# DTG on Socks



## sttbtch (Oct 5, 2010)

can it be done? have people done it? do you stretch it out before printing or do you lay them flat like they came out of the package. do you need something in the middle to keep ink from migrating to the other side? do you pretreat even if they are white socks? I have seen the sublimation on the nike socks can you DTG on them.


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

This has been done many times. I think you just want to slightly stretch the sock. Socks are made to stretch some on people's feet, but you can never really tell how much stretch it will be based on who is going to put it on. Also, if you stretch it too much... you can have an issue with the ink smearing when you take the sock off the platen and it contracts.

Regarding pretreating, I don't know of many people that do white ink printing on socks. Most of them it is only CMYK inks. The white ink does not have the necessary stretchability to handle what a sock goes through getting on to some people's feet. So it is likely to crack. Plus, CMYK inks are softer to the touch. We have applied light garment pretreat fluid (specifically designed for CMYK inks only) to socks to give them better washability - especially if the sock is not made out of 100% cotton. Just keep in mind that some people will apply bleach to their laundry when cleaning socks and very few decorating techniques can handle bleaching. 

Here are some pictures. The longer sock was pretreated, the shorter one was not.

Hope this info helps. Best wishes,

Mark


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## sttbtch (Oct 5, 2010)

Thanks my son wants the school mascot on his football practice socks!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using T-Shirt Forums


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

It is possible, but I would be careful as to how you clean those socks to get the dirt and grass stains out. You might be able to use a special type of bleach (i.e. All) and be fine with the washability of the prints. I would recommend doing a wash test on a test shirt or a different pair of socks first so you can see the effects of bleach and the special stuff has on the prints. Then you might want to do one pair first in case the socks are coated with special type of coating to prevent stains (i.e. Teflon). That could also affect the washability of the print.

Best wishes,

Mark


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