Textile Printing Methods in China: Screen, DTG, and Sublimation

Chinese factories offer five main textile printing methods: screen printing, direct-to-garment (DTG), dye sublimation, heat transfer (including the newer direct-to-film, or DTF), and embroidery. The right choice comes down to your fabric, order size, color count, and how the print must survive washing.

Getting it wrong is expensive. A photographic design pushed through screen printing on a tight deadline, or a sublimation print ordered on cotton, comes back looking nothing like your artwork — and the factory will consider the job done as specified. Nailing the method early is one of the first things a good sourcing partner helps with, before a single sample is printed.

This guide covers how each method works in Chinese production, what it costs, which fabrics suit it, how factories handle color matching, and the artwork files they expect — the practical baseline you need before requesting quotes.

How does screen printing work — and when is it the right choice?

Screen printing is still the workhorse of garment decoration in China and the cheapest option for large orders with simple designs. A separate mesh stencil is made for each color; ink is pushed through onto the fabric one color at a time, then heat-cured.

The cost structure is setup versus volume. Burning screens and mixing inks costs money up front, so the method pays off in bulk. Chinese factories commonly list screen-printed garments starting at 50–200 pieces per color and design — one Guangzhou-area exporter quotes 200 pcs per color/design, while smaller Guangdong workshops accept 50. Unit prices fall steeply as quantity rises because the fixed setup spreads across the run.

Screen printing is also the only mainstream method with true Pantone spot-color matching: the printer mixes physical ink to your Pantone reference, so brand colors land reliably. It gives the most opaque whites on dark garments and supports specialty inks — metallics, puff, glow-in-the-dark, reflective — that digital methods cannot reproduce.

The tradeoff is complexity. Practical designs run one to eight colors; each extra color adds setup cost and a risk of misregistration, where colors shift slightly out of alignment. Photographic detail and gradients are not its strength. It prints on cotton, blends, and polyester with the right inks, and properly cured plastisol survives hundreds of washes. It is the right call for 100+ pieces, bold designs with a few solid colors, and brand colors that must match.

What is DTG printing, and where does it fit?

DTG — direct to garment — is an industrial inkjet printer for fabric. Water-based inks spray straight onto the garment. No screens, no setup cost, no per-color charges: a one-off costs roughly the same per unit as the hundredth.

That makes DTG the choice for small runs and complex artwork. Photo-quality images, gradients, and unlimited colors reproduce cleanly, with effectively no minimum order. The hand feel is soft, since ink sits in the fibers rather than on top.

The catch is fabric. DTG works best on 100% cotton and cotton-rich blends. Dark garments need a pretreatment primer so white ink bonds, and the method struggles on polyester and waterproof synthetics. Wash durability is decent but a step below plastisol screen printing; water-based inks fade gradually over many washes.

In China, DTG is widespread at print shops and smaller garment factories, and it is the standard for sampling — many buyers DTG-print samples for speed, then switch to screen printing for the bulk run once the design is approved.

Why does dye sublimation only work on polyester?

Sublimation is a different physical process from every other method here. Solid dye is heated until it becomes gas, which bonds with polyester fibers at a molecular level. The color becomes part of the fabric: it cannot crack, peel, or wash out, and the print has zero hand feel.

The dye only bonds with synthetic fibers, so sublimation is effectively limited to polyester. White or light-colored 100% polyester gives the most vivid results; one major buyer's guide puts the practical minimum around 65% polyester content, with vibrancy dropping as the cotton share rises. Dark garments are out — there is no white dye in sublimation, so the fabric color shows through wherever the design is light.

Where sublimation dominates is all-over, edge-to-edge printing: sports jerseys, leggings, swimwear, and flags get seamless full-garment graphics no other method can do economically. Guangdong province is China's main hub for sublimated sportswear, with factories running cut, print, and sew in-house.

Durability is sublimation's headline, but the fabric constraint is absolute. If your product is cotton, stop considering it.

Where do heat transfer, DTF, and vinyl fit in?

Heat transfer means printing a design onto a carrier and pressing it onto the garment with heat. Traditional transfer paper works for samples, but prints can feel plasticky and crack — it has largely been displaced in professional production by DTF.

DTF — direct to film — is reshaping small-batch decoration in China. The design prints onto a special film (typically CMYK plus white ink), gets coated with hot-melt adhesive powder, is cured, and heat-pressed onto the garment. It works on cotton, polyester, blends, denim, even bags and hats, with full-color detail and good wash durability. Compact A3 DTF printers are now common in small Chinese factories, and a piece goes from file to finished in minutes rather than days of screen setup.

Heat transfer vinyl (HTV) is the simplest method: single-color vinyl cut into letters, numbers, or shapes and pressed on. It is ideal for jersey names and numbers, staff uniforms, and bold one-color logos. Multi-color vinyl gets expensive since each color is a separate layer. The finish is smooth and slightly rubberized, and it washes well on cotton, polyester, and nylon.

In short: DTF is the versatile all-rounder for small-to-medium full-color runs on any fabric; vinyl is for text and simple graphics.

When does embroidery beat printing?

Embroidery is stitched thread, not printing — but it competes for the same budget. For polos, workwear, caps, and jackets, a stitched logo reads as higher quality than any print, and it is effectively permanent: thread does not fade, crack, or peel.

The economics differ. Cost follows stitch count (size and density), not color count — a six-color embroidered logo costs about the same to run as a two-color one. Setup is a one-time digitizing fee converting artwork into stitch instructions. MOQs are low; single pieces are possible.

The limits are detail and fabric. Fine lines, small text, and gradients do not translate to thread, and thin or stretchy fabrics can pucker under dense stitching. For a chest logo on a polo, embroidery usually wins; for a full-back graphic, printing wins.

Screen vs. DTG vs. sublimation vs. DTF vs. embroidery at a glance

Shortlist with this table, then confirm details with your factory. (For a second reference written from a decorator's perspective, Printful's guide to shirt printing methods compares the same techniques side by side.)

Method · Best fabrics · Typical China MOQ · Setup cost · Colors · Wash durability · Best for

• Screen printing: Cotton, blends, poly (right inks) · 50–200 pcs per color/design · High (per color) · 1–8 spot colors, Pantone matchable · Excellent · Bulk orders, bold logos
• DTG: 100% cotton, cotton-rich · No real minimum · None · Unlimited, photo-quality · Good · Small runs, complex art
• Dye sublimation: White/light polyester · Often ~100 pcs · None · Unlimited, all-over · Outstanding · Sportswear, all-over prints
• DTF transfer: Cotton, poly, blends, denim · Low (10–100 pcs) · Low · Unlimited full color · Good to very good · Versatile small-batch runs
• Heat transfer vinyl: Cotton, poly, nylon · Very low · Low · Single colors, layered · Good · Names, numbers, simple logos
• Embroidery: Mid/heavyweight fabrics · Very low · Digitizing fee · Thread colors, limited detail · Outstanding · Premium logos, workwear, caps

MOQs vary by factory — smaller workshops may go lower, large integrated factories may ask for more.

How much does custom printing cost in China?

Six factors drive printing cost, roughly in order: the method, the ink color count (screen printing), print size and placement count, the garment itself, order quantity, and sampling rounds. Read quotes against this order and overpriced line items stand out.

Screen printing gets dramatically cheaper per unit as quantity rises because fixed setup spreads thinner. A one-color chest print on 1,000 tees costs a fraction per piece of the same print on 100 — and a four-color design can cost multiples of a one-color design at the same quantity. DTG and DTF price almost flat per unit regardless of colors, which is why they win small runs and lose big ones.

As a rough anchor, wholesale listings from Chinese sportswear factories advertise custom printed 180gsm cotton tees from under two dollars per piece at volume — a starting point, not a quote, since fabric weight, print complexity, and compliance move the real number.

Two traps catch first-time buyers. Sampling typically takes 4–7 days and $20–50 per design in sample fees, often credited against the bulk order. And changing artwork after strike-off approval usually means paying for new screens or new sample rounds — approving carefully once is cheaper than approving twice.

What artwork files do Chinese printers need?

Send the right files first and you save a full sample round. The standard request is vector artwork — AI, EPS, or PDF (some factories also take CDR) — with text outlined to curves or the font files included. Set print dimensions at actual size: if the chest print should be 30 × 30 cm, the file should measure 30 × 30 cm, not a small file scaled up later.

For photographic or raster designs, supply 300 DPI at final print size. Low-resolution files pulled from a website print soft or pixelated, and the factory may charge a redrawing fee to rebuild the artwork as vector — confirm this before sampling so it never appears as a surprise line item.

Color references matter as much as the drawing. Supply Pantone coated (PMS) codes for every brand color, and lock placement, scale, and orientation for each print position in writing. For all-over sublimation or repeating patterns, confirm the repeat size and whether the pattern must align at seams.

How do factories match Pantone colors?

For screen printing, Pantone matching is physical: the printer mixes spot inks against your Pantone reference and prints a strike-off — a test print on the actual fabric — for approval. This is the most reliable color control in garment decoration and a genuine reason to choose screen printing for brand-critical logos.

Stay realistic about limits. The same Pantone mix looks different on white cotton versus a dark poly blend, and most factories will assist with matching without guaranteeing a perfect result on every substrate. Digital methods (DTG, DTF, sublimation) work in CMYK process color and approximate Pantones rather than matching them.

The rule: always approve a physical strike-off before bulk production and keep one sealed as your reference. If a color is critical, say so in writing and budget for an extra matching round. Your monitor is not a color standard — the Pantone code plus the approved strike-off is.

How is wash durability tested before shipment?

Durability claims need a test, and printed apparel has a standard one: colorfastness to laundering, commonly run under AATCC TM61 or the ISO 105-C series. Buyers typically specify 20, 30, or 50 wash cycles with an acceptable grade for color change and staining, and require the lab report before approving bulk.

The production control that matters most is the approval chain. After your strike-off passes, the factory makes a pre-production (PP) sample of the finished garment; once approved, it becomes the golden sample — the physical standard the production lot must match through packing.

If you sell into the EU, also ask about OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification for fabrics and inks, which screens for harmful substances and is a common buyer requirement there. And schedule wash testing during production, not after packing — a lab result takes days, and reprinting packed goods is nobody's idea of a good week. A quality control inspection before shipment then verifies print placement, color against the strike-off, registration on multi-color designs, and proper curing: under-cured plastisol cracks early, over-cured prints scorch.

How to choose the right printing method for your product

Four questions, in order — the method usually picks itself.

1. What is the fabric? Polyester performance wear points to sublimation. Cotton and cotton-rich garments open up screen printing, DTG, and DTF. If nothing printable fits — say, a photographic print on a nylon shell — embroidery or a woven label may be the honest answer.

2. How many pieces? Under 100 with full-color art: DTG or DTF. A few hundred and up with simple art: screen printing. The crossover moves with color count — a six-color design favors digital at higher quantities than a one-color design does.

3. How complex is the artwork? Photographs, gradients, and fine detail need DTG, DTF, or sublimation. Bold logos with one to three solid brand colors are screen printing's home turf, especially when Pantone accuracy matters. Text and numbers: vinyl.

4. What is the positioning? Premium workwear, polos, and caps look better embroidered. Price-sensitive promotional tees want the cheapest compliant method at volume — almost always screen printing. Performance apparel wants sublimation.

Run your shortlist past the factory early, because the method changes the quote structure entirely. When comparing suppliers on capability rather than price, a factory audit verifying the printing equipment exists in-house is worth more than a slightly lower unit price from an unverified shop.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Chinese factory combine screen printing and embroidery on the same garment?

Yes, it is routine — for example an embroidered chest logo with a screen-printed back graphic. Confirm both capabilities exist in-house or with a stable subcontractor, and approve samples of each decoration separately.

How long does a printed sample take from China?

Printed samples typically take 4–7 days after the factory receives artwork and the sample fee, plus shipping. Mass production after approval commonly runs 15–35 days depending on quantity.

Can Chinese printers match Pantone colors exactly?

Close, with screen printing, where inks are physically mixed to your Pantone reference — but most factories will not promise a perfect match on every fabric. Digital methods approximate Pantones in CMYK. Always approve a physical strike-off rather than trusting a screen image.

What is the difference between sublimation and DTF?

Sublimation turns dye into gas that bonds permanently with polyester fibers — polyester only, mostly light-colored, ideal for all-over prints. DTF prints onto film with adhesive and heat-presses it onto almost any fabric, including cotton and blends.

Which printing method is cheapest for 500 t-shirts in China?

For 500 cotton tees with a one- or two-color logo, screen printing is almost always cheapest. With full-color photographic art, DTF usually wins at 500 pieces because there is no per-color setup. Get both quoted before deciding.

Do I need vector files, or is a JPG enough for the factory?

Vector files (AI, EPS, or PDF with outlined text) are the standard. A JPG works only at 300 DPI at actual print size — anything smaller prints soft or pixelated. Expect a redrawing fee if the factory must rebuild low-resolution artwork as vector.

Your next step: lock the method before you request quotes

Decide your method with the four questions above — fabric, quantity, artwork complexity, positioning — and write it into your RFQ with Pantone codes and print dimensions. Factories quote faster and more accurately when the method is specified, and you avoid comparing a screen-print quote against a DTG quote as if they were the same product.

Then protect it with process: approve a physical strike-off, keep a golden sample, and put wash-test requirements in the purchase order. For help vetting printing factories, managing artwork approvals, or inspecting printed goods before shipment, email hi@cnally.com.