direct-to-film printers in bedford

Printing and branding since 1983

For almost 40 years; our parent company, Sycal, has been printing and branding products for people across the globe. Whether it’s a single t-shirt or 10,000 power banks, our focus has been on providing the best quality product at competitive prices.

In 2022, we invested in Direct-to-Film (DTF) printing technologies, a state-of-the-art printing method to bring vibrant designs to life. Designed to offer exceptional quality, quick turnaround times, and lower printing costs than alternative methods, we decided to launch DTF Printing Bedford to enhance our offerings.

With our in-house printing systems, warehouse, and storage facility, we are on hand to bring your garment printing needs to life.

What is Direct-to-Film printing?

DTF printing is quite a literal process.

Our printer uploads your digital design and prints it onto a layer of recyclable film. From here, we simply heat-cure the film to the fabric. That’s all there is to it.

Although this process may seem a little simple, our DTF printers are incredibly innovative. Utilising state-of-the-art dual-head printing technologies, we can print full-colour transfers; as well as the necessary white inks, in one single pass. Creating high-quality vibrant prints onto almost any type of fabric.

Unlike Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printers, DTF printing completely eliminates the need for any pre-treatments on your garment. Even on dark clothing, DTF allows for vibrant full-colour printing without the risk of dye discolouration and no extra printing costs.

Unlike screen printing, you’re not limited to a specific number of colours. With no set-up costs for screen production, we can offer exceptional print quality at a competitive price.

Powered by KODAK ink technologies, the printer utilises pigment-based inks creating bright and colourful designs similar to that of screen printing, but without restrictions on colour. These prints are designed to stand the tests of time, stretch after stretch, and wash after wash.

What can DTF print onto?

In short, almost anything. Unlike other print options, we are no longer limited to the fabrics we can print on to. So long as the requested material can withstand the heat curing process, we can print on it!

Whether it’s natural cotton, polyester, nylon, rayon, denim, or even wood, we can help ensure that your design stands out! If you’re looking for t-shirts, hi-vis jackets, sportswear, or something different, DTF printing could be for you.

Is DTF printing environmentally friendly?

DTF printing takes a number of giant leaps forwards when compared against alternative print methods.

DTF printing as a whole is a very clean odourless process with only one general by-product. The low-impact inks are water-based, with no odour and no nasty components. Once a film is produced it requires a very short 15-second heat press to apply it and then nothing else, ensuring a lower carbon footprint. With print films manufactured from recycled materials on the horizon, we are making more steps to implement sustainable garment printing

With no screen set-up charges, no colour limitations, and no minimum order quantities, DTF printing allows us to create high-quality garments quickly and more affordably than alternative methods.