Interested in a DTG printer

[Retro Graphics]

What are some good entry level DTG printers? Obviously we all want the lowest cost but of course reliability plays a factor too. So with that being said, what are some good quality entry level DTG printers? I would like to stay below 1k, but can go up more if need be, however my need at this time isn't high, but I always love when I can eliminate a middle man from my production line. So figured I'd come here for suggestions and see if I can't save myself some heartache and head trauma.

Factors I would like to consider;
Cost?
Reliability?
Ease of Use/Learning Curve?
Cost of Software?
Cost of Peripherals and inks?
If it's DTG, why do some say include heat press?

 

[rjssigns]

Not gonna happen on your budget. You don't want to let the printers idle either. For limited use I would look at laser printers for the t-shirt market. Still in the thousands of dollars for a decent set up.
Probably get better answers by joining a t-shirt forum.

 

[netsol]

rjssigns is right
your best bet on a low budget is ebay/craigslist/offerup/facebook marketplace (highest expected price to lowest)

with a bit of luck you can get one that requires little in the way of repair
you will never get one perfect out of the gate. as a friend in the used car business once told me, no one sells a car because he is annoyed it is running so well

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I wouldn't for that budget and if you go used, chances are good you are getting someone else's problem.

Every so often I had looked at DTG and it still hasn't been there for me.

As to the heat press, depending on the inks, that could be used in the curing process (and maybe in pre-treatment as well). Stay away from darks unless you plan on doing a lot (and I do mean) a lot of them. The titanium oxide in the white will get you if you aren't doing volume.

 

[Retro Graphics]

thank you all, I think I may hold off on it for now. I could have gone a few k into it if need be (would rather spend that money on other projects), but if weeks between projects can be a problem with the heads, (which i totally understand) then I'll have to wait. In the meantime, can anyone recommend a good apparel source for the mid-atlantic region?

 

[Jburns]

I think full color transfers that are outsourced can be a better deal - or say a direct to film printer DTF would be hecuava lot less maintenance.

 

[iPrintStuff]

Agree. You’re gonna want to have white and white doesn’t fit that budget at all. There’s a few companies offering pre treatment and printer combos on the Epson DTG’s here (we looked at it) but for entry level you’re talking £11k and that’s 10-15 garments (with white) an hour. A few more per hour on just cmyk but not many.

 

[Reveal1]

I had DTG for about 18 mos.; worst business decision I ever made. Purchased an Epson based printer (basically a desktop color converted to run DTG inks) for about 12K USD w/ pre-treat. Constant, finicky maintenance, slow. Even when working, very transaction intensive. Customers need hand-holding, average order small. Eventually heads crapped out for the umpteenth time and we junked the printer to focus on core business. Farm shirts out when we need them.

 

[Plasticraft Printer]

We are a large format print company but we also have a DTG from Kornit. I know nothing of the cost, but learning curve to run the press isn't too bad. Printing to polyester is a little trickier because it requires a manual spray of fixation above what the press lays down. Colour matching is monotonous because wet ink is a very different colour than dry ink and you have to wait the 8 to 11 minutes it takes the garment to run through the dryer before you know if you were close. And in a print house like ours, it has to go back to pre-press to be adjusted because there is no stand alone rip with colour management ability. Printing on dark shirts takes more ink and a lot longer because you usually need two hits of white underneath. The biggest challenge is getting the shirts loaded square in the platen and getting proper placement. It is a numerical margin and will need to be changed for different shirt sizes on a chest print. And it is HOT in the t-shirt room...

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Kornit is a good brand. Kornit and Brother have always been the 2 that I have looked at doing the trade shows (that would reinvigorate my interest, then I go back to researching the forums).

Cotton substrates do tend to handle the print better on their own. If doing poly, in all honesty, sublimation when compared to DTG. Your moister wickering fabrics are going to be a lot of trial and error with DTG.

Color gamut is another limitation (and matching colors is also a booger with sublimation as well, really hard to get away from that no matter what one tries to do).

OP: If it's going to be weeks between orders, I really wouldn't do this (nor sublimation to be honest). Now that's just me, but I would make sure that there is a steady market for you to do this to keep the printer running. Not necessarily huge runs of one project, but a good market of short hot runs would be best.

But again, that is just me, so take that for what it is worth.

 

[Stacey K]

I have the IColor and it doesn't run every day so for me, having the toner option is perfect. I'm on the fence if I should have bought it. It did pay for itself already but it's more labor intensive than just ordering from Transfer Express. It does allow me to do smaller runs in-house and little one-offs which is nice. There are some tricks to it so the transfers don't crack after washing. I still feel like the full color ultrabright transfers from TE are superior to any I've made or used. Very durable.

On Facebook there is a White Toner Transfer Support Group. If you consider buying one, I encourage you to join and read the questions and comments. You either succeed or fail with it IMO...lots of tricks to it.

 

[Stacey K]

thank you all, I think I may hold off on it for now. I could have gone a few k into it if need be (would rather spend that money on other projects), but if weeks between projects can be a problem with the heads, (which i totally understand) then I'll have to wait. In the meantime, can anyone recommend a good apparel source for the mid-atlantic region?

Sanmar, S&S Activewear, JiffyShirts (last resort, little more pricey)

 

[d fleming]

Kornit is what Fanatics here uses to print professional sports jerseys. Big fat row of em.

 

[netsol]

i would like to have one for feather flags.

 

[hybriddesign]

If you are mechanically inclined and really like fixing things you can look at used DTG printers but they it's going to be a frustrating experience and lower end dtg printers are VERY slow. Even $15+ Epson, Brother, etc brand new printers are going to be surprisingly slow. The heat press is to dry the pretreat (spray that you need to apply to the shirt prior to printing so the ink will stick) and then also to dry the shirt once it's printed. This takes 3-6 minutes per shirt on TOP of the printing type so be prepared to that. You may also need a machine to spray the pretreat on or at least a paint sprayer. Some people are mentioning Kornit printers and that's a whole different realm of automation but they are expensive (ours was over $300k) and honestly still a bit frustrating. Anyways, good luck but if I had $1,000 and wanted to get into shirts I'd buy a decent heat press and order transfers from online providers, versatranz, etc or maybe buy a used sublimation printer and start with that route.

 

[Raghaus]

Same... I fought an Epson based "solution" for months.

DON'T under any circumstance go there unless you have business lined up and get a machine that's been developed to be DTG with white ink from the ground up.

A great way of making small runs (for me anyways) are Plastisol transfers. DTF or outsource.

I had DTG for about 18 mos.; worst business decision I ever made. Purchased an Epson based printer (basically a desktop color converted to run DTG inks) for about 12K USD w/ pre-treat. Constant, finicky maintenance, slow. Even when working, very transaction intensive. Customers need hand-holding, average order small. Eventually heads crapped out for the umpteenth time and we junked the printer to focus on core business. Farm shirts out when we need them.

 

[Ronderick]

your best route is to start out with use heat transfers. www.supacolor.com can help you our for full color transfers and fmexpression.com for single color

 

[Reveal1]

Same... I fought an Epson based "solution" for months.

DON'T under any circumstance go there unless you have business lined up and get a machine that's been developed to be DTG with white ink from the ground up.

A great way of making small runs (for me anyways) are Plastisol transfers. DTF or outsource.

Same here - using transfers.

 

[screenprinting-support]

DTG is definitely something that takes a bit of learning and patience. You can do short runs but it still will take longer than a heat press would run (for 1 shirt). I'd be willing to bet you could get an entry level printer for under $1k, but the more you pay the better they are generally (you start getting into industrial grade machines at ~$10k+). If you're not familiar with DTG, make sure to study up on what all goes into making a print before buying one or starting one.

 

[Ian Stewart-Koster]

A signwriter friend with 10 years more experience than we have, got a (Roland?) DGT 5 years ago. Brand new.
He said the best thing was when they finally found someone to take it off their hands. It was a total waste of money and effort, in their instance.