📍 Hialeah, Florida
DTF (direct-to-film) transfers let you print full-color designs on virtually any fabric — cotton tees, polyester uniforms, ripstop workwear and caps — with no setup fee and no minimum. Our shop is a short drive from Hialeah in Hallandale Beach.
DTF (direct-to-film) prints your design onto a film and heat-presses it onto almost any fabric — cotton, polyester, blends, nylon, performance wear. It is the most flexible method we run: no screen setup, no color-count surcharge, and it bonds to garments screen printing and DTG cannot touch. For Hialeah mixed workwear and small-to-mid runs, DTF is often the right call. Our shop at 389 NE 2nd Ave is about 28 minutes away, so pickup is free and local delivery is quick.
DTF is built for how Hialeah works — durable logos on the performance shirts, hi-vis, and mixed uniforms that warehouse crews, mechanics, and food-truck vendors actually wear. It presses onto any color garment, survives the wash, and stretches with performance fabric without cracking.
THE PROCESS
Direct-to-film (DTF) printing produces a full-color, high-durability image on a special film that is then heat-pressed onto the finished garment. Because the design is printed on film before it touches the fabric, DTF is not limited by the garment's color, texture or fiber content — the same transfer applies just as cleanly to a white cotton tee as to a black polyester hoodie or a canvas tote.
Your artwork is printed in full CMYK plus a white underbase onto a specialty PET film. While the ink is wet, a thermoplastic adhesive powder is applied to the print, then cured under heat. The result is a heat-transferable image ready to press onto any garment.
At the press step, we align the transfer onto the finished garment, apply heat (around 305°F) and pressure for about 15 seconds, cool the transfer, and peel the carrier film away. The image bonds directly to the fabric — soft to the touch, stretchable with the fabric, and washable up to 50+ cycles when cared for correctly.
Because we also operate SoFLo DTF, our sister DTF-supply business in South Florida, we control our own transfer film and adhesive-powder sourcing rather than depending on third-party wholesalers. That means fresher transfers, tighter quality control, and pricing that reflects wholesale-plus-application rather than reseller markup.
Because production separates printing from application, DTF is the fastest method to handle small runs across many garment types: we print the transfers, then press onto whatever mix of blanks the order calls for.
Screen printing wins on quantity and long-term wash durability. If you're ordering 50+ pieces of the same design on the same garment, screen printing is usually cheaper per shirt and slightly more durable at the extreme end of the wash-cycle curve.
DTF wins everywhere else. On orders under 40–50 pieces, DTF's zero setup fee and zero color-count surcharge beat screen printing on price. On multi-color, gradient, or photographic art, DTF is dramatically better — screen printing charges per ink color and struggles with fine gradients. And on mixed-garment orders where the design has to appear on a cotton tee, a polyester hoodie, a nylon jacket and a cap, DTF handles all four in one run, while screen printing would need different setup, different inks, and often four separate production runs.
DTG (direct-to-garment) prints ink directly into the fibers of the shirt and produces a very soft, natural feel — closer to the garment itself than DTF's slight film layer. On 100% cotton light-colored garments in single-piece orders, DTG is often the better choice for feel.
DTF wins when the garment isn't ideal for DTG: dark polyester, tri-blend, polyester-heavy performance wear, non-cotton fabrics, textured materials, or anything that isn't a flat cotton canvas. DTF also wins across mixed-fabric orders (because DTG needs the pretreatment tuned per fabric), and on price for orders above about 10–15 pieces. When a customer isn't sure, we quote both — the right method depends on the specific garment, the design, the quantity and the deadline.
Ready to Get Started?
Request your free quote — most orders ready in 3–7 business days.
Get a Free QuoteDTF wins where the job is durable workwear in mixed fabrics and mid-size runs. Three kinds of Hialeah crews run DTF most — the warehouses and logistics operations of the industrial district, the auto shops along West 49th Street, and the food-truck and street-vendor crews. Here is what those orders look like.
The industrial district off Okeechobee and the 826 runs on branded workwear — navy work shirts, hi-vis vests, and mixed uniforms across a whole crew. DTF presses a durable logo onto any of them, whatever the fabric, and holds up to daily wear and industrial laundering. We keep the art on file and reorder as crews grow.
West 49th Street and Palm Springs Mile are lined with auto-repair shops, and mechanics shirts take a beating — grease, stretch, constant washing. DTF bonds the shop logo onto durable work shirts and performance tees that survive the shop floor, in runs as small as a dozen with no setup fee.
Hialeah food trucks and street vendors need bright, durable crew shirts that read across a busy event — full-color logos on performance fabric that will not crack in the heat or fade in the wash. DTF prints the color and stretches with the shirt, and we turn small crew orders around fast.
CAPABILITIES
DTF's biggest advantage is versatility. Because the ink is printed on film before it touches the fabric, the fabric itself does not limit what we can do. Here is what actually applies to your order.
Garments: t-shirts, long-sleeves, polos, hoodies, sweatshirts, jackets, tote bags, aprons, caps (front and back panels), tank tops, jerseys, workwear, dresses.
Fabrics: 100% cotton, cotton/poly blends (any ratio), tri-blend, ringspun cotton, 100% polyester, moisture-wicking performance fabric, tri-blend performance, ripstop workwear fabric, canvas, denim, and headwear panels.
Colors: both dark and light garments print equally well. The white underbase in the DTF transfer means colors stay bright on black just as they do on white — no shift, no fade.
Unlike screen printing, DTF has no color-count surcharge — a 12-color design costs the same to produce as a 2-color design. Photographic art, gradients, fine detail, small text down to about 8pt, halftones, and hand-drawn artwork all reproduce accurately.
Pantone color matching is available on request. For brand-critical work (corporate polos, franchise apparel, hospitality uniforms) we recommend it. Send the Pantone code with your artwork.
The one thing DTF doesn't do as well as screen printing is oversized athletic-jersey work at extreme scale — for a full-back print larger than 14 inches on a very tight production budget, screen printing may still be the right call. For anything under that size or above medium-run pricing, DTF is the better fit.
If you need a size outside these ranges, ask — we can usually accommodate.
Also available: UV DTF for rigid substrates like tumblers, phone cases and signage — a different process for hard surfaces, not fabric.
TURNAROUND & PRICING
Most DTF orders under 50 pieces turn in 3–5 business days from artwork approval. Larger orders (100–500 pieces) typically take 5–7 business days depending on garment sourcing. Orders using stocked in-house blanks and previously-digitized artwork can often turn in 24–48 hours.
Turnaround starts when the proof is approved, not when the order is placed — the sooner you approve, the sooner production starts. Rush production is available on most orders at an additional fee; ask when you request the quote.
Because our shop is inside Hialeah (not driving in from Miami), same-day is genuinely possible. For DTF orders under 25 pieces, drop off print-ready artwork at 389 NE 2nd Ave by noon on a weekday and same-day pickup by 5:30 PM is realistic. Standard cotton, poly-blend, and tri-blend shirts are stocked in-house.
Call ahead if the deadline is tight — some days our press is backed up and we'll tell you honestly whether we can hit your cutoff. If we can't, we'll usually offer next-morning pickup as an alternative.
Pickup at 389 NE 2nd Ave is always free, Monday through Friday 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Free parking in front of the shop.
Local delivery within Hialeah (33012) is available on orders above 25 pieces at a flat delivery fee, or free on orders above 100 pieces. Delivery is typically same-day for orders ready before 2 PM, or next-morning otherwise.
Shipping is available anywhere in the US via tracked UPS or USPS. Standard shipping runs 2–5 business days depending on the destination; expedited overnight is available for a fee. Most Hialeah customers pick up locally to skip the shipping wait.
Ready to Get Started?
Request your free quote — most orders ready in 3–7 business days.
Get a Free QuoteHOW TO ORDER
Our order process is designed to be short and honest. Five steps from first contact to finished pickup. Most customers complete steps 1–3 the same day and have shirts in hand within the week.
Preferred format: 300 dpi PNG with a transparent background at the print size (12" wide for full-front, 3.5" for left-chest). Vector formats (AI, EPS, PDF) also welcome and preferred for logos. If your artwork is a low-res JPG, phone photo, or hand-drawn sketch, we can usually recreate it — either at no charge for simple logos or for a small art-prep fee on complex re-draws. Send it and we'll tell you.
Send your artwork, the garment type(s) and quantities, and any deadline. We reply with a per-shirt price, garment options in your size range, an honest turnaround estimate, and a proof-approval timeline. Quotes are usually returned within one business day; often same-day for standard requests. There is no charge for the quote and no obligation.
Once you accept the quote, we send a digital mock-up showing your design at scale on the actual garment color and style. Approve, request changes, or ask questions. We don't start production until you approve — no surprises, no charges before you sign off. Most proofs are approved within one round; complex artwork sometimes takes two.
After proof approval, production begins immediately. Standard turnaround is 3–5 business days for orders under 50 pieces; longer for larger runs. You'll receive an update when production is complete and your order is ready. If a rush deadline is in play, we confirm the pickup or delivery date at proof approval, not after production.
Pick up in person at 389 NE 2nd Ave (free, Monday–Friday 9:30 AM–5:30 PM) or opt for local delivery in Hialeah on orders above 25 pieces. For out-of-area orders we ship tracked UPS or USPS anywhere in the US. Payment is due at pickup or before delivery; we accept credit card, ACH, and business check. Repeat customers can set up net-15 terms after their first order.
Get Your Custom DTF Printing Quote
Fast turnaround, competitive pricing, free local delivery in Hialeah.
Request a QuoteTell us about your order and we'll get back to you within 1 business day.
Virtually any fabric: 100% cotton, polyester, tri-blend, moisture-wicking performance fabric, ripstop workwear, canvas, denim, and headwear panels. Both dark and light garments print equally well — the white underbase in the transfer keeps colors bright on black garments just as on white.
No minimum. One shirt or five hundred — same process, same quality. DTF is specifically suited to small runs and mixed-garment orders where screen printing setup would cost too much.
Screen printing wins on 50+ pieces of the same design on the same garment — cheaper per shirt and slightly more durable at the extreme end of the wash curve. DTF wins on everything else: orders under 40–50 pieces, multi-color and photographic art, mixed-garment orders (shirts + hoodies + caps in one run), and any fabric that isn't ideal for screen printing.
DTG prints ink directly into cotton fibers and produces a softer, more natural feel on 100% cotton light garments. DTF wins on fabric versatility (any fabric, any color), on mixed-garment orders, and on price above 10–15 pieces. When a customer isn't sure, we quote both and recommend based on the specific garment, design, quantity, and deadline.
Yes, often. For orders under 25 pieces, drop off print-ready artwork at 389 NE 2nd Ave by noon on a weekday and same-day pickup by 5:30 PM is realistic on standard garments we stock. Call ahead if the deadline is tight — some days the press is backed up and we'll tell you honestly whether we can hit your cutoff.
Standard DTF (this page) is for fabric garments — shirts, hoodies, caps, workwear. UV DTF is a different process for rigid hard substrates: phone cases, tumblers, water bottles, wood signage, and hard-surface promo items. We offer both; see our UV DTF page for hard-substrate orders.
Call, WhatsApp, or fill out the quote form. We'll handle the rest — artwork, printing, and local pickup.
About Us
At Adorb Custom Tees, we make comfortable and personalized clothing and gifts for every occasion.