Guide · Process
Screen vs DTF vs embroidery
Pick the method from the garment and the count. Then tap a card. A shop’s homepage slogan is not a spec sheet.
Screen printing when the stack is the same shirt
One cotton tee, one bold mark, dozens or hundreds of the same thing. Each color is usually its own screen. Reprints of that job get cheaper; a brand-new six-color chest does not. Most of this pack lists screen printing or custom t-shirts — that is the default for team and event tees.
DTF when the art is fussy or the count is small
Direct-to-film is a transfer: print the art on film, press it on the shirt. It likes full-color art, name-on-the-back lists, and short runs that would not pay for a pile of screens. It is still a press in a building — ask whether that press is in Lubbock and how the hand feels after a wash.
Embroidery when the piece is not a fashion tee
Polos, jackets, and hats with a small left-chest mark. Thread reads as more formal and survives years of wash. Tiny type and photo art are the wrong brief. California T’s lists embroidery on the pack card, and Legacy Threads is an embroidery service in the directory — that does not make every shop a stitch house.
A one-line chooser
Same cotton tee in dozens: screen. Full-color or a short mixed run: ask about DTF. Left-chest on a polo or cap: embroidery. If you need all three, treat them as three timelines that share a logo — then use the pack to find who answers the phone.