HANCOLOR

Applications

The short answer

The process follows the product, not the printer. Fabric that can take heat uses garment DTF; rigid, curved or heat-sensitive items use UV DTF; flat panels use UV flatbed; roll media uses eco-solvent or dye-sublimation. Each route is mapped to catalog models on the application pages below.

Which process and which equipment suits the products you actually sell — mapped to the specifications published in the 2026 Hancolor catalog.

Last updated: 2026-10-06

Which process for which product

What you sell	Process	Machine family	Why this route
T-shirts, hoodies, caps	Garment DTF	Garment DTF printers	Pigment ink with a hot-melt adhesive, bonded by heat press
Mugs, bottles, phone cases	UV DTF	UV DTF printers	Cured adhesive transfer applied with pressure, no heat press
Acrylic, panels, boards	UV flatbed	UV flatbed printers	Prints directly onto rigid, flat substrates
Banners, flags, signage	Eco-solvent / dye-sublimation	Eco-solvent and flag printers	Wide roll format with outdoor durability

Applications

Printing for custom apparel: which process and which machine

Custom apparel covers garment DTF, DTG and dye-sublimation, and the right choice depends on the fabric, the order size and whether the design needs an opaque white base. This page maps the processes to the catalog equipment.

Within apparel, the fabric decides: cotton T-shirts and hoodies suit garment DTF or DTG, polyester sportswear suits dye-sublimation, and caps or sleeves that cannot lie flat are usually finished with DTF transfers applied by hand. Prints that must survive industrial washing depend on the powder and cure stage, not only on the ink.

Decorating promotional products and hard goods

Mugs, bottles, phone cases, signage panels and finished items cannot go into a heat press. UV DTF and UV flatbed printing are the two routes the catalog offers for decorating objects, and they differ in shape and volume.

Promotional work covers objects that never enter a heat press: ceramic mugs, stainless bottles, power banks, phone cases and small signage panels. UV DTF handles curved and irregular surfaces; UV flatbed takes flat items in batches. Glass, metal and some plastics need a primer or a specific ink set, worth confirming before quoting.

Signage, banners and flags: matching width and process

Signage work is decided by two things: the width of the largest unseamed panel, and whether the substrate is vinyl or textile. This page maps the eco-solvent, UV roll-to-roll and flag ranges in the catalog to those two questions.

Signage splits by substrate and viewing distance: PVC banner and self-adhesive vinyl for outdoor use, textile for indoor display and flags, and rigid foam board, acrylic or aluminium composite for panels. Eco-solvent covers roll media, UV flatbed covers rigid boards, and dye-sublimation covers flags and soft signage.

Questions about the process

What machine prints T-shirts?

A garment DTF printer is the usual choice: it prints onto PET film, applies hot-melt powder and cures the transfer, which is then bonded to the fabric with a heat press. DTG is the alternative when hand-feel matters more than throughput, and dye-sublimation suits polyester sportswear.

Can one machine print on fabric and rigid items?

Not usually. Garment DTF bonds with heat and needs a heat press; UV DTF applies a cured adhesive transfer under pressure and works on rigid or heat-sensitive objects. They use different inks, films and finishing, so they are separate machines.

Which process suits small batches?

Garment DTF and UV DTF both work at low volume because there is no screen or plate setup. The constraint is finishing: garment DTF needs a powder shaker, curing unit and press, which are sized for regular production rather than a single item.

UV DTF or UV flatbed for promotional products?

UV DTF transfers onto curved or uneven objects that cannot sit flat under a printhead — mugs, bottles, cases. UV flatbed prints directly on flat panels, which is faster and cheaper per square metre when the substrate is flat.

All products ↗

Contact

Let’s discuss your next printer.

Tell us what you want to produce. We will help you identify a suitable configuration.

Emailsales@hancolorprinter.com

WhatsApp+86 187 3600 3282

Company address

Room 3606, Block A, Shenglong Jinzhonghuan, Haifeng West Road Street, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

Factory address

Zhongyuan Printing Industrial Park, Yuanyang County, Henan, China

Request a quote

Your nameEmailCompanyDestination countryProduct of interestPhoneQuantityMaterials, quantity and requirements

Your request opens in WhatsApp or your email app. Review and send it there. This website does not store your form details.