Decoration Methods Index
Decoration Methods, Every Technique We Produce
Golden DTF runs a production floor that decorates in eleven distinct methods. Each has its own economics, wash-life, feel, and fabric fit. Pick the wrong one and the shirt looks cheap or the price cannot be defended. This index is the map: what each method is, when it wins, and where the trade-offs sit.
All Methods
Decoration Method
DTF Transfers, the method every full-color job routes to first.
Direct-to-film prints CMYK plus a white underbase onto PET, powders hot-melt adhesive on the wet ink, cures the stack, and heat-presses it into any fabric that will hold cotton or a cotton blend.
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Decoration Method
UV DTF, the sticker for hard goods that a real person can peel and place.
A UV-cured decal with an adhesive layer that bonds to glass, metal, ceramic, wood, and rigid plastic. Not for fabric. Not for anything that flexes past a mild curve.
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Decoration Method
Screen Printing, still the cheapest correct answer past 72 shirts.
Plastisol or water-based ink pushed through a mesh screen and cured with heat. Best for high-volume, low-color-count art. Amortizes setup cost across the run.
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Decoration Method
DTG, the one-off machine that fades faster than the shirt.
Water-based pigment ink jetted directly onto pretreated cotton. Great for a single custom shirt in an hour. Worse than DTF at every wash count that matters.
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Decoration Method
Sublimation, gaseous dye into polyester, zero hand feel, wrong for cotton.
Solid dye printed on transfer paper, sublimated into a gas by heat, and infused into polyester fibers. Full-bleed, no hand feel, permanent. Works on white polyester only.
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Decoration Method
Embroidery, the finish that reads as more expensive because it is.
Thread stitched into the fabric by a computer-driven multi-head machine. Highest perceived value in decorated apparel. Not viable for gradients, photographs, or big color counts.
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Decoration Method
Fauxbroidery, the DTF that reads as embroidery until someone touches it.
A textured DTF transfer designed to mimic stitched embroidery, printed with a raised ink pattern and pressed onto hats, polos, and fleece. Same visual, different economics.
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Decoration Method
Foil Transfers, metallic finish for graphics that read as jewelry.
A DTF transfer printed in metallic instead of pigment and pressed onto a garment like any other transfer. Result is a bright metallic graphic that finishes slightly matte. Wrong for anything that flexes hard.
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Decoration Method
Raised UV, the dimensional relief that turns a decal into a badge.
A UV DTF decal with a physically raised topcoat. You can feel the print with your finger. Luxury pricing, luxury substrates, hard goods only.
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Decoration Method
Puff DTF, the transfer that expands under heat into a raised print.
A DTF variant with heat-activated blowing agents in the ink stack. Presses like standard DTF and rises 1 to 2 mm off the fabric. Streetwear, retro, best on midweight cotton.
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Decoration Method
Glow-in-the-Dark, phosphorescent DTF for novelty and safety programs.
A DTF variant with strontium aluminate phosphors mixed into the ink stack. Charges under any light source, glows green or aqua for 30 to 60 minutes in true dark. Best on dark garments.
Read the method spec →
Related Indexes
- Materials & Fabrics Index: what every method prints on.
- Blank Brands Index: the garments we recommend with each method.
- Golden DTF Methodology: how our production floor actually runs a print.