# I am looking at buying a t-Jet 3



## jlw0565 (Mar 16, 2007)

*Re: Purchased a Kiosk at AC Show last weekend*

I am looking at buying a t-Jet 3. How has your experience been so far and have you had any problems?

Thanks
John


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## Vtec44 (Apr 24, 2006)

I have a T2, and so far so good. From what I was told, the T3 (based on the R1800) is slightly faster than the T2 (based on the 2200). The T3 has an 8-color system, and they're using 4 of the banks for white ink. So, I suppose they can put more white ink down in 1 pass. According to the specs, the R1800 has 180 nozzles per cartridge versus 96 nozzles per cartridge on the 2200. So, on paper the R1800 suppose to have 720 nozzles dedicated to white, versus 288 nozzles in the old T2. I guess on paper it means that the R1800 has more nozzle to spray down ink in 1 passs than the 2200, which then suppose to give you better result, faster print speed, and more precise use of ink. Although from what I've been told, the Epson 2200-based dtg printers (T2 & DTG KIOS) have larger per nozzle droplets than the new T3. Basically, more nozzles spraying ink versus less nozzles spraying more ink. You probably want to see a demo of one in person before making your decision. Pay close attention to the maintenance , underbase settings (which value does what), and pre-treatment process. It will be very important to keep your printer up and running and print good on dark shirts.


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## vatman (Mar 16, 2007)

I had a demo on the SWF( DTG KIOS) machine on Friday, clogged nozzles and nothing but a hasel all day! Have you had that problem with the white tech on the T2 or T3?? I had lots of those problems with supliamtion years back and my wallet was not deep enough to keep things from clogging!
I was wondering what machines will print on dark shirts. Is a movable gantry better than the shirt moving?? Help in this mater is needed Please


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## Vtec44 (Apr 24, 2006)

vatman said:


> I had a demo on the SWF( DTG KIOS) machine on Friday, clogged nozzles and nothing but a hasel all day! Have you had that problem with the white tech on the T2 or T3?? I had lots of those problems with supliamtion years back and my wallet was not deep enough to keep things from clogging!
> I was wondering what machines will print on dark shirts. Is a movable gantry better than the shirt moving?? Help in this mater is needed Please


So far, I'm printing white ink just fine. I'm still fine tuning the color matching on dark garments though. It's textile ink, and will dry up if in the nozzles if you leave it in there for too long. So I typically flush out all the ink with refeillable cleaning cartridges, when I know that the printer will idle for a while (more than 3 days). It's a 5-minute job.

As far as moving shirt bed versus moving printer frame, I was told the moving printer frame has better registration consistancy. It is gear driven, carrying a fix amount of weight.


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## vatman (Mar 16, 2007)

James thanks for the quick reply, What brand use the moving gantry??
You mentioned you flush out the inks, all colors or only white, it seems the more I read, the more it's the white thats the bigest problem, is that correct?
Do you like the T-jet over the DTG brand??
Your help and thoughts are appreciated, The Vatman


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## Vtec44 (Apr 24, 2006)

When I was doing my research, the budget was for $15k so I looked at just the 2 brands, T-Jet and DTG. Typically, the moving gantry method is used on the more expensive models. From what I know, the T-Jet Blazer is the least expensive printer to offer that method (around $25k). But of course, things may have changed now since DTG is introducing 2 new improved models. I don't really know much about them though.

When I do the flushing, I do it for all colors. These are water-based ink, so you do not want them to sit in the nozzles for too long. Yes, the white will give you the most problem, but it has been good to me so far (2 months). I'm very picky about keeping my equipment clean, and follow the recommended cleaning procedures religiously. I just finished a job for about 1500 shirts (Ash) and the T-jet performed near perfect w/ some learning on my part.

At the time of my research, the DTG was less expensive. Then I found out the listed price didn't included the white ink upgrade. I requested samples from both companies (dark and light), and the T-Jet looked more vibrant (to me). I visted both booths at the Long Beach show, asked a lot of questions, watched the demos, and looked at a lot of samples. US Screen was trying to get rid of the T2 to prepare for the T3 models, so I was offered a brand new T2 with white ink, object sensor, print counter ($495), 2 shirt boards ($300), 1 hat board ($375), $1500 software/clipart package, and a $1000 discount from the listed price. I couldn't resist and bought it.

A bit of disclaimer though, I'm a computer tech w/ some graphic design background so my experience with the T-Jet maybe different than others. There was a gal on here that couldn't get the T-Jet to print correctly on either light or dark garments, and sold it after about a year. I was able to print on white shirts on the first try, and properly printed on dark shirts just little over a month.


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## General Forrest (Oct 23, 2007)

*Re: Purchased a Kiosk at AC Show last weekend*

I want to find a printer here in Middle Tennessee who has a T-Jet! If you know of any, please let me know!


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## mk162 (Sep 24, 2007)

Movable gantry versus movable platen doesn't matter. If the printer is built properly, it doesn't matter. The Brother has a movable platen and it is built stout enough to handle anything. How many people are having problems with this part of their printer. Unless anything falls into the gears, there is nothing to worry about.

Certainly don't start out with white ink. The learning curve for the T-jet is fairly steep and I would start slow.


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