Screen printing is the process of transferring a stencilled design onto a garment using a mesh screen, ink and a rubber blade.

The setup process for screen print is more costly and time-consuming than it is for DTG.

Each colour in the artwork has to be separated and printed with its own screen, with a maximum of 6 different colours or screens. Screen printing is suitable for larger batches. Higher volumes equal lower cost per print. Screen print is better for designs that are graphic and have fewer colours. It’s also suitable for more vibrant colours, fluorescent colours or playful techniques such as flock, foile or, puff prints etc.

The ink or paint also lies in layers on the fabric's surface, giving the print a more tactile quality.


DTG printers use a specialised water-based ink-jet technology to spray ink onto the garment.

Because there is no stencil, multiple colours can be applied simultaneously. DTG has a more limited colour palette but is still better for detailed prints or very colourful designs, such as photo prints.

Since the ink is water-based, it works best for printing on natural fibres such as cotton, hemp, and linen. This is why our fleece garments have a very low percentage of polyester – to work in the Kornit machine.

One of the most significant benefits of print on demand is that you don’t have to produce more printed garments than you sell, meaning no stock with printed garments that haven’t sold.

DTG has no setup cost, which makes it more cost-efficient when printing one T-shirt or smaller orders, and it’s very suitable for print on demand.

The Kornit Atlas Max uses 93,8% less water than screen printing. DTG also uses 67% less energy and saves 87% on CO2 compared to screen printing. The inks used in the Kornit machine are certified as free of heavy metals.

Our journey to responsible merch begins with replacing 'minimum order quantity' to a situation where demand leads supply. Your designs live online until one of your fans makes a purchase, only then will we print the merch. You don't need to hold stock, there's zero waste from overproduction and no startup costs.

Making things to order is great. Making things to order in hubs close to your customers is even better. As part of the H&M Group, you can tap into its global production network and use our tech to get your merch printed closer to your fans. This means lower emissions plus quicker production and fulfilment for your fans too. A win-win for the planet and people.

As a part of Creator Studio, you'll be using True Blanks, our own merch fashion label, made with 100% organic cotton and recycled polyester. Like our chain of print hubs, the entire production chain is owned and controlled by us, so we can monitor and control every stage, to secure the quality of each garment. Engineered for on demand printing, True Blanks is the only apparel used for Creator Studio merchandise, so your fans get exceptional quality as standard.

Your merch will be shipped in fully-recyclable and reusable packaging that's been developed by the H&M Group. Plastic-free without compromising on the protection of its contents, the packaging comes in four sizes to reduce waste and is FSC C117673-certified. To date, 90 million of these packages have been sent, which is a huge step towards a completely plastic-free delivery system.

Our print hubs play a large role in making responsible products, specifically the printers and ink they use. The entire Creator Studio print network uses the latest Kornit Atlas digital printers, among the most advanced and robust print machines in the industry.

Aside from the reproduction of images, the printers use Kornit’s proprietary ink formulation, Neopigment. This ink is water-based and eco-friendly, with an industry-leading white opacity and consistent vibrancy across the colour gamut.

Making your merch with Creator Studio means you're also benefiting from the H&M Group's investments into responsibility within its fashion chain. These investments have a central goal of net-zero emissions by 2040, with a minimum reduction of 20% by 2025.

Our production partners and their businesses have been selected very carefully, as part of the H&M Group's work towards responsible fashion. As well as the quality of their output, we examine how they use energy and where it comes from, waste and resource management. These progressive partners share our view that everything we do together should have a positive impact on our world.

What are you doing to be sustainable and responsible?  

Responsibility & Sustainability

We have several printing hubs across the globe and a stock of blanks – blank garments that are optimised for printing. You can design your customised prints for these garments, and they are only printed when someone puts in an order. This means you customise products and sell them on a per-order basis, under your own brand, and with your own designs. With modern tech and logistics, the product can be printed and delivered to the customer within 2-10 days, and you don’t pay for the cost of the product until after you have actually sold it. This means there is no need to buy in bulk or hold any inventory yourself, which also means less wasted resources.

Print-on-demand (POD) is a business model that allows individuals and companies to sell custom-designed or personalized products, and apparel without the need for upfront inventory. Here's a general overview of how print-on-demand works:

Product Selection: The first step is to choose the type of product you want to offer, such as t-shirts, hoodies or other. POD services typically have a range of products available for customization.

Design Creation: Create or upload your design artwork or text that you want to print on the product. It could be a unique design, a logo, or any other graphic element that you wish to incorporate.

Product Customization: Use the Creator Studio platform's design tools to position and adjust your design on the product.

Publishing and Integration: Creator Studio offer integration with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, custom API (and in the future there's more to come), allowing you to set up a store or list your products for sale easily.

Customer Orders: When a customer places an order for your customized product, the order details are forwarded to the print-on-demand service provider.

Printing and Production: Creator Studio receives the order and proceeds to print the design onto the chosen product.

Quality Control: The printed product goes through a quality control process to ensure that it meets the desired standards. This includes checking for any printing errors, color accuracy, and overall product quality.

Packaging and Shipping: Once the product passes quality control, it is packaged and prepared for shipping. Creator Studio handles the packaging and shipping process, ensuring that the product reaches the customer safely and in a timely manner.

Receive you product: The customer receives the customized product, and the transaction is completed.

One of the key advantages of print-on-demand is that you don't have to invest in large quantities of inventory or worry about production, fulfillment, and shipping logistics. The POD service handles these aspects, allowing you to focus on designing, marketing, and selling your products.

How does print on demand work?

Yes, Creator Studio is Control Union Certified, and our products have an OCS 100 certification adhering to the OCS Organic Blended Standard. You can read more about our certification on our Responsibility page.

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What’s the difference between screen printing and DTG?

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