# Fast T-Jet AutoTreat Express



## printerguy (Dec 26, 2006)

*T-Jet AutoTreat Express Automatic Pretreat Machine*










US Screen had it's new AutoTreat Express at its booth at the SGIA show. It was working nonstop throughout the entire 4 day show. This and the larger AutoTreat machine were the only pretreatment method US Screen was using at the show. No spray guns at all. It seemed to apply a perfect amount of pretreat to the shirts in only a few seconds. 

With the Express, after the shirt goes through the machine, you have to press the treated shirt with a heat press for a few seconds (the larger Autotreat machine has a built in heat press). The shirt is loaded on a shirt holder, a button is pressed, the holder is pulled into the machine, the shirt is sprayed as the holder is moved through the machine, and then the holder is then shuttled back out of the machine. The spray length is controllable by a sliding switch on the side. 

It seemed to work great in production at the show. The US Screen people were loading shirt after shirt on it and then printing the treated shirts on the several Fast T-Jet printers they were running at their booth. The prints came out beautifully with very bright white ink. 

From walking around the show I can also say that the US Screen AutoTreat machines were the only working automatic pretreatment systems there.

What I like about the Express is that it can be used by the owners of any brand printer. It should eliminate the learning curve of proper application of pretreatment and give everyone repeatable reliable results. The list price was $3495.


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## csquared (Sep 8, 2006)

I like the easy button on top of it


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

*Re: T-Jet AutoTreat Express Automatic Pretreat Machine*

Interesting...

I wonder if you can change out the pretreatment solutions depending on the shirt you are running? Also, did you notice if it is just a spray or does the pretreatment get rolled / wiped into the fabric at all?

It seems that rolling / wiping is a "preferred" method with many users (including myself) for getting better consistency and results.

What are the filters for on the sides and bottom of the inside of the machine?


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## csquared (Sep 8, 2006)

if you are printing a light shirt and want to use fastcolor all you have to do is hit a button and it switches from the regular pretreatment to fastcolor.... at least that is how the larger machine works and from what I have heard how this one does. 

It does not have any sort of roller or wiping


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## howrdstern (May 7, 2007)

looks good - but is $3,500 worth it for small batches of about 50 shirts? because it's 1/4 the price of an additional machine... makes me say HMMM???


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## printerguy (Dec 26, 2006)

The Express sprays on the pretreatment. The filters are there to catch any misting. On the larger AutoTreat machine you can select from 2 different type pretreatments by pushing a button. The Express sprays only one type of pretreatment at a time. US Screen said they would offer an additional tank so that you could easily unplug one tank and plug in another tank with a different type of pretreatment.

As for your question on if its worth it? The one comment we always seem to hear from users of all the printer brands, that use pretreatment for white ink, is how hard it is to get consistent results when they spray on the pretreatment. In the 4 days I spent at the SGIA show, constantly walking past the US Screen booth and also spending time in the booth, the Express never stopped working. The results were always great. The pretreatment laid down so fine that if you put two piles of shirts together it would be difficult to tell which pile of shirts was pretreated and which wasn't. The pretreatment was sprayed on, not rolled or wiped, and again the resulting prints looked great.


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## PinkFreud (Mar 8, 2007)

This seems to be the only automatic pretreatment machine currently available and the price is 5 thousand dollars less then the original machine they were offering...This is very impressive and a great solution to the labor intensive manual pretreatment method.....However....this is my question.....How do they hold up to washing?.....I have been doing dark shirts awhile now and I found that it was easy to over-apply the pretreatment and get great results everytime BUT when over-applying the pretreatment the print will drastically fade and even flake off even after 1wash.....I have tried every method over the years to consistantly apply the right amount of pretreatment that will stand up to the wash and allow the white to lay down nice and bright. The only method I have found that works everytime is to mist with water and wipe with a sponge. This is the way I teach my employees to do it and they can do it the first time they try. Having said this I must also say that I have developed a really good "eye" where I can just use the paint-sprayer without misting and sponging and achieve the same results...I do it this way for large orders...but this is something you have to practice for quite awhile to learn......So does the T-Jet machine hit that "sweet spot" or is it just overspray?.....I would like to see the wash tests before passing judgement


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## printerguy (Dec 26, 2006)

Very good question on washability. I got home Saturday night from the show. I had "borrowed" 3 sample shirts that had gone through the Express machine for pretreatment before being printed on the T-Jets with the new bright white Fastink. I've washed them 4 times already. I deliberately did not take any special care with them. Regular detergent, warm water, clothes dryer with medium heat. I am very impressed because it actually looks like there was no fading whatsoever on any of the shirts. 

The long awaited answer to consistent white ink printing results appears to be here with these automatic pretreat machines. Again, I saw them working nonstop throughout the show without any problems. They appear to be simple and "idiot proof" to use. The washability seems great. I think US Screen has a winner with these and the nice thing is that they can be used for any brand printer.


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## csquared (Sep 8, 2006)

good info printguy, I think I need one of these


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## PinkFreud (Mar 8, 2007)

How bout some before and after pics????


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## Dirt (Oct 10, 2007)

As a T-Jet owner I'd like to wait a few months and see how other people fair with them. How these things hold up over time will be as important as the washability of the shirts. How much maintenance is required to keep them running like they were at the show? What parts on them wear out quickly, and how often can you expect to replace them - for how much?

Does it require an outside air line, or is it self contained? How heavy is it? I see 3 filters there, but is anything happening to actually suck the overspray through them? The ones on the side look like they're just sitting in there propped up against sheet metal. I know how quickly overspray from Pretreatment #1 can become messy.

Any additional information would be very helpful! Thanks.


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## howrdstern (May 7, 2007)

I guess it will be making an appearance at the January Long Beach show?


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## csquared (Sep 8, 2006)

I have been doing research into this machine and the larger model. I found that you can adjust the spray vertically but not horizontally so you can pretreat an area all the way across the shirt at one inch.
I was visiting relatives in the Arizona area so I decided to get a look at the pretreat machines up close. I was pleased to see that they are very industrial and solid machines. 
I got to pretreat a shirt with the machine (well put it on the platen) and then see it printed with the T-jet Blazer, which I now have a man crush on. Here are some pictures of the print *AFTER* *ONE WASH* as I forgot to take pictures before. Needless to say I am very pleased at this point and will wash the shirts a couple more times. This print was done with fastink3


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## howrdstern (May 7, 2007)

what's the hand of that white base? some white base inks feel very heavy to me


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## csquared (Sep 8, 2006)

It feels the same as my fastink2.


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## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

Looks very nice indeed csquared. I think I'll hold out until DDM and Belquette release their versions of the Auto-pretreatment machines.

New white ink and auto-pretreatment. Things seem to be progressing well in the DTG front


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

Ok so I am alittle confused what exactly is the FASTink3 is it the dupont inks or some compleatly different ink and if different how well do the hold up. The image Csquared posted is the best I have seen. So I just checked on the Blazer and it is showing about 27,000 seems a little high right? Does anyone have one of these and I really like the pretreater. I was at sgia orlando but did not even stop at the T-Jet are because I heard Horror Stories about them and I was on a limited time frame (only had 2 hours see the whole show).


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## printerguy (Dec 26, 2006)

The combination of the AutoTreat and the Blazer seemed to produce the best looking dark shirts I've ever seen from a digital garment printer. I saw all of US Screen's machines run nonstop throughout the 4 day SGIA show without a hitch. I took some dark shirts home from the show and I've been washing them. Up to 8 washes so far with almost no fading. Still bright white. I can only tell you to ask for a sample or two and do your own wash tests.


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

Thanks for the Info. I am going to give the a call this morning. Does it use the Dupont inks


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## Dirt (Oct 10, 2007)

dan1942 said:


> Thanks for the Info. I am going to give the a call this morning. Does it use the Dupont inks


Yup. Sure does.


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## PinkFreud (Mar 8, 2007)

Wow Chris....nice investigation results....I think I have a man-crush on the pretreat machine AND the Blazer....Hmmmm I wonder if it is time upgrade my 3 red T-Jets?


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

Pink are you happy with your T-jets????? What do you think about the new blazer express?
Thanks


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## printerguy (Dec 26, 2006)

dan1942 said:


> Pink are you happy with your T-jets????? What do you think about the new blazer express?
> Thanks


US Screen had a Blazer Express running at the SGIA show. Advertised as having a 16 x 20 print area. Ran very smoothly throughout the show.


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

Csquared,

How does the "Blazer Express" put that color on the black shirt? Can you print those vibrant of colors (on darks) without using the white? Or does it lay a white underbase and then put the colors over?
Thanks, Bo


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## SuddenUrge (Mar 26, 2007)

Slicebo;
From what I understand it prints the underbase first then the CMYK like all the other DTG units that I know or have heard of.


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## csquared (Sep 8, 2006)

That is true, with all of the machines in the industry you have to print a layer or underbase of white (like screenprinting) then print the color on top of the white. This is only the case when you want to print on dark shirts


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks... that is what I've gathered from all of the hours spent here reading and researching. 

Anyway... no clogging issues with either Blazer that you saw at the show? That print looks amazing thanks for sharing... Thanks again, Bo


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## howrdstern (May 7, 2007)

I AGREE... the pretreat machine AND the Blazer are one SEXY couple!


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

I called them yesterday and they are going to send me out some samples


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

slicebo said:


> Anyway... no clogging issues with either Blazer that you saw at the show?


Coming from someone that has worked several shows, it is very easy to keep a dtg machine running without clogging if you are continually running it (especially at a show doing demos). The trick is let it sit for a couple of days (i.e. over a holiday weekend) and then come back to print. Since this machine is based off of a 4800, it will naturally have less clogging issues compared to the 2200 models that the T-Jet 1 and T-Jet 2 were based off of. The 4800 has a larger head and larger diameter in the ink lines. This machine also has a shorter path to go before it hits the printhead since it is using the standard cartridge path of the 4800. Overall, the design looks a lot better than the earlier machines. So, they are moving in the right direction.

Mark


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## Tagger (Sep 16, 2007)

Since the 4800 is discontinued in favor of the 4880, and the 4880 has teflon coated print heads, it may be even less prone to clogging.


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

I spoke to the Rep over at Equip Zone about the Blazer Express and it will be using the 4880 when the blazer Express is released. Also the Rep had a lot of good info so I am going to head up there to see it in person and I will also stop off and see the Flexi-Jet in Philly at Peters shop.


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