# Lawson brand DTG - does not have a forum. Opinions?



## eagleact (Aug 3, 2010)

Does any have any opinion or experience with the Lawson brand of DTG? It does not seem to be a strong player since it does not have its own forum here. The only reason I would consider them is that they are located an hour away from me so theoretically service and support would be good.

Thanks.
Brent


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## stevegamble (Apr 14, 2010)

I own a Express, they have good support and service,, however ..
you won't see them after hours surfing the chat lines to see who is complaining and/or rah rah their products.
and.. they will not have paid people surfing the chat lines, when they should be serving customers.


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## eagleact (Aug 3, 2010)

What made you choose Lawson? Have you owned other DTG printers?
Would you buy if again? I am mostly considering kornit since it 
Pretreats on board and the neoflex given mostly positive reviews on the web.
Any other information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks


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## stevegamble (Apr 14, 2010)

I chose Brother GT 381 for quite a few reasons after months of painstaking research.
For MY Business, we feel we made the right decision.

I chose Lawsons because I got a used Unit for $3k vs $$8k for the Viper.
The Lawsons is a good industrial/reliable machine that we have no issue with except it is BIG and we are in a retail space , so for that reason we may sell it to get a Viper.
The Lawsons has only one nozzle and never plugs. It has a wide opening for the one spray nozzle to cover the entire shirt.
It is dead simple to use/clean etc.. and cost less.. it is just a Big ol machine, right behind our checkout counter.
I'd pay $$$ for the smaller, sexier, Viper.. to sit beside my GT 381.

I do not like the pretreat marks left on a shirt and that makes a Kornit attractive, but the price? and the service is far away?
Our Brother dealer is a 90 minute drive and that is important in my opinion.
But Not a deal breaker, just One consideration.
Time and simplicity Is Very important to us,(#1 and 2) and the quick and simple no rip prints, the quick cure time, the quick and very simple clean up time, the simple on screen display that prompts the staff when to clean, what to clean,, on and on.. it is a awesome machine.. I would have paid more after testing it.
Kornit has cheaper ink and we have spent over $4,000 in white in in the first month.. so consider a few things when buying a machine.
The machine is the easy part.
The on going expense and labour is what will be the real cost of ownership.
Brother inks 55 cents/cc perhaps a little more than others.
But quick cure times and quick cleaning = reduced labour = reduced cost

For us it was teh right move.


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## allamerican-aeoon (Aug 14, 2007)

stevegamble said:


> I chose Brother GT 381 for quite a few reasons after months of painstaking research.
> For MY Business, we feel we made the right decision.
> 
> I chose Lawsons because I got a used Unit for $3k vs $$8k for the Viper.
> ...


Lol, even though you said "Not Deal Break" but it sounds like it jk. It is perfectly ok even it is that is for open forum for
Kornit ink is $0.18/CC. DuPont $0.189/CC. Senciest $0.10 are on going price.
Brother is absolutely great machine also many others too.. They are my good friends. Mark, Matt, Peter, Barry--. Beer buddies
Lawson has smaller vertical model and same price as Viper($2500).
One of the things I do respect Brother is fast curing time. It only applies to who will use Heat Transfer machine not to belt dryer or cabinet users.
Happy new year to you! Cheers! Health! Money! Woman!


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## stevegamble (Apr 14, 2010)

It Takes more than One good feature for us.
If it was pure Print Quality.. Neoflex would win hands down.
Customer service, amongst the highest rated.
Little extra manual maintenance, and slow cure times were big draw backs.

Lot's to consider, and No One single feature can be enough to decide.

We are growinng and may have multiple machines with different feature benefits to offer.
Kornit = No pretreat machine, No pressing the pretreat goop inhaling the nice steamy residue that comes off the press..
But Slow oven curing from the 40-80amp oven, in a 2000 sq foot retail store, with limited power may not be a good fit for us.
And not sure about the support as they do not seem to have a super popular following from my research, compared to most of the other popular printer companies.

BUT..
trying to keep this to Lawsons info.


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## allamerican-aeoon (Aug 14, 2007)

Pretreating inside of printer option have Pro and Con.
Pro: convenient, no two steps.
Con: waste 25-30 seconds of printing time(2-6 shirts production time on Big Equipments). When and if one nozzle or any goes wrong $300K equipment stopped. Chemical damage on parts.
Wet shirts requires high energy to dry. Smells.
Ink saving $$$$ can afford machine payment should be factoring in for Kornit choice.
You are sharp man, lol.
Cheers! Beers are on me always.


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## stevegamble (Apr 14, 2010)

allamerican said:


> Pretreating inside of printer option have Pro and Con.
> Pro: convenient, no two steps.
> Con: waste 25-30 seconds of printing time(2-6 shirts production time on Big Equipments). When and if one nozzle or any goes wrong $300K equipment stopped. Chemical damage on parts.
> Wet shirts requires high energy to dry. Smells.
> ...


 
*Well.. You just talked me out of a Kornit, lol.*

*Con:* 
waste 25-30 seconds of printing time(2-6 shirts production time on Big Equipments).
 When and if one nozzle or any goes wrong $300K equipment stopped. Chemical damage on parts.
Wet shirts requires high energy to dry. Smells


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## allamerican-aeoon (Aug 14, 2007)

stevegamble said:


> *Well.. You just talked me out of a Kornit, lol.*


Lol,
That was not my intention at all just address my view. Kornit people also good friends of mine. Nice Jewish friends. I was close to be their dealer in past  conflicts.
Cheers! Beers are on me always.


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## 13 Stitches (Jul 31, 2007)

stevegamble said:


> I own a Express, they have good support and service,, however ..
> you won't see them after hours surfing the chat lines to see who is complaining and/or rah rah their products.
> and.. they will not have paid people surfing the chat lines, when they should be serving customers.


Love it!!! Couldn't agree with you more!


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## eagleact (Aug 3, 2010)

Actually I am going to check out their printer in the next day or two.
Direct-To-Garment Ink-Jet Printers | Diamond Jet DTG

Very odd no one has any feedback though since it is not new. They just choose not to be involved in the forum I guess.
Thanks.


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## Riph (Jan 11, 2011)

Didn't know they even made one. Would love to know more - is it an internally developed machine, or something they private label?


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## eagleact (Aug 3, 2010)

They developed it. Not an Epson conversion. I can't imagine they actually started from scratch and developed a print head on their own though.

They claim to have the lowest ink cost in the business. Even lower than large Kornit.

I am 45 minutes from them so I am going to check it out in person.


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## Smalzstein (Jul 22, 2008)

This printer is made by amica systems.


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## eagleact (Aug 3, 2010)

Smalzstein said:


> This printer is made by amica systems.


 
Interesting! I have a call into them but I think they only sell to distributors. Lawson must have a USA exclusive since I do not see anyone else selling them.

Do you have any other information on the printer?
Do you have one?

thanks.
Brent


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## Smalzstein (Jul 22, 2008)

Sadly no info, becuase I never seen one in action and don't know anybody who owns one, but I guess it would be similar to anajet Mpower. 

Ricoh sells evaluation kits for printer manufacturing companies, and then they build their system around of those, so there must be similarities.


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## Preston (Mar 21, 2006)

eagleact said:


> Very odd no one has any feedback though since it is not new. They just choose not to be involved in the forum I guess.
> Thanks.


Lawson has never been into forums. It is just not what they do. Being popular on a forum does not mean a product is good nor does it mean it is bad.


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## Hegemone (Oct 18, 2011)

80% of info that gets tossed around on forums is based on hype, frustration, and desperation. Participation on a forum means nothing in the big scheme. Most of the best suppliers and manufactures don't need toot their own horn when they are well respected and we'll known inside the industry. Don't often need to advertise to tell people how wonderful you are if your product and service speaks for itself. Most of what I have found was good for getting stated and learning the ropes. The stuff I am learning now comes from sources outside the forums. 

Forums can be a great place to find warm fuzzy affirmations and a feelings of belonging but for me I only take the info at face value and take the time to verify any information that comes from a sales person or hype man (pretty easy to spot). Any company that chimes in on a thread about a competitor to argue advantages loses my respect. 

My point of view, nothing more nothing less.


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