Artistri® P1610 • 1 Liter
Cyan DTF Ink
Process cyan — one quarter of the CMYK quad that builds every full-color DTF transfer.
$76.001L bottle
The Complete Guide
DTF Ink
Everything worth knowing about direct-to-film ink — what it is, what’s inside the bottle, how it turns film into wearable prints, and how to choose one — with the full DuPont™ Artistri® P1600 lineup in stock from Tempe, Arizona.
0
Colors In The Set
0+
Wash Cycle Durability
0
Compatible Printheads
USA
P1600 Country Of Origin
Chapter 01
What Is DTF Ink?
DTF ink is water-based pigment ink engineered for direct-to-film printing — a workflow where artwork jets onto PET transfer film, receives a hot-melt adhesive, and heat-presses onto the garment. Because the print lives on film first, DTF works on cotton, polyester, and blends, light or dark, with no pretreatment.
The ink itself does two jobs: process colors build the image, and a high-opacity white underbase keeps that image bright on dark fabric. The benchmark implementation is DuPont’s Artistri® P1600 series — seven colors, made in the USA, rated for 90+ commercial washes when cured and pressed to spec.
Chapter 02
What’s Inside The Bottle
Every water-based pigment DTF ink is a balance of five ingredient families. The recipe — especially the dispersion chemistry that keeps pigment suspended — is what separates a documented manufacturer from a mystery bottle.
- Water carrierThe transport medium — low-odor, shop-safe, and the reason DTF cleanup is water, not solvent.
- PigmentSolid color particles that sit on the transfer surface — the source of wash and light fastness.
- Dispersion packageDuPont’s proprietary chemistry keeping pigment evenly suspended, bottle to printhead.
- Binder resinsFilm-formers that lock pigment into a flexible layer the adhesive can grip.
- Flow & humectant additivesKeep the ink jetting cleanly through fine piezo nozzles instead of drying in them.
Chapter 03
How DTF Ink Becomes A Print
- Jet onto film
Piezo printheads (Epson I3200, DX4, DX5, DX7) lay the artwork in mirror image onto PET transfer film — colors first.
- White underbase on top
The high-opacity white prints over the colors; when the film flips onto the garment, white ends up underneath, blocking the fabric.
- Adhesive & cure
TPU hot-melt powder — or DuPont’s powder-free JA1100 Jettable Adhesive — bonds to the wet ink and cures press-ready.
- Press & peel
302°F / 150°C bonds the transfer to the garment; DuPont’s DTF-120 film releases with a hot or cold peel.
- Wear & wash
Pigment chemistry holds color through 90+ commercial wash cycles, stretching with the fabric instead of cracking.
Chapter 04
DTF Ink vs. The Other Inks
| Factor | DTF Ink | DTG Ink | Sublimation | Plastisol (Screen) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabrics | Cotton, poly, blends — light or dark | Best on cotton | Polyester, light colors only | Most fabrics |
| Pretreatment | None | Required on darks | None | Screens per design |
| Workflow | Print film now, press anytime | Print direct, ship | Print paper, press | Setup-heavy, long runs |
| Short runs & one-offs | Excellent | Excellent | Good (poly only) | Poor — setup cost |
| Hand feel | Thin, flexible layer | Softest | None (dye in fiber) | Typically heaviest |
| Chemistry | Water-based pigment | Water-based pigment | Dye | PVC-based (typically) |
Chapter 05
The Seven Colors Of DTF Ink
Four process colors build the image, white carries it on dark garments, and two gamut-expansion channels reach the brand colors CMYK cannot. Every one below is in stock in the shop section.
- Cyan · P1610Process color — blues, teals, and the cool half of every blend.
- Magenta · P1620Process color — reds, pinks, and skin tones.
- Yellow · P1630Process color — warmth, greens-by-mix, and brand golds.
- Black · P1640Text, linework, shadow depth, and true blacks.
- White · P1690The underbase — opacity on dark garments.
- Orange · P1660Gamut expansion — safety and team oranges.
- Green · P1675Gamut expansion — turf, kelly, and brand greens.
Chapter 06
How To Choose A DTF Ink
Six checks separate a production-grade ink from a gamble. The Artistri® P1600 series passes all six — which is the honest reason this store stocks it.
A named manufacturer
Know who actually makes it. P1600 is made by DuPont in the USA — it says so on the label.
Lot-coded batches
Color that matches across reorders comes from traceable production lots, not luck.
Published compliance
OEKO-TEX, Prop 65, and SDS documents you can hand to a retail or childrenswear buyer.
Your printhead, supported
Confirm I3200 / DX4 / DX5 / DX7 compatibility before a single liter goes in the lines.
A serious white
The underbase is the hardest ink to make — demand high opacity and recirculation behavior.
A supply chain that restocks
Domestic stock beats a container on the ocean — ours ships from Tempe, Arizona.
Chapter 07
DTF Ink, Defined
- Underbase
- The opaque white layer printed behind colors so they stay bright on dark garments.
- Hot-melt adhesive
- The bonding layer — TPU powder or DuPont’s jettable JA1100 — that fixes the print to fabric under heat.
- Cure
- Drying the printed film with heat so the ink and adhesive are press-ready.
- Cold / hot peel
- Whether the PET film releases right off the press or after cooling; DuPont DTF-120 supports both.
- Pigment ink
- Ink whose color comes from solid particles rather than dye — the basis of DTF’s wash durability.
- Recirculation
- The printer system that keeps white ink moving in suspension between jobs.
- Gamut
- The range of colors an ink set can reproduce; Orange and Green extend it beyond CMYK.
- Lot code
- The batch identifier on the label that makes color traceable and reorders consistent.
In Stock — Ships From Tempe
DTF Ink You Can
Buy Right Now
The guide above, applied: all seven American-made Artistri® P1600 colors in 1-liter bottles, lot-coded and documented. Add to cart here or open a product page for full specs.
Artistri® P1620 • 1 Liter
Magenta DTF Ink
Process magenta with batch-to-batch consistency — reds, pinks, and skin tones depend on it.
$76.001L bottle
Artistri® P1630 • 1 Liter
Yellow DTF Ink
Lightfast process yellow — completes the CMY primaries for accurate separations.
$76.001L bottle
Artistri® P1640 • 1 Liter
Black DTF Ink
Dense text-and-linework black with deep optical density on light and dark garments.
$76.001L bottle
Artistri® P1690 • 1 Liter
White DTF Ink
The underbase every dark-garment print rides on — high opacity, recirculation-ready. See the white DTF ink guide.
$73.001L bottle
Artistri® P1660 • 1 Liter
Orange DTF Ink
Gamut-expansion orange for team, safety, and brand colors CMYK alone cannot hit.
$76.001L bottle
Artistri® P1675 • 1 Liter
Green DTF Ink
Gamut-expansion green for turf, kelly, and licensed brand greens beyond four-color process.
$76.001L bottle
Printing At
Volume?
10-liter and 200-liter drum programs on every color, with standing-order scheduling and volume pricing.
Get Volume Pricing// 1-liter bottles — live store pricing as of August 10, 2026. Add to cart here, or open a product page for full specs.
DTF Ink, Answered
Frequently Asked Questions
DTF ink is water-based pigment ink formulated for direct-to-film printing: artwork jets onto PET transfer film, gets a hot-melt adhesive layer, and heat-presses onto the garment. It prints in CMYK plus a high-opacity White underbase — DuPont’s Artistri® P1600 series adds Orange and Green for a wider gamut.
Both are water-based textile pigment inks, but DTG prints directly onto a pretreated garment while DTF prints onto film that transfers to nearly any fabric with no pretreatment. DTF transfers can also be printed now and pressed later, which is why print shops treat them like inventory.
DTF ink runs through piezo printheads — the Artistri® P1600 series is optimized for the Epson I3200 and also supports DX4, DX5, and DX7. It is not for thermal/inkjet office printers, and white-ink channels need a printer with recirculation.
Yes — that is the point of pigment chemistry. Cured and pressed to spec, DuPont P1600 transfers are rated for 90+ commercial wash cycles on cotton, polyester, and blends, with the stretch to flex instead of crack.
The working set is CMYK plus White for the underbase. DuPont’s P1600 platform adds Orange and Green — seven colors total — to reach team, safety, and licensed brand colors that four-color process cannot reproduce.
Six things: a documented manufacturer, lot-coded batch consistency, published compliance (OEKO-TEX, Prop 65, SDS), printhead compatibility for your machine, a high-opacity white with recirculation behavior, and a supply chain that can actually restock you. The buying checklist above walks through each.
All seven DuPont Artistri® P1600 colors are in stock in 1-liter bottles right on this page — $76.00 each, $73.00 White — shipped from Tempe, Arizona by an authorized distributor, with 10-liter and 200-liter volume programs. Call 480-229-7806 for volume pricing.
Print. Press. Impress.
Run DTF Ink Worth
Putting Your Name On
Seven documented, American-made colors — in stock, lot-coded, and shipped fast from Tempe, Arizona, with volume programs when your floor is ready to scale.
DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, and Artistri® are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. or its affiliates. dupontdtfinks.com is an independent authorized distributor of DuPont Artistri® products and is not owned by or affiliated with DuPont de Nemours, Inc.
© 2026 DuPont DTF Inks — Powered by Buckets of Ink LLC, Tempe, Arizona. All rights reserved. DuPont DTF Inks home · American Made DTF Inks · DuPont DTF Supplies · White DTF Ink.
