Every piece you get from us is made using DTG printing, right here in our Sydney studio, on a print to order basis. No warehouse full of pre-made stock. No guessing what sizes will sell. This is how and why we do it that way.
We get questions about this a fair bit. How does print on demand actually work? Is the quality as good as screen printing? Why does my order sometimes take a few extra days? What even is DTG printing?
All fair questions. This post covers the whole process honestly, from the blank garment we choose through to the print landing on your doorstep. It also explains why we think this approach is better than the alternative, and where the trade offs are, because there are some.
It starts with the blank
Before any printing happens, the garment itself matters. We use AS Colour as the base blank across most of our range because they give more public information about sourcing and supplier expectations than most alternatives. That does not make their supply chain perfect, but it means we are starting with more transparency than the average blank.
The fabric weight is around 180 GSM for most of our tees. That is mid-weight enough to feel substantial, but not heavy or stiff. Combed cotton, preshrunk, side seamed. These details matter more than they sound. A cheap base garment prints differently, wears out faster, and loses shape in the wash. The print quality you end up with is partly a reflection of what it is printed on.
You can read more about our sourcing choices on our Our Processes page and our ethical clothing approach.
What DTG printing actually is
DTG stands for direct to garment. The design is printed directly into the fabric using specialised inkjet technology rather than being transferred on top of it. The result is a softer feel compared to plasticky transfer prints, with better reproduction of complex or colour-heavy artwork.
The process for each shirt goes roughly like this:
1. Pre-treatment. The garment gets a pre-treatment solution applied before printing. The solution works by temporarily raising the pH of the cotton fibres, which allows the water-based ink to bond into the fabric rather than sitting on the surface. On dark garments, this step also supports the white underbase layer that makes colours pop properly. Skip pre-treatment and the print fades fast, regardless of how good the printer is.
2. White underbase (on dark garments). On black, navy, or other dark coloured tees, a white ink layer is printed first before the design colours go down. Without this underbase the colours read dull or disappear into the fabric. On light garments this step is skipped entirely and the colours print directly onto the cotton.
3. Print. The garment goes through the DTG printer, which lays down ink directly into the fabric layer by layer according to the design file. This is where colour accuracy, resolution, and file quality all matter.
4. Heat cure. The garment goes through a heat press or conveyor dryer to cure the ink and lock everything in. This is the step that makes the print durable and wash-safe. Undercure and the print will crack or fade early. Overcure and you can affect the hand feel of the fabric.
5. Quality check. Every order is checked by hand before it gets packed. If the print is not right, it does not go out.
DTG is particularly well suited to designs with lots of colour, fine detail, or gradients. Screen printing handles those things less easily, especially at small quantities. For a brand like ours with a constantly rotating range of artwork-heavy designs, DTG makes a lot more sense than screen printing every run.
Why we print to order instead of making stock upfront
Most clothing brands forecast demand, produce a big run, and then sit on stock hoping it sells. When it does not, the options are markdown sales, landfill, or incineration. The fashion industry makes an enormous amount of clothing that never gets meaningfully worn. That is not a small problem.
We print when you order. That means we are not making a shirt until someone actually wants it. There is no warehouse of unsold tees in a size XXS that nobody bought. Every item we produce is spoken for.
Orders sometimes take a few extra days compared to brands shipping pre-made stock. That is the honest trade off. You are waiting a little longer because we are making your thing, not pulling it off a shelf.
What you get in return: something made for you, with no waste sitting in a room somewhere that did not need to exist.
DTG vs screen printing vs heat transfer: how they compare
People often ask whether DTG is as good as screen printing. The honest answer is that it depends what you are comparing. They are different methods with different strengths.
| Method | Best for | Trade offs | Minimum quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTG printing | Complex artwork, lots of colours, gradients, small runs, print to order | Pre-treatment adds a step; dark garments need white underbase; slightly longer per-unit production time | 1+ |
| Screen printing | Bold one or two colour designs at high volume | Setup cost makes small runs expensive; limited colour complexity; not suited to print to order | Usually 24–50+ |
| Heat transfer | Quick low quantity production | Often feels plasticky, less durable, prone to cracking over time | 1+ |
For a graphic tee range like ours, DTG is the right call. It lets us run designs with complex artwork in small quantities without the setup overhead of screen printing, and without the feel and durability limitations of transfer printing.
What happens with the waste from printing
The leftover ink from our DTG printing process does not just get tipped out. We work with a supplier in Western Sydney who breaks the components of leftover ink down into nutrients that enrich soil. Our ink cartridges are reused. We have removed nearly all plastic from our supply chain. Our cardboard is recycled.
None of this is flashy. We are not going to put it on a banner in 72pt type. But it is real and it is ongoing, which is more than a lot of brands with big sustainability claims can actually say.
You can read more about our slow fashion approach or dig into the specifics on our processes page.
Caring for a DTG printed tee
DTG prints last well when you treat them right. The two main things that shorten the life of a print are hot washing and tumble drying on high heat. The ink is cured into the fabric, but aggressive heat over time will break it down faster than it needs to.
Wash cold or on a gentle warm cycle. Turn the garment inside out before washing. Skip the dryer or use low heat. Do not iron directly on the print.
Do all of that and the print should hold up for years of regular wear. We have shirts from our early runs still going strong.
A few things worth knowing about our range
All our tees, hoodies, and jumpers are printed and packed by hand from our studio in Sydney. Sizes run from babies up to 5XL, and nothing is categorised by gender. The oversized range in particular is popular for people who want the print to really sit and breathe on the front.
Every order goes out with a free sticker, magnet, and limited edition art print. That is not a marketing thing. It is just how we have always done it, because a parcel that feels like it was put together by a person is more interesting than one that was not.
Commonly asked questions
What is DTG printing?
DTG stands for direct to garment. The design is printed directly into the fabric using specialised inkjet technology. It differs from screen printing (which uses stencils and ink layers pushed through a mesh) and heat transfer (which bonds a printed sheet onto the garment surface). DTG handles complex, colourful artwork well and works from a single unit upward, which is why it suits print to order production.
Does DTG printing last as long as screen printing?
With proper care, yes. DTG ink bonds into the fabric rather than sitting on top of it. Wash cold, inside out, and avoid high heat drying and the print holds up well. Screen printing has a long track record partly because the method has been around longer, not because DTG is inherently less durable.
Why does print to order sometimes take longer?
Because we are making it when you order it, rather than shipping pre-made stock. Our shipping page has current turnaround info. The short version: a few extra days on the production side, then standard tracked AusPost from there.
Do you do custom DTG printing?
Yes. You can read about our custom products or bulk orders if you are after something specific.
What sizes do you stock?
Baby sizes through to 5XL, which is a genuinely generous 5XL rather than the undersized version some brands call 5XL. Full size detail is on our sizing and fit page.
How do you care for a DTG printed t-shirt?
Wash cold, inside out, on a gentle cycle. Low heat or air dry. No iron on the print. That is it. Treat it that way and the print should last years.
Browse the range
Everything printed to order in Sydney using DTG. Pick something good.
Independent. Sydney made. DTG printed since 2011.
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