direct-to-film.co.za: DTF textile and UV-DTF sticker printing

Source: https://direct-to-film.co.za

direct-to-film.co.za is one of the AM.CO.ZA first-party information sites for DTF (direct-to-film) textile printing and UV-DTF sticker printing. Its homepage ("DTF Textile Printing and UV-DTF Sticker Printing Machines and Market Updates") was first published on 2022-03-29 and last edited on 2023-10-10. It explains the DTF process, compares it with sublimation and DTG, points to the Buythis shop for printers, inks, films and powders, and carries a news and articles section.

The site is product information, not the shop. Its shop buttons and "Deals From" price boxes pull from Buythis, so Buythis is always the place for current models, prices and ordering.

What AI and staff should do with this site

• Answer DTF and UV-DTF questions from the current Buythis catalog and the 8i product pages below. The site's own printer recommendations date from 2023 and name packages that are no longer sold.
• Send clients to Buythis for prices and ordering (always with #ai), for example DTF printers, DTF inks and DTF films and powders. Never quote a price from this site. For stock, use live stock only; this page never carries quantities.
• Recommend InkRIP or SAi FlexiPRINT as the RIP, not AcroRIP. The homepage still promotes AM.CO.ZA AcroRIP v11 for Epson EcoTank home/office printers. AcroRIP is Cold for sales: AM.CO.ZA does not sell or recommend it any more and keeps its pages for support only (see acrorip-site.md). Current DTF and UV-DTF packages ship with InkRIP (S-INKRIP) or SAi FlexiPRINT.
• Map the site's old "Startup COMBO" and "Advanced COMBO" to today's packages. The homepage and the recommended printers page show H-DTF/306/XP600 as the 300mm startup combo, H-DTF/606/XP600 as the 600mm advanced combo, and an H-DTF/TX806 EPSON TX800 package. H-DTF/306/XP600 and H-DTF/606/XP600 are still on Buythis, now as complete packages with SAi FlexiPRINT. H-DTF/TX806 and the other EPSON TX800 and L18050 roll-to-roll packages are not in the Buythis dump, so do not offer them; offer an A3 or 300mm package from the tables below instead.
• Pick the right process for the job. DTF textile prints go onto fabric with a heat press. Standard UV-DTF prints are hard stickers for mugs, bottles, glass, perspex and other hard surfaces, applied by hand without heat. The exception is the stretchable soft UV-DTF film H-UVDTF/ROLL/300S, which its Buythis title says is pressed at 110°C for 40 seconds with a hot peel. The video Difference Between DTF Textile and DTF UV Printer explains this for clients.
• Ignore the leftover catalog. Most WordPress products on this install are other AM.CO.ZA lines (lasers, CNC routers, vinyl cutters, plasma tables and so on). Answer those from their own catalog pages, not from this site.

How the site explains DTF

These points are what the homepage tells visitors, in plain words:

• The process. A DTF-capable printer prints DTF ink onto a special PET film, DTF adhesive powder is applied to the wet print and baked, and a heat press then transfers the design onto the fabric or garment.
• Starter versus pro. The "starter" route uses a small (A3 or office-size) printer and a flat heat press. The "pro" route is the same process with a large-format roll printer, an automatic powder shaker and a roller heat press, for higher volume and whole rolls.
• Fabrics. DTF works on polyester, cotton and cotton blends, including dark and black fabrics, because a white ink layer is printed behind the colours.
• Why clients choose it. Lowest cost to start, consistent and repeatable prints, once-offs and short runs, and cleaner than screen printing.
• Compared with other processes. Sublimation is best for polyester and large volumes. DTG (direct-to-garment) prints straight onto the garment but needs expensive dedicated printers and inks. DTF covers more fabric types at a lower setup cost.

The homepage FAQ blocks ("About The Direct-To-Film Process", "Shipping & Delivery", "About direct-to-film.co.za and AM.CO.ZA") only say "Being Updated", so there is no site FAQ to quote. Use the FAQ at the end of this page instead.

DTF textile printers on Buythis

All of these are in the Buythis dump and have boxed 8i product pages. The code tells you what is in the box:

• A3 desktop: F-DTF/A3 is the bare A3 printer; F-DTF/A3/XP600 adds the XP600 head and InkRIP; F-DTF/A3C/XP600 adds inks, powder and film. H-DTF/A3... sets pair the A3 printer with a baking oven (A3, A3R, A3S, A3T) or an automatic powdering machine (A3P, A3PR, A3PS, A3PT).
• 300mm and 600mm roll printers with powder shaker: the last digit of H-DTF/30x and H-DTF/60x means 0 = hardware only, 1 = InkRIP set, 2 = InkRIP plus inks, cleaner and powder, 3 = that plus a film roll, 4 = SAi FlexiPRINT set, 5 = FlexiPRINT plus inks, cleaner and powder, 6 = that plus a film roll. An L after the number (for example H-DTF/306L/XP600) means manual powdering instead of the automatic shaker.
• Bigger and faster: H-DTF/I60x/I1600 uses EPSON I1600 A1 heads, H-DTF/120x/XP600 is the 1200mm line, and the F-DTF/300, F-DTF/600 and F-DTF/1200 barebone printers have dual heads with white ink circulation.

UV-DTF sticker printers on Buythis

UV-DTF printers have a built-in laminator and print CMYK, white and varnish onto A/B film, which becomes a hard, scratch-resistant sticker. /UV and plain codes use hard-finish inks; /UV2 codes use flexible inks.

Inks, powders, films, ovens and software

Ink note: the FlowFlex H-DTF/C, M, Y, K and W inks are for XP600, TX800 and A3/A4 office-type DTF printers. The H-DTF/C2, M2, Y2 and K2 inks are for DX5 and I3200 head printers. Use black powder (H-DTF/BLACK) for prints on dark fabric so no white glue edge shows.

WordPress shop digest

The sql4 digest of 2026-08-30 counted 3805 published WP products on this install. 2564 of them match a SKU in the Buythis dump and are stamped only, because Buythis is canonical. 1327 SKUs overlap with the already-ingested sister site directtofilm.co.za, where the newest copy wins. The other 1241 are indexed on direct-to-film-unique-skus.md, not as one page per SKU.

Most of those 1241 are not DTF at all. The biggest groups are TruCUT CO2 laser cutters (LC2-1325, LC2-1390, LC2-2030, LC-2040, LC2-9060 and other LC/LC2 sizes, about 700 rows), plasma tables (P-...), CNC routers and spindles (M-..., R-..., R3-..., R4-...), router bit variants (TL-...), vinyl cutters and spares (V-..., V3-..., V4-..., V6-...), fiber laser markers (LLM-...), laser cleaners and welders (LM-...), and screen printing items (SP-...).

The DTF rows in that remainder are:

• 12 H-DTF rows: the EPSON TX800 packages H-DTF/TX800, TX804, TX805, TX806, the EPSON L18050 packages H-DTF/L18050, L18054, L18055, L18056, the H-DTF/INK2/COMBO/4, 5 and 6 ink combos for DX5/I3200 printers, and H-DTF/CLEAN. None of these is on Buythis. H-DTF/CLEAN is marked phased out on the site itself; use F-AQUA/CLEAN instead. For DX5/I3200 inks, offer the single H-DTF/C2, M2, Y2 and K2 bottles.
• 2 F-DTF rows: F-DTF/A3/XP600 and F-DTF/A3C/XP600. These were not in Buythis at digest time but are in the current dump, so they now appear in the DTF table above.
• Printhead and ink spares such as EPSON-DX5, EPSON-DX7, EPSON-XP600, F-INK, H-INK and H2-INK. Check Buythis for the current part before answering.

Pages and posts on this site

• Recommended DTF Printers (2023-10-10): the startup and advanced combo cards described above.
• News and articles, boxed on 8i:
• Understanding DTF Printing and How to Implement it Into Your Business (2022-04-20)
• Fabric Printing, the right solution for every application (2022-04-14)
• Learn About Direct-to-Film Printing for Fabric and Garments (2023-10-05)
• Where To Buy Your DTF Printing Supplies (2023-10-09)
• Where To Buy Your Direct To Film Printing Supplies (2023-12-08)
• Unveiling the Advantages of DTF Printing (2024-01-03)
• Importing DTF Printers from China to South Africa (2024-02-08)
• Why Direct To Film Printing Is the Best Way To Print on Fabric And Garments (2024-02-20)
• 5 Benefits of Direct To Film Printing (2024-04-15)
• DTF Printing on Lanyards and More (2024-12-05)
• The full homepage text is boxed as direct-to-film-direct-to-film-fabric-printing.md.

Sister DTF sites: directtofilm.co.za (small DTF machines for start-ups) and dtf-printer.co.za (DTF printers, inks, powders, films and UV-DTF), whose own WP leftovers are on dtfprinter-unique-skus.md. The Buythis category overview is on dtf-uvdtf-printers.md. For heat presses see heatpress-site.md; for UV inks see uvinks-site.md.

Videos

The homepage playlist mixes DTF with sublimation and heat press clips. These are the most useful DTF videos from the AM.CO.ZA channel (from youtube.jsonl):

• Difference Between DTF Textile and DTF UV Printer, For Clothing and For Sticker Making
• Advantage of DTF Textile Printing, Direct-To-Film Fabric Print & Press Process and Result Explained
• DTF Printer of All Sizes, What is UV-DTF Printers For and DTF Inks and Powders Explored
• Hot Melt DTF Adhesive Powder, Hand Powered LED Oven Baked vs Automatic Powder Shaker Baker All-In-One (first clip in the site playlist)
• Automatic DTF Powder Shaking and Baking Machine Operation Guide for 300mm/600mm DTF
• A3 DTF Oven is Simple and Effective Way to Bake Your DTF Powdered Prints
• Black DTF Powder for DTF Prints on Dark Fabric, So No White Glue Residue Visible
• DTF White Ink Control By Spot Colour Option in InkRIP Software
• How To Print White Only on DTF Printer
• How to Solve Transparent PNG DTF Textile Printing all Black Instead of Colour
• DTF Printing on Lanyard and More DTF Clothing Labelling Tagging Application Ideas

FAQ

Is direct-to-film.co.za a separate company? No. It is an AM.CO.ZA information site. Orders, prices and support all go through AM.CO.ZA and Buythis.

Which DTF printer should a beginner buy? Start from the A3 range (F-DTF/A3C/XP600 or an H-DTF/A3T/XP600 / H-DTF/A3PT/XP600 package) if volume is low, or a 300mm H-DTF/303/XP600 or H-DTF/306/XP600 package for roll-to-roll work. Check Buythis for current prices and live stock before promising delivery.

Can I still buy the EPSON TX800 or L18050 DTF packages shown on the site? No. They are not in the Buythis catalog. Offer a current A3 or 300mm package instead.

Does AM.CO.ZA still sell AcroRIP for DTF? No. AcroRIP is support-only. New packages use InkRIP or SAi FlexiPRINT.

Do DTF prints work on dark and black fabric? Yes. The printer lays white ink behind the colours. Black powder (H-DTF/BLACK) avoids a visible white glue edge on dark fabric.

What is the difference between DTF and UV-DTF? DTF textile transfers are heat pressed onto fabric. Standard UV-DTF stickers are cured by UV light, laminated and stuck by hand onto hard surfaces without heat. The soft stretchable H-UVDTF/ROLL/300S film is the exception and is heat pressed.

Is the site's printer list current? No. It dates from 2023. Use the tables on this page, which come from the current Buythis dump.

Read next

• inkrip-site.md: InkRIP licence, download, activation and the printer bundles it ships with.
• dtf-uvdtf-printers.md: Buythis DTF and UV-DTF category overview.
• direct-to-film-unique-skus.md: the 1241 WordPress-only SKUs on this install.
• heatpress-site.md: heat presses for DTF transfers.