# Inkjet or Screen Print - confused!



## Chopper101 (Nov 24, 2014)

Hello, I was thinking of buying an A3 printer to try and cut down on costs buying screen printed heat transfers commercially. However, I gather regular heat transfers fade quite quickly, though someone has said If I use digital paper they wouldn't fade.

Should I buy a carousel screen printer and heat lamp for curing to make my own transfers (and straight onto shirt of course) or just a regular A3 printer? I don't have much space though I've seen small carousel ones on EBay.

Thank you.


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## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

Buying a screen printing press is unlikely to provide an instant solution to your problem. The process is not particularly difficult, but does require a good deal of practice and trial and error.

That is not to say that ultimately you shouldn't consider screening your own product, but in the meantime explore the ins and outs of the various forms of transfers.


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## Chopper101 (Nov 24, 2014)

Thank you and this might sound a bit daft so apologies in advance, but what's the difference between digital printing and inkjet transfer printing. As you can tell I'm still a bit wet behind the ears!


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## MaximRecoil (May 18, 2010)

Chopper101 said:


> Thank you and this might sound a bit daft so apologies in advance, but what's the difference between digital printing and inkjet transfer printing. As you can tell I'm still a bit wet behind the ears!


There is no difference, i.e., inkjet printing _is_ digital printing. All printing that's done directly from a computer is digital printing. Even modern screen printing usually starts with digital printing to make the film positive(s). Of course, screen printing is at least 1,000 years old, so it can be done without any help from digital devices (by using hand-cut stencils or emulsion stencils made from film positives which were created with a film camera).

Transfers can be made with screen printing or digital printing (usually inkjet in the case of digital printing, but sometimes laser). Screen printing to make a transfer has the advantage of being able to use plastisol ink, which has long been the industry standard for printing T-shirts.

Another form of digitally printing T-shirts is "direct-to-garment" ("DTG"), which uses an inkjet printer modified to print directly to T-shirts rather than paper.

Screen printing directly to shirts is the most versatile method of printing, but it can require a lot of equipment, know-how, and work to fully exploit its versatility.

By the way, there is no such thing as "digital paper".


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