Screen Printing vs. DTF at 12, 24, 50, and 100 Pieces: Which Should You Choose?
Every apparel order eventually lands on the same question: screen print or DTF? Both put your logo on a shirt, both last, and both are produced in-house here in Westlake. But they're priced on completely different math, and picking the wrong one on a 24-piece order can cost you more than the shirts.
Here's how we actually decide, using the same reasoning we'd walk you through on the phone.
The short answer
At 12 to 24 pieces, DTF usually wins. There's no setup fee to spread across a small run, and a full-color design costs exactly the same as a one-color design.
At 50 to 100+ pieces with a simple one- to three-color logo, screen printing usually becomes the better value, and it holds up longer — 100+ washes versus 50+.
The exception that overrides quantity entirely: if your artwork has gradients, photographic detail, or more than about six colors, DTF is the answer at any quantity, because screen printing would need a separate screen for every color.
Why the two methods price so differently
Screen printing has fixed costs up front. Every design carries a $32 setup fee, and every color in that design needs its own screen, burned and registered before the first shirt runs. Once the press is set, though, pulling additional shirts is fast and cheap — which is why our screen-print pricing steps down in quantity brackets: 10–20, 21–40, 41–50, 51–90, 91–120, 121–200, and 200+. Each bracket you cross drops the per-piece rate.
Our press is an M&R Cobra with 10 platens, so runs are also most efficient in multiples of 10. A 50-piece order uses the press the way it's designed to be used. A 12-piece order doesn't.
DTF works the opposite way. There's no setup fee and no screens, because the design is printed onto film as a full-color image and heat-pressed onto the garment. Pricing is based on the printed area — square inches — plus a flat charge per print location. That means a 1-color left chest and a 12-color left chest cost the same. It also means the price per piece doesn't drop much as quantity climbs, since there's no fixed cost being amortized away.
Put simply: screen printing rewards volume, DTF doesn't punish small orders.
What actually changes at 12, 24, 50 and 100 pieces
12 pieces
At a dozen shirts, a $32 setup plus a screen per color is a real chunk of the order. Even a simple two-color logo means two screens burned for twelve garments. DTF skips all of that, and you're not locked into a single garment color — the transfers press onto black, white, heather, and navy equally well, which matters when a small order is going to a mixed group.
24 pieces
This is where it gets genuinely close. For a clean one- or two-color logo, screen printing starts to make sense again as the setup spreads across twice as many pieces. For anything with gradients, a photo, or more than three colors, DTF is still clearly ahead. If you're at 24 and undecided, the deciding factor is almost always the artwork, not the quantity.
50 pieces
Fifty crosses into better price brackets and uses the press efficiently. For spot-color work this is typically where screen printing pulls ahead on cost, and you also get the durability advantage — plastisol ink through 100+ washes is the right call for uniforms, workwear, and anything that gets laundered weekly.
100+ pieces
At a hundred pieces and up, screen printing is usually the clear economic winner for simple logos. The setup cost is nearly irrelevant spread that thin, and the per-piece rate is at its lowest. The only reason to stay on DTF at this volume is artwork complexity — if the design genuinely can't be separated into spot colors, DTF remains the right production path no matter how many you're ordering.
Durability, feel, and fabric
Screen printing with plastisol ink is the most durable option we offer: bold, opaque color that holds up past 100 washes, and the best choice for printing light colors onto dark garments. If you want a softer hand, water-based ink absorbs into the fabric instead of sitting on top, giving a broken-in, breathable feel that works beautifully on light garments. We also run specialty inks — metallic, puff, glow-in-the-dark, and discharge — none of which have a DTF equivalent.
DTF is rated for 50+ washes and won't crack or peel, with a soft, slightly film-like hand. Its real advantage is fabric range: it bonds to cotton, polyester, blends, and nylon without changing process, which is why it's the go-to for performance wear and mixed-material orders where plastisol would need adjustment.
For a shirt that gets worn to an event and then occasionally, DTF's durability is more than enough. For a crew that wears the same shirts four days a week for two years, screen printing is worth the setup.
When your artwork makes the decision for you
Screen printing reproduces spot colors — solid, separated areas of ink, one screen each. It can simulate photographic images with halftone dots, but that adds separation work and cost. Practically, once a design passes about six colors, screen printing stops being economical.
DTF prints the design as a full-color image, so gradients, drop shadows, photographs, and unlimited color counts cost nothing extra. The constraint is size: our maximum DTF application is 16" × 20" per location, which covers a full front or full back on virtually any garment.
If you're not sure which category your logo falls into, send it over — we'll tell you honestly, and if screen printing would require simplifying the art, we'll say so before you commit.
Turnaround
Screen printing runs 5–10 business days standard, with rush available — call to confirm timing and pricing. DTF is 1–2 business days, and most orders ship within 24 hours of proof approval. Local pickup in Westlake is available for both.
If you have a hard deadline inside a week, DTF is usually the safer production path regardless of quantity.
Side by side
| Screen Printing | DTF | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Simple spot-color logos, bulk orders, uniforms and workwear | Full-color or gradient art, small runs, mixed garment colors, rush jobs |
| Not ideal for | Photographic art or designs past ~6 colors | High-volume simple-logo runs where per-piece screen print pricing has dropped |
| Price position | $32 setup per design plus a screen per color; per-piece rate drops at each quantity bracket | No setup; priced by printed area plus a per-location charge, flat across quantities |
| Durability | 100+ washes | 50+ washes, won't crack or peel |
| Minimum | No hard minimum; most economical from 50 pieces, press runs best in multiples of 10 | None — 1 piece or 1,000 |
| Turnaround | 5–10 business days, rush available | 1–2 business days |
| Method | Ink pressed through a mesh screen, one screen per color (plastisol, water-based, or specialty) | Full-color print on film, heat-pressed to the garment (max 16" × 20" per location) |
| Our recommendation | A 1–3 color logo at 50+ pieces meant to last years of wear | Under ~25 pieces, full-color artwork, or a deadline inside a week |
FAQ
Can I mix screen printing and DTF on the same order?
Yes, and it's common. We'll screen print the bulk of an order with a simple logo and run DTF for a smaller batch that needs full color or a different garment color. Since DTF doesn't require screens, adding a handful of variant pieces costs very little.
Does DTF really cost the same for a photo as for a simple logo?
Yes. DTF is priced on printed area and location count, not color count. Adding gradients or detail doesn't change the price, which is the opposite of screen printing where every color is another screen.
Which one lasts longer in the wash?
Screen printing, at 100+ washes versus 50+ for DTF. That gap matters most for uniforms and workwear laundered weekly for years. For event shirts and occasional wear, DTF's durability is more than sufficient.
Do I pay the screen setup fee again on a reorder?
Screens are burned per design, so a straight reorder of the same artwork avoids re-doing the art prep. Ask when you reorder and we'll confirm what carries over.
Can you print DTF on polyester and performance fabrics?
Yes — DTF bonds to cotton, polyester, blends, and nylon without process changes, which makes it the usual choice for athletic and performance garments.
What's the largest DTF print you can do?
16" × 20" per location, which covers a full front or full back on essentially any garment size.
What if I don't know my final quantity yet?
Run both numbers through our quote calculator — enter a lower and a higher quantity and you'll see exactly where the crossover lands for your specific design, colors, and garment.
Get your numbers
Exact pricing depends on your garment, color count, print locations, and quantity, so the fastest way to a real answer is the business quote form — it calculates live as you enter your specs. You can also read more about each method on our screen printing and DTF printing pages, or call us in Westlake at 561-323-7573 and we'll talk it through.
