Embroidery vs Sublimation vs Screen Print vs DTF: Choosing Decoration for Team Apparel
Four different decoration methods can all put a logo on a shirt, but they behave very differently once that shirt is on a field, in a washing machine, or on a player who’s grown two sizes since last season. Choosing the wrong method for your team apparel usually shows up months later — cracking prints, faded colours, or a logo that never quite matched the club’s actual colours to begin with.
Here’s how the four main decoration methods for team apparel compare, and which situations suit each one.
Quick Comparison
| Method | Best For | Durability | Colour Range | Typical Cost at Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embroidery | Logos, text, badges | Very high | Limited (thread colours) | Higher per logo, flat regardless of volume |
| Sublimation | Full-colour jerseys, all-over designs | Very high | Unlimited | Lower at volume, higher setup |
| Screen Print | Simple logos on cotton/blend apparel | Medium-high | Limited (per colour = per screen) | Low at high volume, high per-colour setup |
| DTF (Direct-to-Film) | Small runs, complex full-colour designs | Medium | Unlimited | Moderate, scales well for small orders |
Embroidery
What It Is
Thread is stitched directly into the fabric using a digitised design file, producing a raised, textured logo.
Where It Works Best
Polo shirts, jackets, caps, and any garment where a small, durable logo matters more than colour complexity — club badges, sponsor logos, player initials.
Trade-Offs
Embroidery has the strongest durability of any method here; it won’t crack, peel, or fade the way printed decoration can. But it’s not suited to large, full-colour designs, and very fine detail can get lost in stitching. It’s also generally the most expensive method per unit for large designs, though cost doesn’t scale down much for small orders either. Before production, logos go through a digitising process that converts artwork into a stitch file the embroidery machine can read — this step is why complex logos sometimes need simplifying for a clean embroidered result.
Sublimation
What It Is
Dye is printed onto transfer paper, then heat-pressed so it turns to gas and bonds permanently with polyester fibres — the ink becomes part of the fabric rather than sitting on top of it.
Where It Works Best
Full-colour team jerseys, especially where designs cover the entire garment (sleeve patterns, gradient colours, sponsor panels). This is the standard method for most modern sporting jerseys.
Trade-Offs
Because the dye turns to gas and bonds at a molecular level with polyester fibres rather than sitting on top of the fabric, sublimated garments won’t crack or peel and hold colour extremely well over repeated washing — a genuine advantage over screen printing for anything worn and washed weekly through a season. The main limitation is that it only works on polyester or poly-blend fabric with a light base colour, so it’s not suitable for cotton apparel.
Screen Printing
What It Is
Ink is pushed through a mesh stencil (one screen per colour) directly onto the garment surface.
Where It Works Best
Simple, one- or two-colour logos on cotton or cotton-blend apparel — training tees, event merchandise, or casual club wear rather than performance jerseys.
Trade-Offs
Screen printing is cost-effective at high volumes with simple designs, since the main cost is setting up the screens rather than per-unit printing. But each additional colour needs its own screen, so complex, multi-colour designs get expensive fast. The print also sits on top of the fabric, so over time — particularly with repeated washing and stretching on performance fabrics — it can crack or peel, which is why it’s rarely used for jerseys.
DTF (Direct-to-Film)
What It Is
A design is printed onto a special film, coated with adhesive powder, then heat-pressed onto the garment.
Where It Works Best
Small orders, individual player customisation, or complex full-colour designs where screen printing’s per-colour setup cost doesn’t make sense.
Trade-Offs
DTF handles unlimited colours and fine detail without the setup cost of screen printing, and works on both cotton and polyester. Durability sits between screen printing and sublimation — good for training wear and casual apparel, though not typically the first choice for a primary match-day jersey subject to heavy wear. The hot-melt adhesive powder that bonds the design to fabric is what gives DTF its flexibility across fabric types, but it’s a different bonding mechanism to sublimation’s fibre-level dye penetration, which is part of why the two methods behave differently over time.
What Affects Decoration Durability
Regardless of method, a few factors influence how long decoration lasts on team apparel:
- Wash frequency — jerseys washed weekly through a season face more wear than casual apparel worn occasionally
- Fabric type — performance polyester behaves differently under heat and pressure than cotton, which affects how well certain methods bond
- Stretch — garments that stretch during play (compression wear, fitted jerseys) put more strain on printed decoration than embroidery, since the print has to flex with the fabric
- Drying method — tumble drying accelerates wear on printed and pressed decoration far more than air drying
If your club is investing in a full kit for a multi-season lifespan, it’s worth asking your supplier directly how each proposed decoration method has performed on similar orders, rather than relying on general durability claims.
How to Choose
A few questions can point you to the right method quickly:
- Is this a full-colour performance jersey? Sublimation is almost always the right call.
- Is it a small, durable logo on a polo or jacket? Embroidery.
- Simple design, high volume, cotton apparel, tight budget? Screen printing.
- Small order, complex design, or player names and numbers? DTF.
Many clubs actually use a combination — sublimated jerseys with an embroidered club badge on training jackets, for example — rather than forcing every garment through the same method.
A Note on Combining Methods
It’s worth discussing your full kit list with your supplier before committing to one decoration method across the board. Jerseys, training shirts, jackets, and bags often each suit a different approach, and a supplier who works across all four methods — see our full labels and decorations options — can advise on where it’s worth spending more for durability and where a lower-cost method does the job just as well.
If you’re managing the wider ordering process, our club ordering guide covers budgeting and timelines.