Unleash Creativity: Four Design Tips for Eye-Catching Custom DTF Prints

Direct-to-Film prints (DTF prints) have become popular in the last 3 to 5 years or so. During the DTF printing method, a DTF printer will print a digital image onto a specialized film. A worker or machine can then press these DTF transfers onto various products.

But DTF printing capabilities are limited. When you're designing art for DTF printing, you need to keep these limits in mind. Not all DTF designs make great DTF prints.

Read on to learn five tips for creating the best custom DTF prints.

1. Avoid Soft Edges

Fuzzy soft edges may look great on paintings. But it's not a good idea to use this art technique for DTF art.

Soft edges become small dots/ink droplets on the final DTF prints. These do not adhere well to garments and other products. This results in the design having rough, splotchy edges.

You can use a halftone dot screen to make your soft edges work. If you can't manage this, stick to designs with hard edges instead.

2. Use Any Colors You Want

Screen printing, the OG printing method, has limits in the types of colors that it can use. It can't use certain colors on dark fabrics. Also, using a wide variety of colors on a screen printing design can cost a lot of money.

Because of this, you may think that DTF printing has color limits as well. If you think this, you couldn't be farther from the truth. You can use any colors that you want and not have to worry about fabric color and/or money

3. Don't Fear Small Details

Do you want to create images with small details, but you're afraid these details won't show up? Stop worrying! DTF printing can handle extremely thin lines and small dots.

So don't ruin the balance of artwork by making your thinner lines thick and your smaller shapes large. You can probably get away with some pretty small details. Print a test image if you're not sure the image will work.

4. Be Careful With RGB and CMYK

Most design programs use RGB-style color mixing. Most printers use CMYK printing. Designers often forget this change and are shocked when their final DTF prints look different than they intended.

To keep things consistent, consider switching your design program to CMYK. You won't get a large color variety, but you'll have more control over your final design. With enough creativity, you can still create a design that rocks.

Get Custom DTF Prints

Keep in mind that the benefits of DTF printing far outweigh the downsides. DTF printing is new but it's quickly becoming a popular printing method. When you make custom DTF prints, you'll see why DTF printing is so popular.

When you need custom DTF prints, consider trying our services. We offer DTF gang rolls and sheets for just about any design that you can imagine. We also offer many premade DTF designs you can use for a wide variety of occasions.

Do you already have a design? If so, get started with our online designer tool.