Automating Your Direct-to-Film Printing Business

Direct-to-film (DTF) printing is an emergent form of apparel decoration, with a lot of different players entering the space. Instead of printing directly onto an article of clothing, DTF prints the design on a special film that is heat-pressed onto the final product.

Advantages of DTF printing include its ability to easily print on dark surfaces and different materials such as leather, ceramic, and glass. Whenever a new form of decoration becomes popular, the technology and software to support it are sure to follow.

Preflight

To run a successful DTF business, you need to be able to turn images into production-ready files that will print out a top-quality product. To do this, you need to make sure your image has an appropriate resolution and eliminate any small areas and semi-transparencies that won’t print clearly. These areas are difficult and sometimes impossible to catch manually, so technology like PulseID for DTF has been developed to automatically detect these areas and resolve the issues. Of course, you will still see a rendered preview of the design to see what was removed and ensure you are happy with the final product before it goes to production.

Nesting

DTF allows one machine to print multiple designs at once. The technique used to place and orient these designs is called nesting. To maximize efficiency and minimize waste, properly nesting your images is a must. PulseID for DTF includes advanced smart nesting settings and automatic nesting profiles for different types of wide-format printers. Select your orders from the PulseID Administrator and nest them automatically with just one click. Orders can be ganged based on a variety of settings, including a set interval, minimum sheet size, or number of items to print.

Cutlines

Some advanced DTF operations also include a cutter at the end of the line. PulseID for DTF also helps here by printing alignment points to be read by the cutting device. You can choose to automatically generate cutlines with a dotted line, center notches, and QR codes to be scanned for easy order identification.

End-to-End Workflow

Your automation software should carry your entire process from order taking through to production and shipping. PulseID does this for embroidery, DTG, engraving, and now, for DTF as well! The PulseID system can take orders from a variety of sources including your own ERP or all the world’s leading e-commerce platforms. Once an order is confirmed, it is quickly ganged and sent to your printer’s RIP hot folder for production.

Choosing a software system is very important to the success of your DTF operation. Be sure to consider all the factors above when evaluating different systems and solutions.