Is true-shape nesting always shorter?
No. Savings depend on the artwork geometry, quantities and production settings.
THE PROBLEM IS THE BOX
Same Prints. Different Film Length.
Two layouts can contain exactly the same artwork and quantities while using different amounts of film. The difference is what the nesting engine believes each design occupies.
Fill My Film creates the gang sheet file for your own printer or RIP workflow. It does not print or ship DTF transfers.
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THE SHORT ANSWER
Box Packing vs True-Shape Nesting for DTF Gang Sheets
Box packing reserves the full rectangular canvas around each design. True-shape nesting uses the printable silhouette, allowing compatible transparent corners and cutouts to share space while maintaining the selected gap.
BASIC
Rectangles are predictable but leave hidden waste
Rectangular packing sees width and height. It does not care whether the visible design is a circle, arch or narrow diagonal mark inside that canvas.
This approach remains useful as a fast baseline and for artwork that nearly fills its rectangle.
- Simple bounding-box calculation
- Good baseline for comparison
- Transparent corners remain reserved
MAX
Shape-aware nesting follows printable geometry
A one-bit mask identifies the printable silhouette without transmitting the source artwork pixels. The nesting service uses that geometry, dimensions and spacing rules to search for closer placements.
Irregular and mixed artwork tends to create more opportunities than a batch of identical rectangles.
- Preserves selected image gap
- Can rotate when allowed
- Most useful on mixed irregular shapes
MEASURED EXAMPLE
The verified Fill My Film job used 20% less film
The Basic export measured 22 × 31.5 inches. The MAX export measured 22 × 25.13 inches. Both contained the same 15 prints with the same roll width, margins and gap.
That is 6.4 inches less film on this specific job. It is evidence for this artwork mix, not a promise that every job saves the same percentage.
- Basic: 31.5 inches
- MAX: 25.13 inches
- Difference: 6.4 inches
- Same 15 of 15 pieces
20%LESS FILM
6.4″SHORTER SHEET
15/15PRINTS PACKED
300DPI OPTION
QUESTIONS PRINTERS ASK
Box Packing vs True-Shape Nesting for DTF Gang Sheets questions
Does shape nesting change the artwork?
No. It changes placement. The design's physical size and printable pixels remain the same.
Is the selected gap preserved?
Yes. MAX includes the selected spacing in its placement calculations.
MORE PRINTS · LESS FILM
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