Everything You Should Know About Crafting with UV DTF Transfers

You may be wondering what are UV DTF Transfers?

Perhaps you have seen people using them on glass tumblers. If I could explain it in simple terms, it is a type of printer that puts down clear and color onto a carrier sheet that you peel and apply to your acrylic. It is somewhat shiny, very slightly raised and very much like a vinyl sticker, but with a lot stronger adhesive and in full color.

If you are familiar with direct to film (DTF) t-shirt decorations than you could compare them, but the UV transfers are for hard surfaces and don’t require heat for application.

UV Printers

In the past few months, I have seen small UV printers that small business owners are purchasing that can UV print directly to their material; wood, acrylic, canvas, etc. These printers start around $2,500 and can go up in price significantly based on the size and attachments.

The pro to having the printer is that you don’t have to hand apply a transfer because I have personally applied a few of the transfers off center, and they are not forgiving. Once the transfer sticks, it is not coming back off. The con is the price.

What Material Can You Apply a UV DTF Transfer to?

The UV DTF transfers can be applied to nearly any hard, flat surface. They can be applied to glass, tile, plastic, wood, acrylic, some canvas and leather. They are used to decorate tumblers, cell phone cases, keychains, mugs, glassware and more.

Buying UV DTF Transfers

You can purchase premade designs already printed and ready to apply to specific products, or layout the designs you want and have them printed as a *gang sheet. The most popular UV DTFs Insee on ETSY are Libby cup wraps.

Gang Sheet: When someone sells a gang sheet they offer sheets of different sizes and you layout as many designs as you want onto the sheet size of your choice. Make sure to save them as a transparent PNG. I usually use Canva for this. Once you purchase the gang sheet the seller will tell you how to send the designs (usually be email) and they print and ship the transfer to you.

How to Apply UV DTF Transfers

Here is a quick run through of how to apply UV DTF transfers. I applied RN transfers to acrylic that I will use to decorate badge reels. If you have applied adhesive vinyl then it is nearly the exact same process except no weeding involved.

5 Premade UV DTF Transfers on ETSY

Here is a sampling of premade UV DTF transfers available on ETSY. There is an endless amount of designs to pick from for a number of different products. There are transfers specifically for tumblers, libby cups, keychains, journals and more.

UV DTF Gang Sheets on ETSY

With a gang sheet, you can use your own PNG images with a transparent background or PNG designs you have purchased for use. Then upload the designs onto a sheet size that matches the one you will be purchasing.

The shop I buy UV DTF gang sheets from on ETSY can do anywhere from a couple inches to a 22×100 inch gang sheet.