DTF or flex: which transfer should you choose for your garments?

To mark a T-shirt with a heat press, two transfers always come up: DTF and flex. Both are pressed on, but they are not used for the same designs. Here is how to choose, depending on what you want to print.

Flex: a cut material

Flex is a coloured vinyl film, cut to the shape of the design by a machine (a plotter), then pressed onto the garment. Each colour is a layer to cut and apply separately.

• Ideal for: names and numbers on jerseys, simple text, a logo in one or two flat colours.
• Its limits: no gradients or photos, fine details that are tricky to cut, and an application that takes longer with every colour.

DTF: a full-colour print

DTF prints your design in colour onto a film, with a white underbase and an adhesive powder. It is pressed on like a flex, but everything is already on it: colours, shadows, gradients.

• Ideal for: multi-colour logos, illustrations, photos, small details (from 1 mm), on light and dark fabric alike.
• Its limits: the finish of a very large single-colour solid area can be slightly less “full” than a thick flex.

The comparison in brief

• Colours: flex, one per layer; DTF, all of them, in a single press.
• Fine details: flex, limited by the cutting; DTF, from 1 mm.
• Feel: flex, a little thicker; DTF, soft and thin.
• Piece-by-piece personalisation: flex remains king for different names and numbers on each jersey.

Our advice

A colour logo, an illustration or a photo: go for DTF. Names and numbers on team jerseys: flex (see our flock printing). Often, the two are combined: the club logo in DTF on the front, the name and number in flex on the back.

Do you have a press?

We print your ready-to-press DTF transfers on 35 × 40 cm sheets, with a free file check. First time? Follow our guide how to apply a DTF transfer. No press? Personalise your garment online, and we print it for you.