Choosing the Best Fabric for Custom Printing: A Practical Guide for Quality and Durability

When it comes to custom apparel printing, your design is only as good as the fabric beneath it. Whether you're printing with DTG (Direct-to-Garment), DTF (Direct-to-Film), or screen printing, the fabric you choose can make or break your final product.

In this guide, we’re diving deep into the world of cotton, polyester, and blends—how each behaves under the press, and what you need to know to get the best results for your clients and your business.

Understanding Fabric Choices

Cotton: The Classic Go-To

Cotton is the gold standard for t-shirts and casual wear—and for good reason:

  • Soft and breathable: Ideal for everyday wear

  • Highly compatible with DTG: Especially ring-spun cotton, which offers a smoother surface and tighter weave

  • Reliable for screen printing: Absorbs ink well and delivers vibrant colors

Downsides? Basic cotton can cause prints to fade faster, and if it's not pre-shrunk, expect shrinkage that might warp your designs post-wash.

Polyester: Durable But Demanding

Polyester is known for:

  • Durability and moisture-wicking

  • Vivid colors, especially with sublimation or DTF

  • Resistance to wrinkles and shrinkage

But here’s the catch: It’s hard to print on, especially with screen printing or DTG. You risk:

  • Dye migration (red shirts turning your white ink pink)

  • Static issues

  • Inconsistent ink adhesion

Specialized inks and curing processes are a must.

Blends: The Middle Ground

Cotton-poly blends aim to capture the best of both worlds:

  • Softer than polyester but more durable than pure cotton

  • Lower shrinkage risk

  • Works moderately well with both DTG and screen printing

But higher polyester content can bring back those ink issues—especially with tri-blends, which are soft but notoriously hard to print on.

How Fabric Impacts Print Quality

Your ink and your printer mean nothing if the fabric doesn’t cooperate. Here's what matters:

Ink Adhesion

  • Cotton absorbs ink naturally. Great adhesion, smooth results.

  • Polyester resists absorption. Ink sits on the surface, making it prone to cracking or fading.

  • Blends vary. More cotton = better results. More poly = more complexity.

Color Vibrancy

Want bold, vibrant prints?

  • Cotton wins here—especially with proper pretreatment for DTG.

  • Polyester struggles unless you use sublimation or dial in your process with low-cure plastisols and dye blockers.

Pretreatment and Curing

Pretreatment is critical for DTG, especially on anything other than ring-spun cotton. It acts as a primer, allowing the ink to bond to the surface.

For screen printing, curing temperature matters, especially with polyester. Too much heat, and you risk activating the dye and ruining the color.

Real-World Case Study – Tri-Blend Trouble

At Contract DTG, we’ve seen every kind of fabric issue imaginable. One standout example? A batch of tri-blend hoodies for a client at First Amendment Tees.

The challenge:

  • Heathered navy hoodie

  • High polyester content

  • The client wanted a bright white print—not off-white, not light gray, but pure white.

The solution:

  • Switched to low-cure plastisol ink with a dye-blocking base

  • Adjusted mesh tension and used a finer screen for better detail

  • Lowered curing temperature to avoid dye migration

The result: A crisp, bright white print that didn’t fade or crack—even after multiple washes.

Final Thoughts: Respect the Fabric

Your garment’s fabric is more than just a canvas. It’s a living part of the final product, and understanding its strengths and quirks is the key to printing success.

  • Cotton is forgiving, vibrant, and easy to print—but prone to shrinkage.

  • Polyester is durable and bold—but requires precise processes to avoid color issues.

  • Blends are versatile—but need testing and customization to work well.

The right fabric choice = better prints, happier customers, and fewer returns.

Ready to Print Like a Pro?

At Contract DTG, we help businesses deliver high-quality custom apparel with precision, speed, and zero guesswork. Whether you need DTG, DTF, or screen printing—we’ll help you choose the right fabric and method for every job.

Visit contract-dtg.com to get a quote or learn more.

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Ryan Haylett