TL;DR
- DTG ink on darks runs 8–18 ml per garment; whites use 2–5 ml.
- Pretreatment sits at 18–40 g per dark garment depending on application method.
- DTF film plus powder typically costs €0.28–€0.75 per A4-equivalent print area.
Digital cost per garment is built from four small consumables. Estimating each of them 20% low compounds into a 25–30% understatement of the true cost.
| Consumable | Typical range | Cost driver |
|---|---|---|
| DTG pretreatment (dark) | 18–40 g | Application method, garment absorbency |
| DTG white underbase | 6–14 ml | Coverage, opacity target |
| DTG colour ink | 2–6 ml | Print area, resolution |
| DTF ink (CMYK + white) | 3–9 ml | Print area, white layer |
| DTF film | A4 0.06 m² – A3 0.12 m² | Nesting efficiency |
| DTF powder | 3–9 g | Print area, shake-off quality |
| Screen ink (plastisol) | 1.5–4 g per colour | Mesh, stroke count |
| Emulsion per screen | 12–25 ml | Mesh count, coating passes |
Measuring your own values
- 1Weigh a full consumable container before and after a defined production batch.
- 2Divide by the number of garments in that batch, not by planned quantity.
- 3Repeat for a light and a dark batch — the difference is often 3×.
- 4Feed the measured values into the calculator instead of the benchmark range.
Interactive example
DTF consumable cost per transfer
- Film
- € 0,195
- Ink + powder
- € 0,374
- Total per transfer
- € 0,569
Same calculation kernel as the full calculators. For a decision-grade result, open the matching calculator.
Run the numbers in a calculator
Turn your own numbers into a bank-ready PDF report.
Create a reportRelated reading
GuideIntermediate
When is DTG more profitable than DTF?
Two digital processes with completely different cost structures and bottlenecks.
10 min09/07/2026
GuideBeginner
Pretreatment optimisation for DTG
Less fluid, fewer rejects, better hand — usually at the same time.
6 min22/05/2026
BenchmarkBeginner
Average electricity and gas prices for print shops
Industrial energy price bands and what they mean per printed garment.
6 min01/07/2026
GuideBeginner
How to choose between screen printing, DTG and DTF
A decision framework built on run size, colour count, labour and setup — not on brand preference.
10 min14/07/2026