Materials Index
Materials And Fabrics, The Substrates Under Every Print
A transfer is only as good as the film it prints on and the fabric it lands on. This is the material stack: the PET carriers, the white ink underbase, the poly-blocker recipe, the adhesive powder that fuses ink into shirt fiber, and the fabrics we recommend by print method. Read this before spec'ing a job.
Print Materials
The films, inks, and powders that make up the Golden DTF stack.
Hot-Peel Film
The matte-finish PET carrier that releases warm. Standard on every Golden DTF transfer and the reason our floor holds throughput.
Full material spec →
Cold-Peel Film
The PET carrier that releases after full cool-down. Glossier finish, better on stretch performance fabric, slower on a production line.
Full material spec →
White Ink Underbase
The pigment-loaded white layer that sits between film and CMYK. The reason DTF prints hold color for sixty wash cycles.
Full material spec →
Poly Blocker Formula
The dye-migration barrier printed below the underbase. Required on light art over red, navy, or black polyester.
Full material spec →
Adhesive Powder
The hot-melt polymer grain that fuses ink to garment. Fine for detail, coarse for hand feel on fleece.
Full material spec →
PET Carrier Film
The polyethylene terephthalate substrate every hot-peel and cold-peel sheet begins as. Thickness, coating, and how it interacts with ink, powder, and press.
Full material spec →
Fabrics
Every fabric family we test transfers against, with press recipe and method fit.
100% Cotton
The default apparel fiber for anyone printing full color. Soft, absorbent, no dye migration, and the fabric DTF adhesion was engineered around.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Cotton-Poly Blend
The compromise fabric that stops being a compromise once you understand commercial wash cycles. Our sweet spot for uniforms and program apparel.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Tri-Blend
Cotton, polyester, and rayon in one knit. The fabric a boutique brand chooses when the tee has to feel like it costs 40 dollars on a hanger.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Cotton Fleece
The hoodie and sweatshirt substrate. Brushed cotton or cotton-blend fleece that takes DTF cleanly and reads embroidered when pressed with care.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Polyester
Synthetic fiber, moisture-wicking, sublimation-compatible, and the reason poly-blocker DTF exists. Print on it wrong and the dye shows up next Tuesday.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Performance Knit
Poly-spandex blend built to wick moisture and stretch under load. Compatible with DTF only when the transfer is engineered for stretch.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Nylon
Bags, jackets, and technical outerwear fabric. Low melt point, low surface energy, and the reason low-temperature DTF exists.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Denim
Heavyweight cotton twill weave. Excellent DTF adhesion, no migration risk, and one of the most rewarding fabrics to press when you get the pressure right.
Fabric spec & press recipe →
Related Indexes
- Methods Index: the decoration technique that lands on each material.
- Blank Brands Index: garments woven from these fabrics.
- Golden DTF Methodology: how these materials get run through production.