One of the most common requests we get when talking about custom patches for hats is for full color patches in addition to our custom leather patch hats. I’m pleased to announce that our custom logo leather patch hats can now be ordered in full color thanks to our partnership with another local small business: Heat Transfers in Bellingham, WA. Since DTF is a newer technique I thought it would be a good idea to answer some common questions and explain why we chose this method for our custom patch hats over others.
WHAT IS DTF?
The first question everyone asks (after some giggles about the name) is: What is DTF? DTF stands for Direct To Film. It is a full color, high resolution image printed onto film. Once
printing is complete, it is covered in a thermo-adhesive powder and then transferred to a garment with heat and pressure. It can adhere to almost any surface making it perfect for the leather we use on our custom hat patches.
HOW DOES DTF COMPARE TO SUBLIMATION?
Sublimation is the process of printing images onto an ink-absorbent paper. The ink from that image is then transferred to a garment with heat and pressure. Once complete, the ink is directly adhered to and has become a part of the garment. It sounds like a similar process but DTF can be transferred to just about any surface where sublimation works best on fabrics that can absorb ink. Sublimation would not work well with our leather custom hat patches. DTF can also be printed on any color including white. Many of the logos we work with to create leather patch hats include white. Sublimation is best for white or light colored garments and white cannot be transferred. We love being able to offer many hat colors and leather colors and DTF gives us the freedom to do that. Both have their place but because we are working with leather, dark colors and full color logos, DTF was the better option in our situation.
HOW DOES DTF COMPARE TO SCREEN PRINTING?
Screen printing has been around for years and has become one of the most popular techniques for printing images onto apparel. Screen printing uses stencils to apply each color in layers to your garment. Similar to sublimination, it does not work well on dark colors and works best with cotton textured fabrics. White also cannot be used in the process of screen printing.
HOW DOES DTF HOLD UP?
DTF is excellent when it comes to durability. When applied to a garment, it can be washed as normal.
SEE THE PRODUCTS
Check out all of our DTF products here! We can't wait to start customizing headwear for you!