Screen Printing vs Digitally Printed Water Based Heat Transfers: How to Choose

So you’ve got a killer design and you’re ready to put it on apparel, but you’re not sure which printing method to go with. At Ink Brigade, we offer two main options: traditional screen printing and digitally printed water based heat transfers. Both produce great results, but they each have strengths that make them ideal for different situations. Let’s break it down so you can make the best choice for your project.

What Is Screen Printing?

Screen printing is the tried-and-true method that’s been around for decades. Each color in your design gets its own custom screen (a mesh stencil), and ink is pushed through the screen directly onto the garment. The result is a vibrant, durable print that holds up wash after wash.

Screen printing is ideal when you need consistency across a large run of garments. Once the screens are set up, we can crank out hundreds or thousands of identical prints efficiently. This printing method is more cost effective than transfers for larger quantities.

What Are Water Based Heat Transfers?

Water based heat transfers are a newer printing technology that’s changed the game for certain types of projects. At Ink Brigade we use a hybrid heat transfer that combines the high-quality durability of traditional screen printing with the precision and detail of digital printing. Unlike standard Direct-to-Film (DTF) or Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV), our transfers use a water-based ink formula and a seven-color digital process to achieve vibrant, photo-realistic designs that even closely match Pantone colors.

The result is a vibrant, full-color print with excellent detail and a soft hand feel. Because the design is printed digitally, there’s no limit to the number of colors, and photographic images, gradients, and complex artwork all come out beautifully.

The biggest advantages? Low minimum orders. Cost-effective for complex designs at low quantities.

When to Choose Screen Printing

Screen printing is your best bet when:

You’re ordering in bulk. Screen printing gets more cost-effective as quantities go up.

Your design has limited colors. Screen printing is generally the more cost effective and preferred decoration method for solid spot color designs.

When to Choose Water Based Heat Transfers

Water based heat transfers are the way to go when:

Your design has lots of colors. Full-color artwork, photographs, gradients, and complex illustrations are no problem. There’s no per-color cost like with screen printing.

You need a small quantity. We offer 10-piece minimums, even for highly complicated or photorealistic designs.

You’re printing on hats. Heat transfers work great on items that can’t lay flat under a traditional screen printing press.

Your artwork has fine details. Tiny text, intricate patterns, and photographic elements reproduce beautifully with heat transfers.

Quick Comparison

Not Sure Which Method You Need?

That’s what we’re here for. Tell us about your project and we’ll recommend the best approach based on your design, quantity, timeline, and budget. Sometimes the answer is obvious, and sometimes we’ll suggest a combination of both methods to get you the best results.