When to Use dtg ink？

DTG Inks ' What You Need to Know?
Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing is a popular method for creating detailed and colourful custom apparel. At the heart of this process are DTG inks, which are specially formulated for use with DTG printers. Here's what you need to know about DTG inks:

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1. Composition and Types

Water-Based Inks

Overview
Water-based inks are specifically designed for fabric printing, known for their ability to produce vibrant colours and intricate details. These inks use water as the primary solvent for the pigment they carry and are mostly made of acrylic resins or mixtures of acrylic resin and polyurethanes.
Benefits
Deep Penetration: Water-based inks penetrate textiles deeply, resulting in a soft print.
Soft Feel: Made of soft resins and water, these inks provide a smooth, soft touch on fabrics.

Reactive Inks

Overview
Reactive inks are versatile and can be used for Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing, even though they were initially created for conventional printing. They are primarily used on natural fibres like cotton, viscose, wool, and silk.
Benefits
Permanent Bond: Reactive dye is the dye that can react with a fibre to form a covalent link, leading to durable prints.
Excellent Color Reproduction: Ideal for complex, colourful designs.
High Wash Fastness: Reactive inks ensure that garments can be washed multiple times without losing the print.
Considerations
Post-Processing: Requires longer post-processing steps like washing and steaming to fix the dye onto the fabric permanently.

Acid Inks

Overview
Acid inks are high-quality inks used in the high-end fashion industry, particularly for printing on delicate silks, soft cashmere, and swimwear.
Benefits
Durable and Vibrant: These inks provide excellent colour fastness and are resistant to fading or washing out.
High Colour Brilliance: Ideal for garments requiring frequent washing, such as swimwear made of lycra and nylon.
Resistance: These inks are known for their versatility, high chlorine and salt water tolerance and ability to produce vibrant and colorfast prints on these fibres.

Sublimation Inks

Overview
Sublimation inks are commonly used for printing on polyester fabrics. These inks have the unique property of transferring the dye directly onto the fabric under heat and pressure.
Benefits
Vibrant and Durable Prints: Resistant to washing out, cracking, and fading.
Colour Accuracy: Known for creating prints with great colour accuracy.
Considerations
Material Compatibility: Not suitable for natural fibres; they require materials like polyester for the dye to bond properly.

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Notes

Not all printers can handle all the above-mentioned ink types. Printing processes will differ according to your printer and printhead type. When in doubt, always consult your ink and printer suppliers.

2. Color Range and Quality

DTG Direct-to-Garment (DTG) inks are available in several colours, enabling the creation of vibrant and precise prints. Consequently, the quality of these inks significantly influences the final product, particularly in aspects such as color brilliance, washability, and longevity. Superior DTG inks ensure that prints remain vivid and intact even after numerous washes, maintaining their original luster and durability.

3. Environmental Impact

Water-based DTG inks are more environmentally friendly compared to traditional plastisol inks used in screen printing. They produce less waste and contain fewer harmful chemicals, making them a preferred choice for eco-conscious businesses.

4. Printer Compatibility

Not all DTG inks are compatible with every DTG printer. It's essential to use inks recommended by your printer manufacturer to ensure optimal performance and avoid damaging the machine.

5. Pretreatment 

For the best results, garments often require pretreatment before printing with DTG inks. This step helps the ink adhere better to the fabric, enhancing colour vibrancy and detail retention. When using white ink, pretreatment is mandatory.

6. Cost Considerations

While the ability to produce small batches and customised designs without the need for screens or ink preparation can offset the cost, DTG inks can be more expensive than traditional screen printing inks.. This makes DTG printing cost-effective for short runs and one-off designs.

7. Maintenance and Storage

Proper maintenance of your DTG printer and ink system is crucial for consistent print quality. To avoid clogs and print issues, a cool, dry place should be used to store DTG inks, and they should be used before their expiration date.

8 .Conclusion

DTG inks play a crucial role in the Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing process, providing versatility, environmental benefits, and high-quality prints. By understanding the various types of DTG inks, their compatibility with different fabrics, and the maintenance requirements, businesses can fully leverage the potential of DTG printing for custom apparel production.

To ensure optimal results, always consult your ink supplier or print manufacturer. They should be your go-to resource for all questions and technical support.

9. Wanna learn more?

Have a look at our DTG printing online course for more info on DTG printing business and t-shirt design. Also, you will find lots of useful information, for free, in our YouTube channel.

10. DTGMerch Online Courses:

Check out this online course that might help you: How to Put Your Art on a t-shirt. In this online course, we will talk about which file formats are suitable for the different t-shirt printing methods.

And that's about it!
If you have any questions or suggestions, please me at

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we wish you all the best!

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from INKBANK.

The DTGMerch Team  

DTG, or direct-to-garment printing, is a popular method of printing designs onto textiles. This printing technique uses inkjet technology to transfer ink directly onto the fabric, producing high-quality prints. The type of ink in DTG printing is fundamental to achieving the desired result. That is why we will explain what type of ink is used in DTG printing.

What Type of Ink Is Used in DTG Printing?

As the best DTG contract printing service, we offer direct-to-garment printing and want to explain the types of digital textile pigment inks. Direct-to-garment printers usually have a platen, designed to keep the garment in a fixed position. The printer ink is sprayed or jetted onto the fabric. Sometimes, the DTG requires the costume to be pre-treated with PTM (pre-treatment machine) to create a stronger bond between the clothing fibers and the inks.

DTG printers require aqueous textile inks. Since these inks are water-based, they are best for printing on cotton, bamboo, linen, and hemp, basically most natural fibers. As we mentioned before, pre-treatment is usually applied to the piece of clothing, which involves heat-pressing into the custom T-shirt. The water-based inks connect better with the garments.

We use several other types of digital textile pigment inks for DTG printing besides water-based pigment inks. These include reactive inks, acid inks, and sublimation inks. Each type has unique characteristics, and it is suitable for different fabric materials and printing processes.

Water-based pigment inks

For DTG printing, we mostly use water-based pigment inks, as we mainly print on T-shirts. Water-based inks use water as the primary solvent for the pigment they carry. They are made of acrylic raisins or mixtures of acrylic resin and polyurethanes. Water-based inks penetrate the textile deeply and provide a soft print because they are made of soft resins and water.

These inks are popular and attractive because they can create detailed and vibrant prints without damaging the fabric's softness and comfort. Moreover, water-based inks give excellent color accuracy and saturation, making them ideal for printing complex designs with small details.

These inks are also eco-friendly and do not contain harmful substances like heavy metals or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Therefore, they are safe to use and do not pose any health risks to us, the printer operators, or clients.

Reactive inks

Reactive inks can also be used for DTG printing.  Although created for conventional printing, we can also use them for DTG. They are mainly used for printing on natural fibers, like cotton. But we can use them for printing on viscose, wool, and silk. 

These inks contain dyes that chemically react with the fabric to create a permanent bond, leading to durable prints. When fabrics are steamed, the chemical reaction ensures that the color molecules connect to the fiber.

Reactive inks are known for their excellent color reproduction, perfect for printing complex, colorful designs. Yet, reactive inks need longer post-processing, like washing and steaming, to fix the dye onto the fabric permanently. Yet, their biggest benefit is that reactive inks have high wash fastness, meaning that clothes can be washed many times without losing the print.

Acid inks

Acid inks are high-quality inks used by the high-end fashion industry for the printing of delicate silks, soft cashmere, and swimwear.

These inks contain acid-based dyes that react with the fibers to create a durable and vibrant print. Acid inks provide excellent color fastness and are resistant to fading or washing out, making them ideal for garments that require frequent washing, like swimwear made of lycra and nylon. Acid inks offer high color brilliance and tolerance for chlorine and salt water.

Sublimation inks

Sublimation inks are commonly used for printing on polyester fabrics. These inks have a unique property, which allows them to transfer the dye directly onto the fabrics under heat and pressure.

Sublimation inks offer vibrant and durable prints, resistant to washing out, cracking, and fading. They are also known for their ability to create prints with great color accuracy. Remember that sublimation inks are not suitable for natural fibers as they require materials like polyester for the dye to bond properly.

When choosing the best DTG ink for a specific fabric type, it is important to consider factors like compatibility with the inkjet printer, durability, and accuracy. Plus, the CMYK color model (cyan, magenta, yellow, and key/black) is used in DTG printing because it allows us to create many color variations by mixing only the primary colors.

Remember that we always work with high-quality inks and ensure high-quality shirt and apparel printing using advanced DTG printers.

Conclusion

So, knowing what type of ink is used in DTG printing definitely helps understand the whole process. Although we mostly need water-based colors when we work with DTG printers, we use several other inks based on the fabric we print on. These inks include reactive inks, acid inks, and sublimation inks.

Water-based inks are best for natural fibers; reactive inks work on different fabrics; acid inks are suitable for silks, cashmere, and swimwear; and sublimation inks are suitable for polyester.

The company is the world’s best dtg ink supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.