VersaCAMM vs Direct to Garment Printing

Things to understand first:

When using direct to garment printing (DTG) - pretreatment is required for printing onto certain fabrics and color/fabric combinations. The process of pretreatment involves utilizing a power sprayer and series of sprays of distilled water then pretreatment then more distilled water. After sprayed - the item being printed must be wiped in the direction the print head will move to 'flatten the dew'. Finally, the garment must be heat pressed to remove any moisture. After this pretreatment process the garment is ready to be stored or printed.

With this in mind, let's take a look at some popular fabrics that you will want to decorate and see which process is best.

Fabric	VersaCAMM	Direct to Garment	DTG w/ Pre-Treat
100% Cotton (Light)	X	X	Not Needed
100% Cotton (Dark)	X		X
50/50 Cotton/Poly (Light)	X		X
50/50 Cotton/Poly (Dark)	X		X
100% Polyester (Light & Dark)	X
100% Nylon (Light & Dark)	X
Leather (Light & Dark)	X
Spandex	X
Performance Fabrics	X
Silk	X
NON-Fabric	VersaCAMM	Direct to Garment	DTG w/ Pre-Treat
Window Graphpics	X
Signage	X
Vehicle Graphics / Wraps	X
Stickers	X
Posters	X
Floor Graphics	X
Removable Wall Graphics	X
Labels	X
POP Displays	X
Helmets	X
Banners	X
Canvas / Art Prints	X

Printing on dark fabrics with a direct to garment printer requires white inks. White ink contains titanium dioxide, which can damage print heads if the ink is not flowing regularly. This means that dark garment printing requires daily use of white inks to avoid clogging.

Another thing to consider is the actual shape of the item you will be printing. Often garment printers cannot accommodate items that are not flat - making bags and other items impossible to pre-treat or print with a garment printer.