The right method
makes the
difference.
Twenty-seven ways to put your mark on a product. Each one has a sweet spot. We'll tell you exactly what it is — and when not to use it.
Not sure which method is right? Answer three questions.
For Apparel.
T-shirts, hoodies, polos, hats, bags, jackets — anything textile. Eight methods cover 99% of orders. The first four cover 95%.
Typical minimums: 10 units for embroidery, DigiFlex Transfer and Colourflex Transfer. 25 units for screen printing. Headwear usually starts at 25.
For good reason.
Ink pushed through a mesh screen directly onto the garment. Bold, durable, cost-effective at volume.
- Event tees, race shirts, festival merch
- Staff uniforms at volume (25+)
- Simple, bold logos with 1 – 5 colours
- Anything where unit cost matters
Screen printing is the right call for about 70% of orders we receive. If you need 25+ units, your artwork is clean, and you want the most durable result at the lowest unit cost — this is it. Setup involves creating a screen per colour, so it's not economical for small runs or designs with 10+ colours. Once your screens are made, changing colours between runs costs money. Available in waterbased, plastisol, fluoro, and metallic ink variants.
to look the part.
Thread stitched directly into the fabric. Tactile, premium, and permanent. Nothing says "professional" quite like it.
- Corporate polos and workwear
- Hospitality uniforms — hotels, cafes, restaurants
- Hats, caps and headwear
- Jackets and outerwear
- Any brand that needs to look established
Embroidery costs more per unit than screen printing and isn't suited to complex artwork — fine lines, gradients and small text don't translate well to thread. But for a logo on a polo or a hat, nothing else comes close for perceived quality. Your customers will notice. Your staff will feel the difference. We use Madeira Polyneon thread with approximate Pantone matching — see our thread colour chart for the available range.
And it's very,
very good.
Artwork printed onto special film, then heat-transferred onto the garment. Vibrant, detailed, works on almost any fabric.
- Polyester, nylon and performance fabrics
- Dark garments with full-colour artwork
- Mixed fabric orders — one design, multiple products
- Small runs that need screen-print quality results
- Personalisation — names, numbers, variable data
- Accessories, bags, hats — not just apparel
DTF is genuinely exciting. It's removed a lot of the "we can't do that" conversations we used to have. Polyester activewear with a full-colour logo? DTF. Dark hoodie with a detailed illustration? DTF. Mixed order — same design on a tee, a bag, and a hat? One DTF file covers all of them. The only caveat: the print sits slightly on top of the fabric. For most applications it's undetectable — but on very soft, lightweight garments some people notice. Eco-friendly water-based inks. Machine washable.
Soft hand.
Matt finish.
A CMYK+W digital print process that delivers high-definition, vibrant artwork with a soft-touch matt finish — machine washable.
- Full-colour or photographic artwork
- Complex designs with gradients
- Approximate spot-colour branding without screen setup
- Apparel where soft-feel matters
- Small to medium runs with detailed art
Colourflex is what you reach for when you want screen-print quality on detail, with no per-colour setup. One setup charge, regardless of how many colours are in the artwork. Eco-friendly water-based inks. Machine washable. The trade-off: metallic and fluoro colours can't be reproduced, and a thin clear glue line is sometimes visible at the edge of the image — almost never an issue but worth knowing. Minimum detail 1mm.
When the standard four won't do.
For premium retail finishes, sublimated activewear, faux-embroidery effects, and woven badge alternatives — these methods exist for specific jobs that the workhorses can't quite cover.
Colourflex transfer with the artwork digitised to mimic the texture and depth of real embroidery. Looks stitched. Isn't.
Pantone matching isn't available — artwork matches to the closest thread colour with 3D shading. Not for fine detail. As designs shrink, stitch clarity drops.
Dye is heat-pressed into the fibre itself — embedded, not sitting on top. Edge-to-edge full-colour, zero hand-feel.
Only works on white-base polyester or sublimation-coated products. White, metallic and fluoro colours cannot be reproduced. Fine detail can experience minor colour bleed.
For when stitched isn't enough. Custom woven badges, jacquard lanyards, knitted beanies — the design is the fabric.
Higher minimums and longer lead times. Not a quick-turn option — these are made to order at the loom.
Vivid CMYK printed on adhesive vinyl, then domed with crystal-clear resin. A 3D effect that screams premium.
Larger areas get expensive. White, metallic, and neon can't be printed. Worth it for the look.
For Hard Goods.
Drinkware, pens, tech, lanyards, stationery, packaging, sunglasses, umbrellas — everything that isn't fabric. The right method depends on the surface: flat, curved, cylindrical, or shaped.
Typical minimums: drinkware and most home goods start at 25 – 50 units. Bags and lanyards usually start at 50 – 100. Pens typically start at 100 – 250. Each product page shows its own MOQ.
Ink on the surface.
Print is laid onto the product surface — pad-transferred for curved shapes, screen-pushed for flat or cylindrical, or digitally inkjet-printed for full-colour and short runs.
A silicone pad lifts ink off a laser-etched plate and presses it onto the product. The most affordable way to brand curved or uneven surfaces.
Each colour requires its own setup charge. Halftones don't reproduce consistently. No variable data. No fluoros.
Screen printing for cylindrical objects. The product rotates against the screen as ink is squeegeed through. Big print areas, sharp results.
Each colour needs its own setup. PMS on darks is approximate — a white base helps. No variable data.
Inkjet print heads spray ink directly onto flat or slightly curved surfaces. Full colour, white underbase included, one setup fee.
Print area on curves is limited. Larger areas cost more. Metallic and fluoros can't be reproduced.
UV inkjet heads print onto cylindrical products as they rotate. Detailed full-colour gloss prints with a varnish coat — vibrant even on dark products.
Most expensive of the drinkware print options. Doesn't wrap fully around — small gap between print start and end. Lead times can run longer due to slower production speed.
Single-pass CMYK digital print on packaging substrates. Dye-based, so no ink build-up. Ships immediately.
Light substrates only — no white underbase available. No metallic, neon, or close PMS. No edge-to-edge or large block colours.
A CMYK+W digital print designed specifically for silicone surfaces. Crisp, hand-washable, won't crack or fade.
No metallic, no fluoro, no variable data. For everything else on silicone, it's the answer.
UV-DTF technology — print onto film, cure with UV, laminate, then apply like a sticker. No heat press, no powders, glossy and durable.
Not for soft or flexible products. No metallic, no fluoro. Designs that fade out to transparency don't work.
CMYK printing on paper, vinyl, and magnetic stock. The workhorse for labels, badges, fridge magnets, and printed paper components.
No metallic, no fluoro. White ink doesn't print on kraft, clear, silver or gold stock. Light substrates only.
Adhesive labels printed on a digital press and applied to products that can't be branded any other way. The "if all else fails" method — and often the best choice anyway.
No metallic, no fluoro. White ink limited on clear, silver, or gold stocks.
A specialty ink, pad or screen printed onto glass, that produces an etch-like frosted finish — at a fraction of the cost of real etching.
Halftones don't reproduce. Limited area on curved glass. No variable data. The trade-off you accept for the saving.
The mark becomes the product.
No ink. The branding is engraved, embossed, debossed, or stamped into the product itself — physically part of the surface, often increasing the product's perceived value.
A laser burns the artwork into the product surface. Permanent, premium, and looks expensive because it is.
Different materials produce different finishes — pre-production samples recommended. Fine detail can be lost on small products like pens. Add a Colour Fill (per-colour ink infill of the engraved area) where contrast matters.
A heated metal plate presses your artwork into the product surface. "Blind" debossing — no ink, just a permanent impression.
Subtle by design. Hard to see on textured materials. No variable data, no fine detail below 0.4mm. Embossing (raised, opposite of debossed) and Colour Over Print (debossed first, then ink-filled) are available variants.
Debossing with extra heat — produces a two-tone, contrasting finish that catches the eye on PU and leatherette covers.
No variable data. Product-specific — not every notebook supports the thermo process.
A heated metal plate presses an indented design into the surface. Often used on wood and similar substrates for that permanent, high-end feel.
Large block artwork can produce inconsistent results — the heat doesn't always distribute evenly. No variable data.
Modern digital foiling — applies metallic foil straight from a digital file, no plates required. Gold, silver, or copper finish.
The foil inherits the substrate texture — textured notebooks produce textured foil. Detail can get lost on heavily textured surfaces.
The logo isn't printed or stamped — it's manufactured. A 3D rubber, PVC, or printed shape is moulded directly into the product.
Bespoke tooling means higher minimums and longer lead times. Worth it for retail brands and premium gifting where the moulded look matters.
The full picture.
A quick comparison of the four apparel hero methods. For hard goods, scroll up — the cards above include all the spec detail.
| Screen Print | Embroidery | DigiFlex (DTF) | Colourflex (DTG) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 25 units | 10 units | 10 units | 10 units |
| Sweet spot volume | 50 – 5,000+ | 10 – 500 | 10 – 200 | 10 – 100 |
| Colour range | Up to 8 spot | Up to 12 thread | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Photographic artwork | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dark garments | Yes | Yes | Yes — natively | With white underbase |
| Polyester / performance fabrics | Limited | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Variable data | No | No | Yes | No |
| Unit cost at volume | Lowest | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Durability | Excellent | Exceptional | Very good | Good |
| Turnaround (Std.) | 7 – 10 days | 7 – 10 days | 3 – 5 days | 3 – 5 days |
Still not sure?
We'll tell you exactly
what to use.
Send us your artwork and tell us what you're trying to make. We'll come back with a recommendation — not a sales pitch.