Short answer
Both our DTG and DTF lines print pigment CMYK with white onto cotton; the difference is where the ink lands. DTG prints directly onto a pretreated garment and is quoted in pieces per hour — 46 pcs/h at 4 pass on the DTG Single Station, 69 pcs/h at 2 pass on the DTG Dual Station, and 22 seconds per piece on the 7590. DTF prints onto film, powders and cures it, then heat-presses the transfer, and is quoted in square metres per hour — 7 m²/h at 4 pass on the H3030-3S up to 55 m²/h at 4 pass on the 8128-3. Choose on job shape: single pieces and names or numbers favour DTG, while repeat runs, wider artwork and mixed fabrics favour DTF.
The twelve line items
| Decision point | DTG | DTF |
|---|---|---|
| How the ink reaches the garment | Printed directly onto the garment, pretreated first so the pigment bonds to the fibre. | Printed in mirror image onto film, powdered, cured, then pressed onto the garment as a transfer. |
| Throughput unit | Pieces per hour: 46 pcs/h at 4 pass on the DTG Single Station, 69 pcs/h at 2 pass on the DTG Dual Station, 22 s/pc at 4 pass on the 7590. | Square metres per hour: 7 m²/h at 4 pass on the H3030-3S, 14 m²/h at 4 pass on the H3070-2, 55 m²/h at 4 pass on the 8128-3. |
| Maximum print area | Platen-based: 380 × 430 mm on the Single and Dual Station. The 7590 offers 750 × 900 mm, 380 × 430 mm and 350 × 400 mm platens. | Roll-based and continuous: 300 mm on the H3030 models, 600 mm on the H3070 models, up to just under 1200 mm on the 8128-3. |
| Printheads | KS1680 heads on the DTG Single Station (2 or 4), 4 printheads on the Dual Station, 4 dedicated DTG printheads on the 7590. | Epson I3200-A1 across the range, from 2 heads on the H3030-3S to 8 heads on the 8128-3; the H3030-X5S uses 2 × XP600 (F1080-A1). |
| Machine size and weight | From 230 kg for the Single Station, shipped in a 1294 × 1294 × 860 mm crate, to 923 kg for the 7590 in a 2850 × 1900 × 1640 mm crate. | A DTF line is two machines: the H3070-2 is a 211 kg printer plus a 352 kg shaker; the 8128-3 is a 406 kg printer plus a 682 kg shaker. |
| Electrical load | 400 W on the DTG Single Station, 800 W on the Dual Station, 1400 W on the 7590. | Printer 1400–2200 W plus a shaker rated 2900–6000 W. The shaker, not the printer, is what sizes the circuit. |
| What the workflow adds | Pre-treatment liquid and the ink itself. No film and no powder. | Ink, transfer film and hot-melt powder, plus a heat press to finish the transfer. |
| Heat press needed | Not in the print step; the printed garment is cured afterwards. | Yes. Our press range runs from the 2600 W YD-4060 (600 × 400 mm platen) to the 1800 Heat Transfer (1800 mm, rated 6 kW). |
| Fabric range | Cotton and high-cotton blends, where the fibre itself takes the pigment. | Wider: the transfer sits on the surface, so blends and synthetics are workable where pretreatment and curing suit the fabric. |
| One-off pieces and personalisation | Strong. No film or powder step, so a single shirt with a name or number carries no extra setup. | Weaker for single pieces: film, powder and pressing are the same work whether you make one transfer or fifty. |
| Repeat volume | Paced by loading and unloading platens; output is quoted per piece. | Strong. Roll output is continuous, and printed transfers can be stored and pressed later as orders arrive. |
| Workshop environment | Catalogue figures are 18–30 °C, with 40–60% relative humidity stated for the Dual Station and the 7590. | Catalogue figures are 15–30 °C, stated for the 8072-3 and the wider models in the range. |
The difference is where the ink lands
DTG is the shorter process and the longer list of conditions. The garment is pretreated, loaded onto a platen, printed directly, then cured. There is no film and no powder, so a single shirt can be printed without preparing anything else.
DTF separates printing from pressing. The image is printed onto film in mirror image, powdered and cured, and only then pressed onto the garment. That extra stage is what makes the process indifferent to fibre type — the transfer sits on the surface rather than in it.
Both of our lines print pigment CMYK with white, and both finish with a heat step. The difference is whether that heat step belongs to printing the image or to applying it.
That single structural difference explains almost every trade-off that follows: where the throughput is measured, what you must buy alongside the printer, and which jobs each process is comfortable with.
What the catalogue figures tell you
The throughput units are not interchangeable, and comparing them directly is the most common mistake we see. DTG is quoted in pieces per hour because the platen, not the head, sets the pace: 46 pcs/h at 4 pass on the DTG Single Station and 69 pcs/h at 2 pass on the DTG Dual Station, while the 7590 is quoted at 22 s per piece at 4 pass.
DTF is quoted in square metres per hour because the roll keeps moving: 7 m²/h at 4 pass on the H3030-3S, 14 m²/h at 4 pass on the H3070-2, 21 m²/h at 6 pass on the 8074-3(A), 25 m²/h at 6 pass on the 8076-3 and 55 m²/h at 4 pass on the 8128-3.
Print area follows the same split. DTG is platen-based, from 380 × 430 mm up to the 7590 with its 750 × 900 mm, 380 × 430 mm and 350 × 400 mm platens. DTF is roll-based and continuous, from 300 mm on the H3030 models to just under 1200 mm on the 8128-3, which is what makes it viable for oversized artwork and for laying several garments across one film.
The electrical figures matter more than buyers expect, because a DTF line is not one machine. A DTG Single Station draws 400 W; a DTF printer draws 1400–2200 W and its shaker is rated 2900–6000 W, so the circuit is sized from the shaker.
The machine figures are the smaller half of the decision
The purchase is not the whole workflow. DTG needs pre-treatment liquid, applied and dried before printing, and the printed garment needs curing afterwards. DTF needs transfer film, hot-melt powder and a heat press, and somewhere to keep printed transfers if you intend to press them later.
That last point is a genuine advantage in a small workshop rather than a detail. Because a DTF transfer is a finished intermediate, you can print during a quiet morning and press to order in the afternoon — which is difficult in a direct-to-garment process, where the customer's own shirt has to be on the platen.
Space follows the same logic. A DTG Single Station ships at 230 kg in a 1294 × 1294 × 860 mm crate; the 7590 is 923 kg in a 2850 × 1900 × 1640 mm crate. A DTF line is two machines by definition — the H3070-2 is 211 kg plus a 352 kg shaker — and a heat press joins them, so the total footprint is larger than the printer alone suggests.
Environment is stated per model in the catalogue: 18–30 °C for the DTG machines, with 40–60% relative humidity for the Dual Station and the 7590, and 15–30 °C for the DTF models that state a range. If a workshop drifts outside those figures, print behaviour changes before the machine faults.
Choosing for a small workshop
Start from the job list rather than from the machine. If most work is single pieces, names, numbers and short runs on cotton, DTG removes the film and powder stages that a small workshop notices most. If the work repeats — the same design across many garments — or includes blends and synthetics, or needs artwork wider than a platen, DTF handles it without changing process.
The two are not mutually exclusive, and a workshop that grows often ends up with both: DTG for the personalisation counter, DTF for repeat orders. What matters is buying the first one for the work you actually have, not for the work you hope to win.
Send us the finished garment, its maximum print size, the number of pieces per day, and whether the designs repeat or change with every order. Those four answers decide the process before any model number is discussed, and if you are still unsure, a sample on your own garment is the cheapest way to find out.
If you already know the process, the same four answers decide the configuration: platen size and head count for DTG, print width and head count for DTF.