Live Printing at Dierks Bentley – Talking Stick Amphitheatre
After the Dierks Bentley show ended, we wrangled the afterparty crowd onto the dance floor and to the Acme Prints
Your merchandise isn’t just fabric; it’s a walking billboard for your brand. When you’re managing large-scale orders—think employee uniforms, trade show giveaways, or product launch merch—the printing choice is the difference between a high-impact asset and a costly liability.
Here’s the rub: The newest technology (DTF) promises the world, but the tried-and-true veteran (Screen Printing) delivers what the balance sheet demands: cost-effectiveness and bulletproof consistency at scale. Let’s look at the specs of DTF vs Screen Printing for bulk orders.
Screen Printing: It has higher initial setup costs (making those “screens”), but once the machine is rolling, the price per item drops dramatically. It’s the most cost-efficient choice for bulk apparel orders- over a hundred units.
DTF: Low setup costs, but the high price of digital inks and film means the per-item cost stays high. It’s great for 1 to 50 shirts, but your wallet will weep at 5,000.
Screen Printing: The gold standard. Ink is pushed directly into the fabric and cured. It’s like getting a tattoo on the shirt. It won’t crack, peel, or fade quickly, protecting your brand’s image through heavy use and industrial washing.
DTF: It’s a high-quality transfer that sits on top of the fabric, like a thin layer of durable vinyl. It holds up well, but over time, it is more susceptible to peeling or feeling stiff compared to a professional screen print
Screen Printing: With special inks and techniques, screen printing can feel soft, breathable, and truly integrated with the fabric, especially on simple logos. It feels like a quality piece of apparel.
DTF: Because it’s a transfer, the design will always have a noticeable texture or “hand-feel” on the shirt. This might not matter on a giveaway tee, but it is a factor for high-end retail or executive apparel.
Screen Printing: It costs money and time to make a new screen for every color. It is highly efficient and cheap for simple, 1-to-4 color logos (which most corporate branding is).
DTF: Perfect for complex artwork, gradients, and photo-realistic images. It prints all colors at once, making it ideal if your design looks like a high-resolution billboard.
Screen Printing: After the initial setup, automated presses print quickly and reliably—hundreds of pieces per hour. Built for high-volume bulk orders with on-time delivery.
DTF: Great for fast one-offs, but its production rate is inherently slower than an industrial screen press. Counting on it for a 1,000-unit deadline? That’s a risky gamble.
For reliable quality, superior durability, and the best cost-per-unit on any bulk order, Screen Printing remains the unbeatable choice. We’re not selling magic; we’re selling proven consistency.
Contact Acme Prints today for a volume-based price quote and a zero-risk production timeline.
After the Dierks Bentley show ended, we wrangled the afterparty crowd onto the dance floor and to the Acme Prints