DTG Pretreat

Light Garment Direct-to-Garment Pretreat for Polyester, Blends and Natural Garments

For years, the printing on 100% polyester garments has not been possible with direct-to-garment (dtg) inks. This is because dtg inks are waterbased inks designed to bind to natural fabrics that have fibers that are loosely wound. Synthetic garments, like polyester garments, are made with tightly wounded fibers that are not as absorbent as natural fibers. Thus, the waterbased dtg inks typically will bleed and wash out on polyester garments. This makes the prints look very faded after the first wash. A similar effect also happens on 50/50 blend garments as well.

This is where DTG Pretreat fluid comes in. This fluid is specifically designed to work with CMYK inks to provide a receptive coating on the polyester and 50/50 blend garments or substrates. This means a DTG printer can use their printers to print on the following type of garments / products:

DTG Pretreat for Light Garment DTG Printing
  • 100% Polyester Garments
  • Blend Garments (especially hoodies and other types of sweatshirts)
  • 100% Cotton Garments
  • Mouse Pads
  • Can Coolers
  • Polyester Flags
  • Tote Bags
  • Stone Coasters
  • and many more items.
Light Garment Pretreat for DTG Printers

 

DTG Pretreat can also be used on 100% cotton garments to provide for a slightly better colors (e.g. especially providing richer blacks and brighter reds) and better washability.  It is recommended to try the pretreat fluid on cotton garments by printing a color chart and compare it to a color chart printed on a non-pretreated 1S00% cotton garment.  Then perform a wash test on both garments.  This will allow the customer to determine when it would be beneficial to use the pretreat fluid and when it would be acceptable not to.

NOTE: We recommend all dtg users print a test sample and wash it before they begin printing for a customers. Each garment brand and model of a garment can be made differently (e.g. different looms, dyes, sizing chemicals,…) and this may affect how the pretreatment works. Thus, we provide a Print & Wash Test log you can use to track your testing. Click here to download the Print & Wash Test log.

Learn More about DTG Pretreat

09Jun

Why Perform a Print & Wash Test? DTG Pretreat

One of the questions that we get asked frequently from direct-to-garment (DTG) users is whether it is really necessary to perform a Print & Wash Test on garments they have never printed on.  The answer is simple – YES!  When you look at all the cost (including your labor expense) that goes into printing a…

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