How to Print Custom Denim Garments With DTG

Can you print on Denim with a DTG printer?

Simple answer, YES!  Printing customized denim garments can get those creative juices flowing for most print shops.  Here at DTG Connection we have seen customers print on custom denim jackets, jeans and even skirts.  Style, position and graphic design has varied dramatically.  In all cases though, these prints become a statement for the customers that wear them.  Below, I will highlight some examples of these prints and share with you best print settings to get the job done.

Custom Denim with DTG
Custom Denim Close-Up

Above you see an amazing print on the back of a denim jacket.  Notice the vibrancy or “pop” in the design, this print turned out fantastic.   If you look closely you can see that the print goes over the seam of the jacket effortlessly.   Here is a close-up picture…

 

The great thing about DTG printing is that you can hit those seems with no loss in image quality.  The printheads do not actually touch the fabric, they hover just slightly above it, allowing you to print over those seams.

Here Are The Step-by-Step Instructions for How to Print on Denim with a DTG Printer

Total Time Needed: 20 minutes

Required Tools:

- PC with Design & RIP Software Installed
- DTG Printer
- Heat Press

Things Needed?

- Pretreatment Fluid
- Denim Garment

Steps to configure the How-to Schema widget:

Step 1 : Pretreat
In the above images, you can see that the print has white ink. As always with DTG and using white ink, you need to apply a pretreat pretreatment. Pretreat the garment just as if you were pretreating a normal shirt and then dry. You can find detailed instructions in our “How to Pretreat Dark Garments” article.
Step 2 : Prepress & Load on Printer
Once the pretreat is dry, press the area of the print down to flatten out the image as best you can. Then load on to the printer. Its not necessary to use the hoop.
Custom Denim On Printer
Step 3 : Adjust RIP Settings
Your print settings won’t vary too much with denim vs a normal T-shirt but you should make a few adjustments. Under your white ink settings enable “content base” and increase the white ink under the respective colors to make sure you are getting the result you want. Utilize the True View feature so you can get a real time look at what the end results will be. For your CMYK settings its recommended that you change the quality settings to “super fine”. This will slow the print down just a bit, but it will ensure that detail print over the seams comes out as intended. Then hit print!

And that is it, 3 steps that are very similar to normal printing on a traditional t-shirt.  But these subtle changes can make the print jump of the denim you are printing on.

As always, we love seeing what our customers are doing so if you have a great print example you want to share please reach out, you can send the images to info@dtgconnection.com.

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