Textalk Oval Digital DTG Printer for Industrial Garment Production

DTG Printing vs. Screen Printing

Screen printing is efficient for large-volume orders with repeated artwork. However, it requires screen preparation, setup time, and separate processes for each design or color variation.

Textalk DTG printing is more flexible for:

• Short-run production
• Multi-color artwork
• Personalized garments
• Frequent design changes
• Print-on-demand orders
• Faster sampling
• Lower setup complexity

For many factories, DTG does not completely replace screen printing. Instead, it expands production capability. A factory can continue using screen printing for long runs while using Textalk DTG for custom, premium, or short-run orders.

DTG Printing vs. DTF Printing

DTG and DTF both support digital garment decoration, but they serve different production needs.

DTG prints directly onto the garment and is often preferred when customers want a soft hand feel, strong detail, and premium print appearance on cotton-rich garments.

DTF prints onto film first, then transfers the design onto the garment. It is useful for mixed fabrics, polyester, workwear, and products that are harder to load directly into a DTG system.

A professional garment decoration business may use both technologies depending on fabric, artwork, order size, and customer expectations.

DTG printing vs. Hybrid DTG Printing

DTG printing is highly flexible for short runs, print-on-demand production, and detailed full-color artwork. However, as production volume increases, standalone DTG workflows can become slower because of pretreatment, white ink application, garment loading, and curing requirements.

Hybrid DTG printing combines digital DTG technology with traditional screen printing infrastructure. Instead of replacing existing production lines, hybrid systems integrate digital printheads into oval or conveyor-based screen printing workflows. This creates a more scalable production environment for factories handling medium-to-large garment volumes. Textalk also provides hybrid DTG printers for businesses who already have a screen printing system and want to expand their businesses to digital printing. Learn more from here.

For many garment factories, hybrid DTG becomes the bridge between analog and digital production.

DTG printing allows businesses to print directly onto garments without creating screens for each design. This makes it highly efficient for one-off orders and frequent artwork changes. Moreover, Textalk DTG printers are superior because they also integrate high-volume printing capabilities such as screen printing and hybrid printing, thanks to their special oval system.

DTG printing vs. Fabric Direct Printing

DTG (direct-to-garment) printing and direct-to-fabric textile printing are both digital printing technologies, but they serve very different production environments.

DTG focuses on finished garments such as T-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, and apparel pieces. Direct-to-fabric printing focuses on fabric rolls before cutting and sewing.

DTG is ideal when flexibility and customization are priorities. Businesses can print different artwork on every garment without preparing screens or transfer films.

Textalk Oval DTG solutions are especially suitable for apparel factories and garment decorators needing scalable direct garment printing workflows.

Instead of printing on finished garments, fabric direct printers produce printed textile rolls that later move into cutting and sewing processes. Suitable for fashion items such as scarves and dresses or household items like curtains and rugs.

Fluxmall also distributes fabric direct digital printers, including the Textalk TK18/TK20 series for industrial textile production.

DTG printing vs. Dye Sublimation Printing

DTG printing applies ink directly onto finished garments, especially cotton-rich apparel. Dye sublimation uses heat to turn sublimation ink into gas, allowing the dye to bond with polyester fibers or coated surfaces.

In simple terms: DTG is usually better for cotton garments, while dye sublimation is usually better for polyester textiles and coated hard goods.

DTG is especially useful when a business needs full-color artwork, short runs, fast design changes, and soft-feel prints on cotton garments. It allows businesses to print directly onto completed apparel without preparing transfer paper, screens, or sublimation-coated blanks.

On the other hand, dye sublimation works best on polyester or polymer-coated materials. It is not suitable for regular cotton garments because sublimation dye needs polyester fibers or special coatings to bond properly.

For polyester apparel and roll-to-roll textile production, dye sublimation can deliver bright colors, excellent durability, and a smooth hand feel because the dye becomes part of the material rather than sitting on top of it.

DTG printing vs. UV Printing

DTG printing and UV printing are both digital technologies, but they serve very different markets.

DTG is designed for garment and textile decoration. UV printing is designed for rigid and flexible surfaces such as acrylic, glass, metal, wood, leather, plastic, phone cases, signage boards, and promotional products.

In simple terms: DTG is for apparel, while UV printing is for objects and surfaces.

DTG is a strong fit when the goal is to print directly onto wearable products with a soft hand feel and detailed full-color artwork. It is especially useful for apparel businesses that need fast design changes, small batches, and customized garments.

UV printing uses ultraviolet light to cure ink almost instantly on the surface of a material. Instead of being absorbed deeply into fabric fibers, UV ink forms a cured layer on top of the substrate. It is commonly used on rigid surfaces like the following: acrylic signs, phone cases, wood products, glass panels, metal plates, ceramic tiles, etc.

UV printers are popular because they can print on many flat or slightly curved surfaces, often with white ink, varnish, texture effects, and layered designs.