# DTG on 50/50 Poly Hoodies



## metalbone (Sep 7, 2013)

I dont do much on hoodies but the little I have done has been on the Hanes F170. I like these hoodies but I have noticed that on all of them, even on the ones for customers cuz I checked with them, the semi elastic band around the wastes and the wrists seem to give out way to easy after a couple washes. This seems to be random, because two that I did for my wife, are just fine, mine is horrible, and the few that I have ordered for customers are loose as well.

I like the F170 because it was 100% cotton heavy hoodie and everything else seems to be 50/50. But with the fact that the elastic bands are giving out I am looking at the 50/50 jersey 996.

How is DTG printing on 50/50 black using the IA pretreat? I have only used on 100% cotton items and have not ventured into the poly stuff yet.

For those that have, any recommendations.


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

Using a good pretreat and a second coat tends to work well for me on hoodies. I have yet to try the IA but I'm about to order some. 
I don't like plain white ink on the black hoodies. It prints fine but it isn't as "full" as screen printing looks.


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## metalbone (Sep 7, 2013)

So your saying pretreat, cure, pretreat, cure then print?


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

Yeah, but the second pretreat is not a full amount, just a light spray. The second coat is more to fill in the gaps. I notice when printing on hoodies the weave is not as tight as t shirts so you get small gaps in the ink. 
One thing I do different and may not be right is I spray my hoodies then let them dry with no heat press and then usually the next day I hit them with a light spray and heat press to dry it. 
I get good results like that. But I'm a small hobbyist shop so I am not usually under the gun to get the prints out the door as fast


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## 4C Print Shop (Sep 8, 2010)

We print a lot of Hanes F170 on a weekly basis and I have never pretreated them twice, once is good enough on the edge pretreat machine. We have yet to experience where the elastic bands give way. Also on a further note the F170 is not 100% cotton.


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## sandmanbjj (Oct 26, 2011)

I use a spray bottle. So a pretreat machine could eliminate any of the issues I have


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## joeshaul (Mar 1, 2008)

mrdean78 said:


> Also on a further note the F170 is not 100% cotton.


I believe they advertise the outer area with which we print as 100% cotton, spec sheets say "90 cotton/10 polyester, 100% cotton face". 

In regards to the original post. 

I've only done a handful of F170s and haven't experienced or heard problems. 

I wasn't really satisfied with my attempts on darker 50/50s, I know I tried a red shirt and the print turned to a bright pink before it was removed from my GT361. Usually I just stick to brighter colors and use the poly pretreat for brights, or push vinyl so as to not have a sub-par product. 

Sport Tek has a model F281 that's 80 cotton/20 poly, I haven't personally used it yet and just ordered some to play around with in spare time if I get any, might be an option as I've had trouble finding some colors in the F170 line, it's also a bit pricier than the F170s.


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## tchandler52 (Sep 17, 2012)

I also am curious about printing on 50/50 hoodies. Any good results ?


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## tchandler52 (Sep 17, 2012)

Still looking.................


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

With DTG and dye sublimation 50/50 is a BAD choice. Go with 100% cotton for DTG and 100% poly for dye sub.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Go with American Apparel 100% cotton. You will get stunning results


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## maryellen1234 (Mar 4, 2010)

I just had a company do DTG on a 50/50 dark shirt and we just ended up throwing it away because they could not get a good quality print. Brought in 100% cotton shirts the next week and they printed them and they looked great.


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