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UV DTF · Hard Surface Transfers
Full-colour, ready-to-apply transfers for compatible hard surfaces — no heat press needed. Tell us about your project and we will reply with a quote.
Request UV DTF Quote What is UV DTF?
Applied by hand with pressure. Suited to smooth hard surfaces such as tumblers, glass, acrylic and packaging. Not for fabric — for clothing, see DTF transfers.
The basics
UV DTF stands for ultraviolet direct to film. Your artwork is UV printed onto a film and finished with an adhesive layer, so it arrives as a ready-to-apply transfer. You position it on a clean hard surface, burnish it down firmly, and peel the carrier film away.
It is pressure applied. There is no heat press, no weeding and no cutting, and full colour artwork with fine detail and white ink transfers as one piece.
DTF transfers are heat applied to compatible garments and textiles.
UV DTF is pressure applied to compatible hard surfaces.
They are different products for different jobs. If you are decorating t-shirts, hoodies or tote bags, you want DTF.
Where it works
Smooth, clean, hard surfaces. Compatibility depends on the material and its finish.
Need artwork on clothing? Our heat-applied DTF transfers are the right product for textiles.
Adhesion and durability vary with the substrate, its coating, texture, surface preparation, exposure and how the item is used. We recommend testing on an unusual or high-value surface before committing to a full run.
Ordering
Artwork
Send the highest resolution version you have, at or near the size you intend to print. Resolution is judged from the pixels in your file at the printed size, not from the DPI tag inside it.
A PNG with a genuine transparent background gives the cleanest edge. Anything that is not transparent prints, including a white box behind a logo.
Very fine lines and very small text are the first things to suffer at small sizes. We have not yet published a minimum printable line width for UV DTF, because DECOVINK has not finished validating it against our own production — so if your design depends on hairline detail, mention it in your request and we will advise.
Questions
UV DTF is a printed transfer for hard surfaces. Your artwork is UV printed onto a film and finished with an adhesive layer, so it can be pressed onto a compatible item by hand. It is a different product from our heat-applied DTF transfers, which are made for garments.
No. UV DTF is applied with pressure rather than heat. You position it, burnish it down firmly, and peel the carrier film away.
Smooth, clean, hard surfaces such as tumblers, glass, acrylic, hard plastic, metal containers, jars, bottles, packaging and signage. Adhesion varies with the substrate, its coating, texture and preparation, so test an unusual or high-value surface first.
No. UV DTF is not intended for textiles. For clothing, tote bags and other fabric items, order our heat-applied DTF transfers instead.
PNG, JPG, JPEG, PDF. A PNG with a genuine transparent background gives the cleanest edge, because anything that is not transparent will print.
Aim for 300 DPI at the size you are printing. We calculate the effective resolution from the pixels in your file at the size you choose, and ask you to confirm below 200 DPI.
We are not publishing a water-resistance rating yet. DECOVINK has not completed its own testing on the specific film and adhesive we produce with, and we would rather say nothing than make a claim we have not verified. This will be confirmed before launch.
We have not validated dishwasher performance, so we do not claim it. Hand washing is the safer choice for a decorated item until we publish tested guidance.
Outdoor durability depends on exposure, surface and use, and we have not yet completed our own outdoor testing. We are not publishing an outdoor lifetime until we have.
Clean and dry the surface, position the transfer, burnish it down firmly and evenly, then peel the carrier film away slowly. Re-burnish any area that has not adhered fully.
Treat placement as final. Once the adhesive has made contact and been burnished, lifting the transfer is likely to damage it. Position carefully before you press it down.
Tell us about your project and a member of our team will reply with a quote.
