographs are not suitable.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art with the colours separated, or a clean high-resolution image we can separate for you. Tell us your PMS numbers if colour matching matters.
- Minimum
- 24 pieces
- Lead time
- ~7 days
- Setup
- Screen per colour
- Durability
- Excellent — the standard for high wash counts.
- Works on:
- cotton, cotton blends, polyester, polyester mesh, knitted fabric
- Never on:
- aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- Applied at:
- up to 320°F
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Offered on hi-vis vests, hi-vis shirts and jackets, hi-vis rainwear, workwear, cooling towels and vests, work gloves, cut-resistant sleeves.
Dye sublimation
Dye turned to gas by heat and absorbed into polyester fibres, becoming part of the fabric.
- Best for
- All-over prints and edge-to-edge designs on white or light polyester.
- The limitation
- It dyes rather than covers, so it cannot print light onto dark — there is no white sublimation ink. It only works on polyester.
- Artwork we need
- A high-resolution image, sized with bleed past the edges.
- Minimum
- 1 piece
- Lead time
- ~5 days
- Setup
- No setup
- Durability
- Permanent — dyes the fibre itself.
- Works on:
- polyester, polyester mesh
- Never on:
- cotton, cotton blends, leather, nylon, coated and waterproof fabric, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- Applied at:
- up to 400°F
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Offered on cooling towels and vests.
Heat-press vinyl
A cut vinyl shape pressed onto the garment with heat.
- Best for
- Names, numbers and simple one- or two-colour shapes, including one-offs.
- The limitation
- Every colour is a separate cut layer, so detailed or many-coloured art is impractical. Fine detail cannot be weeded out of the vinyl.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art with clean closed paths. No gradients.
- Minimum
- 1 piece
- Lead time
- ~5 days
- Setup
- Cut file
- Durability
- Good — can lift at edges over time.
- Works on:
- cotton, cotton blends, polyester, knitted fabric
- Never on:
- aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton, coated and waterproof fabric
- Applied at:
- up to 305°F
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Embroidery
The design stitched into the fabric with thread, from a digitized stitch file.
- Best for
- Left-chest logos, caps and workwear where a premium, durable finish matters. It outlasts the garment.
- The limitation
- Fine detail and small text disappear into the stitches, and large filled areas become heavy and stiff. Gradients cannot be reproduced — thread colours are discrete.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art is best. We digitize it into a stitch file first, and the digitizer's stitch count determines the final price.
- Minimum
- 6 pieces
- Lead time
- ~10 days
- Setup
- Digitizing
- Durability
- Excellent — outlasts the garment.
- Works on:
- cotton, cotton blends, polyester, knitted fabric, leather, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- Never on:
- polyester mesh, coated and waterproof fabric, eyewear lenses and visors, hard hat shells
- On FR clothing:
- permitted with FR-rated materials
Offered on hi-vis vests, hi-vis shirts and jackets, workwear, FR and arc-rated apparel, bump caps, caps and beanies.
Pad print
Ink lifted from an etched plate by a silicone pad and laid onto a curved or rigid surface.
- Best for
- Small logos on hard goods that a flat press cannot reach — hard hats, eyewear temples, tool handles.
- The limitation
- The imprint area is small, and each colour needs its own plate and pass. It is not for large designs.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art. Line weights below about half a millimetre will not hold.
- Minimum
- 20 pieces
- Lead time
- ~10 days
- Setup
- Plate per colour
- Durability
- Good on rigid goods — avoid solvents.
- Works on:
- hard hat shells, eyewear lenses and visors, leather, nylon
- Never on:
- polyester mesh, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Offered on hard hats, bump caps, work gloves, safety glasses, earmuffs.
Pressure-sensitive decal
A printed adhesive label, cut to shape and applied to a hard surface.
- Best for
- Hard hats — including individually named decals from a roster — and any rigid surface where nothing should be printed directly.
- The limitation
- It is a surface film, so it can be peeled or weathered off over time. On electrical-rated hard hats, metallic and foil stocks are not permitted at all.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art with a defined cut line.
- Minimum
- 10 pieces
- Lead time
- ~5 days
- Setup
- Cut file
- Durability
- Good — replaceable, which suits hard-hat rotation.
- Works on:
- hard hat shells, eyewear lenses and visors, cartons and packaging, coated and waterproof fabric
- Never on:
- polyester mesh, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Offered on hard hats, bump caps, disposable gloves, earmuffs, earplugs, welding gear.
Laser engraving
A laser removes or discolours a thin layer of the surface to mark it permanently.
- Best for
- Permanent marking on metal and hard plastics, where nothing applied would survive.
- The limitation
- It removes material, so it is never used on anything whose strength or rating depends on that material being intact. It is a single tone — no colour.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art or clean single-colour line art.
- Minimum
- 12 pieces
- Lead time
- ~7 days
- Setup
- Laser template
- Durability
- Permanent — removes material rather than adding it.
- Works on:
- leather, eyewear lenses and visors, cartons and packaging
- Never on:
- polyester mesh, coated and waterproof fabric, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- On FR clothing:
- not permitted at any quantity
Offered on caps and beanies.
Patch (embroidered, woven, leatherette or PVC)
The design is embroidered or woven separately and then sewn or heat-applied to the garment.
- Best for
- FR garments, welding gear, and anywhere a name should be replaceable when someone leaves.
- The limitation
- There is a one-time die or setup charge, and the patch has a visible border. On FR garments it must be sewn rather than heat-applied.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art. Tell us the border and backing you want.
- Minimum
- 12 pieces
- Lead time
- ~14 days
- Setup
- Patch die
- Durability
- Excellent — sewn patches outlast heat-applied ones.
- Works on:
- cotton, cotton blends, polyester, polyester mesh, knitted fabric, leather, nylon, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- Never on:
- hard hat shells, eyewear lenses and visors
- On FR clothing:
- permitted with FR-rated materials
Offered on hi-vis rainwear, workwear, FR and arc-rated apparel, caps and beanies, welding gear.
Plastisol / FR-certified heat transfer
A pre-printed transfer applied to the garment with a heat press.
- Best for
- Durable logos on technical fabric, including the FR-certified transfers used on flame-resistant clothing.
- The limitation
- Each fabric has a temperature ceiling, and the transfer must be rated for it. On FR garments only an FR-certified transfer is permitted.
- Artwork we need
- Vector art or a high-resolution image, depending on the transfer type.
- Minimum
- 24 pieces
- Lead time
- ~10 days
- Setup
- Transfer screens per colour
- Durability
- Excellent.
- Works on:
- cotton, cotton blends, polyester, knitted fabric, aramid FR fabric, FR-treated cotton
- Never on:
- coated and waterproof fabric, hard hat shells, eyewear lenses and visors
- Applied at:
- up to 365°F
- On FR clothing:
- permitted with FR-rated materials
Offered on hi-vis vests, hi-vis shirts and jackets, FR and arc-rated apparel, work gloves.
