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DTF by the metre at 7 €/m + VAT
DTF.pro Guide4 min read

DTF for clothing brands: streetwear with no stock

Launching a clothing or streetwear brand no longer means buying hundreds of garments up front. With on-demand DTF you print per unit, validate every design with minimal risk and reprint only what you have already sold. This guide shows how to go from design to sold garment with no dead stock.

Why DTF kills dead stock

Dead stock is money trapped in sizes and designs nobody buys. With DTF you print each transfer when a sale happens, so you never tie up capital in boxes gathering dust. The 60 cm usable width covers everything from a chest logo to a full back without switching technique.

Producing on demand makes your inventory digital: PNG files ready to print, not physical garments. If a design flops, you pull it with no loss; if it takes off, you reprint within hours. Risk moves out of the warehouse and back where it belongs, in the creative decision.

  • You print only when a sale is confirmed
  • Your catalogue lives in files, not boxes
  • Drop a weak design with no losses taken

Validate designs with a few units before the run

Before committing to a large run, make 5 or 10 units of each design and test them in the real world. A small drop tells you which sizes move, which artwork connects and which placement works on the garment. It is market research paid for with sellable product, not surveys.

Order a physical sample before your first drop to check colour and feel on your specific fabric. DTF keeps colours faithful when you export the artwork correctly, and a sample confirms that what you see on screen is what your customer receives. Validating cheaply today avoids the wrong run tomorrow.

  • Run 5-10 units per design to test
  • Measure which sizes and art your customers want
  • Order a physical sample before the first drop

Cost per garment and margin for your brand

The flat DTF price is 7 €/m + VAT with 60 cm usable width, so your cost per garment depends on the design size, not on a minimum order. A small logo takes a few centimetres of metre; a large graphic, more. Add the blank garment and the transfer cost and you have the real cost per unit before you set your retail price.

Because you buy no stock up front, you finance no inventory and take no markdown risk to clear it. That protects your margin: each garment is printed against a sale, cash flows from customer to product and not the other way round. With clear per-unit numbers, you price with judgement instead of guesswork.

  • Cost per garment tied to the design size
  • No minimums: print one or a hundred alike
  • No stock to finance or clear in sales

From design to sold garment the same day

The flow is direct: you design the artwork, export it as a PNG with a transparent background, order it and press the transfer onto the garment. If the order comes in before 12:00, it ships the same day, so you answer a sale without slowing your drop cadence. The press application is fast and repeatable once you have your time and temperature dialled in.

Prepare the artwork at 300 dpi, in RGB or CMYK depending on your workflow, and check that fine lines do not get lost at real size. A well-applied transfer lasts 50+ washes, so the garment you sell today stays flawless seasons later. Fewer steps between idea and customer means more drops per year.

  • Export the artwork as a PNG with transparent background
  • Order before 12:00 and it ships the same day
  • Well-pressed transfer: 50+ washes of wear

Scale from 10 to 1,000 units with the same technique

What validates your 10-unit drop produces your 1,000-unit order with no process change. DTF does not penalise volume: the same file, the same press and the same finish scale with you as demand grows. You do not relearn a new technique when a design blows up; you simply order more metres.

This continuity keeps your brand consistent: the customer who bought the first unit gets the same colour and feel as order number one thousand. Start by ordering a sample before the first drop, validate with a short run and reprint on demand what sells. That way you grow on real data, not on stock you bet on.

  • The same file and press from 10 to 1,000
  • Consistent quality between unit 1 and 1,000
  • Start with a sample, validate and reprint on demand

Related guides

Key data
DTF price
7 €/m + VAT
Usable width
60 cm
Dispatch
Same day if you order before 12:00
Durability
50+ washes when well applied
Minimum order
No minimums: per unit
Ideal file
Transparent PNG at 300 dpi

Go from theory to the heat press

Clear pricing at 7 €/m + VAT, €2.95 for the A4 sheet and basic file check included. Upload your design and receive transfers ready to apply.

Order DTF
  • We check every file before printing
  • Reprint or refund if there's a defect
  • Secure payment: card, PayPal or bank transfer
  • Invoice with full tax details