Print Methods Compared: Screen Print vs DTG vs Embroidery for Custom Apparel

Choosing a print method isn't a design decision — it's a business decision. The method you pick determines your per-unit cost, your minimum viable order size, which fabrics you can use, and how the finished product holds up over time. Getting this right before you approach suppliers saves you from quotes that don't make sense and samples that disappoint.

This guide covers the five main decoration methods used by EU apparel manufacturers, when each one wins, and a decision framework to find the right fit for your specific combination of product, volume, and budget. If you're still deciding on fabric, read the fabric selection guide first — fabric choice and print method are interdependent decisions.

Screen Printing: The Volume Workhorse

Screen printing is the dominant decoration method in EU apparel production for mid-to-high volumes. A physical screen is created for each ink color and each placement, and ink is pressed through the screen onto the garment. The result is a vibrant, durable print with exceptional color accuracy.

Pros

• Vibrant color output. Screen printing produces the most saturated, accurate colors of any apparel decoration method. Pantone-matched inks mean your brand colors are reproducible consistently across production runs.
• Durability. Correctly applied screen prints survive hundreds of wash cycles without fading or cracking. This is the benchmark other methods are measured against.
• Low per-unit cost at volume. Once screens are made, the cost per additional unit is minimal. At 100+ pieces, screen printing is almost always the most cost-effective option for bold, limited-color designs.
• Fabric versatility. Works well on cotton, cotton-polyester blends, and most standard jersey weights.

Cons

• Setup fees. Each screen costs €25–80 to produce. A three-color front print plus a one-color back label means four screens: €100–320 before a single unit is printed. These costs are fixed regardless of order size — which is why screen printing economics only work at 50+ pieces. See our full cost breakdown for how setup fees affect total landed price.
• Color limitations. Photorealistic gradients and complex multi-color artwork are expensive — each additional color means an additional screen. Standard screen printing works best with 1–5 solid or spot colors.
• Minimum order reality. Below 50 pieces, the setup cost per unit makes screen printing uneconomical. Most EU screen print specialists set their MOQ at 50–100 units for this reason.

Best For

Orders of 50+ units with bold, limited-color designs. Streetwear, lifestyle brands, event merchandise, and any product where per-unit cost at volume matters. If your design is a logo or graphic with 1–4 colors and you're ordering 100+, screen printing is almost certainly the right call.

DTG (Direct-to-Garment): The No-MOQ Option

DTG printing works like an inkjet printer applied directly to the garment. No screens, no setup, no minimum order. The design is printed digitally, full color, to the exact spec of your file.

Pros

• No setup fees. Each unit costs the same whether you order 1 or 500. No screens, no plates, no color-count pricing.
• Full-color complexity at no premium. Photorealistic artwork, gradients, 20-color illustrations — DTG handles all of it at the same cost as a single-color print. This is the method's defining advantage.
• No minimum order. DTG is the right tool for design testing, sample runs, limited editions, and one-off custom pieces. Where screen printing fails economically at low volumes, DTG works.
• Fast turnaround. No screen production cycle — prints can start immediately after file approval.

Cons

• Higher per-unit cost at volume. At 100+ pieces, DTG per-unit cost typically exceeds screen printing for equivalent designs. The crossover point varies by artwork complexity, but most brands find screen printing wins on cost at 50–75+ units.
• Fabric restrictions. DTG requires 100% cotton or high-cotton blends (80%+) for reliable results. Polyester-heavy blends produce muted colors and poor wash durability. If your fabric choice includes significant polyester content, DTG may not be viable — check our fabric compatibility guide.
• Durability gap. DTG prints are durable when applied correctly, but most industry comparisons put them slightly below screen printing for long-term wash performance. Pre-treatment quality and proper curing make a significant difference — ask suppliers about their process.
• Color vibrancy on dark garments. DTG on dark fabric requires a white underbase layer that adds cost and can slightly affect color feel. Results are good but typically not as vibrant as screen printing on the same dark ground.

Best For

Low-volume orders, design validation before committing to a screen print run, complex photorealistic artwork, and products where order size is unpredictable. DTG is also the right choice when fabric is 100% cotton and the design complexity makes screen printing expensive.

Embroidery: The Premium Signal

Embroidery stitches thread directly into the fabric using an industrial embroidery machine programmed from a digitized file. The result is a textured, tactile decoration that reads as premium in ways that printed alternatives simply don't.

Pros

• Perceived value. Embroidery signals quality in a way that printing cannot replicate. The texture, weight, and dimensional quality of stitched thread reads as premium across product categories. This is why workwear, corporate merchandise, caps, and upmarket lifestyle brands default to embroidery for logo placement.
• Exceptional durability. Thread doesn't crack, fade, or peel. Embroidered logos survive industrial washing, extended daily use, and years of wear. For workwear or uniforms that need to hold up to heavy use, embroidery outlasts every print method.
• Works on all fabric types. Unlike DTG (cotton-only) or sublimation (polyester-only), embroidery works across fabric categories — jersey, fleece, canvas, nylon. Fabric weight and stability matter for backing choices, but the method itself is versatile.

Cons

• Digitizing setup fee. Every embroidery design requires digitizing — converting artwork into machine-readable stitch instructions. Digitizing costs typically run €25–100 depending on design complexity and stitch count. This is a one-time fee per design; reorders of the same logo don't incur it again.
• Design limitations. Embroidery can't replicate photorealistic artwork or fine typography. It works best for logos, wordmarks, and simple iconography with clear shapes and defined color areas. Complex gradients, small text, and thin lines are difficult to execute cleanly in thread.
• Higher cost per unit. Stitch count drives cost — more complex designs cost more per piece to produce. A densely stitched logo can add €3–8 per unit. For simple designs at volume, this is manageable; for complex artwork, it adds up.
• Minimum order reality. The digitizing setup fee means embroidery has an effective minimum below which the per-unit economics don't work. Most EU suppliers set minimums at 50–100 pieces for embroidered products.

Best For

Caps, workwear, corporate branded apparel, premium lifestyle pieces where the tactile quality justifies the cost, and any product where brand longevity and perceived value are the priority. If you're producing uniforms or high-end branded merchandise, embroidery is almost always the right method for logo placement.

Heat Transfer: The Versatile Workaround

Heat transfer applies a printed design to a carrier film that's then pressed onto the garment using a heat press. The result is a smooth, vibrant print that works on fabrics and items that don't accommodate other methods.

Pros

• Fabric versatility. Heat transfer works on fabrics that screen printing and DTG struggle with — nylon, polyester accessories, technical outerwear, and items with unusual shapes or constructions.
• No setup fee. Digital printing on the transfer film means no screen costs and full-color capability similar to DTG.
• Works on accessories and hard items. Bags, caps, water bottles, and promotional items that can't go through a DTG machine can be decorated with heat transfer.

Cons

• Durability concerns. Heat transfer films are more susceptible to cracking, peeling, and fading than screen printing or embroidery, particularly with high-heat washing or tumble drying. Application quality matters significantly — poor bonding produces prints that degrade quickly.
• Feel on fabric. Heat transfer prints have a slightly plastic feel — more noticeable than screen printing or DTG. High-quality transfers have improved, but the tactile difference is still perceptible on premium garments.
• Scaling economics. Heat transfer doesn't scale cost-effectively the way screen printing does at volume. For large orders on standard fabric, screen printing almost always wins on cost and durability.

Best For

Accessories, outerwear, items with unusual fabric or construction, small orders on polyester without sublimation setup, and any product where the item shape prevents DTG or screen printing. Use heat transfer when other methods aren't compatible — not as a first choice for standard garments.

Dye Sublimation: All-Over Print, No Compromise

Sublimation printing converts dye into gas using heat, which bonds permanently with polyester fibers. The result is a full-color, edge-to-edge print with photographic quality that becomes part of the fabric rather than sitting on top of it.

Pros

• All-over coverage. Sublimation is the only method that produces true edge-to-edge, seam-to-seam prints. Every other method is limited by the printable area of a flat panel — sublimation covers the entire garment.
• Photographic quality. Full-color gradients, photorealistic imagery, complex patterns — sublimation handles all of it with no color-count limitations and no visible halftone dots.
• Durability. Because the dye bonds with the fiber rather than sitting on the surface, sublimation prints don't fade, crack, or peel. The print is as durable as the garment itself.
• No feel on the fabric. There's no ink layer — the color is in the fiber. The garment feels the same before and after printing.

Cons

• Polyester only. Sublimation requires 95%+ polyester content. It will not bond to cotton — the dye needs synthetic fibers to fix. This is a hard technical constraint. If your product is cotton, sublimation isn't an option.
• White/light base required. Sublimation dyes are transparent — they tint the fabric rather than cover it. This means sublimation only works on white or very light-colored garments. Dark base fabrics are incompatible.
• Setup cost. Cut-and-sew sublimation (printing panels before construction) requires more complex production than post-construction decoration. MOQs tend to be higher for sublimation products at most EU manufacturers.

Best For

All-over print designs on polyester — activewear, sportswear, swimwear, performance gear. If your design is meant to cover the entire garment, sublimation is the only method that delivers it cleanly. Also worth considering for technical apparel where both print and fabric performance are priorities.

Decision Table: Which Print Method Wins

Before contacting suppliers, use this framework to narrow your options. Knowing your print method before requesting quotes means you're matched to the right manufacturers from the start — not discovering incompatibility after the first sample round.

Situation	Best Method	Why
100+ units, 1–5 color bold logo on cotton	Screen printing	Lowest per-unit cost at volume; best color vibrancy
Under 50 units, complex full-color artwork on cotton	DTG	No setup fee; full-color at any quantity
Caps, workwear, premium logo placement	Embroidery	Durability and perceived quality no print method matches
Activewear, all-over print on polyester	Dye sublimation	Only method that covers edge-to-edge; bonds to polyester permanently
Accessories, nylon outerwear, unusual fabric	Heat transfer	Works where other methods can't; no screen setup
Design testing before committing to a run	DTG	No MOQ; low risk; switch to screen print once design is validated
High-volume, budget-sensitive orders on any fabric	Screen printing	Best cost scaling; works across most standard fabrics

Print method also interacts with your cost and minimum order strategy. For a full breakdown of how decoration costs flow into total landed price, see our cost guide. For how print method affects which MOQ tier makes sense for your order, see the MOQ guide. And if you're still in early preparation — choosing fabric, building specs, figuring out what you don't know — start with the 5 things to know before ordering.

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The short version: Screen print for 50+ units with simple color artwork. DTG for low volumes or complex full-color designs on cotton. Embroidery for premium, tactile brand signals on logos and workwear. Heat transfer when other methods don't fit the substrate. Sublimation for all-over prints on polyester. Know your method before you brief suppliers — it determines who can actually do the work and at what cost.

RaQvo's design studio lets you specify print method and fabric before your brief goes to manufacturers — so the quotes you receive are priced for exactly what you're building. Start your project → and get matched quotes from verified EU suppliers within 48 hours.