# Comparison prints of HM1 to a brother



## kustom (Aug 11, 2007)

farwell.................................


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## GRH (Apr 25, 2007)

Jeremy,

You are jumping ship right at the time that there are a couple of major advances in this evolving technology. 


Dupont has come out with a new white ink that is brighter and has much improved washout.

US Screen has come out with a new pretreatment (FastColor) that makes colors much more vibrant on light shirts and greatly improves washout.
Request new samples and stipulate that darks must be printed with Dupont's new white ink and lights must use FastColor pretreatment.


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

@ GRH do you believe the 2 new products are making that much of a difference? I have yet to receive the samples from US screen from the Blazer but hopefully it will have the new white ink and fastColor on the light


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## GRH (Apr 25, 2007)

dan1942,

I have not yet tried the new white ink. I have it at the shop but I am trying to use up old stocks of white ink before I change over. All of the reports that I have heard say the new white is a big improvement.

I have been using the new FastColor for over a week now and I am impressed. It greatly improves color vibrancy and washout is almost non-existent.


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## mk162 (Sep 24, 2007)

Also, pretreating white shirts is a hassle and with cut into profits. I personally think there needs to be a better way, even the auto treat is expensive and probably not as fast as they say it is.

We are making plenty of money with the Brother. Our business focuses around t-shirts, so it works right in line with what we already sell. A CNC/router wouldn't be profitable for us considering that isn't a market that we are in hardly at all. Sure, we do some engraving, but I couldn't see spending $30,000 on something that we aren't sure is a good investment. Of course this is all from my perspective. I am not you and if that is a better bet for you at this time, go with it.

Good Luck!


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## mk162 (Sep 24, 2007)

Well, that is sort of rude to post that and then take out all of the text 20 minutes later. You need to just delete the entire post then.


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## vinstr (Nov 5, 2007)

I have started using the fastcolor pretreatment with my 2 tjets for white shirts. It stinks having to pretreat white shirts now but the washfastness is amazing...almost no fading even after 6 or more washes. The extra effort is worth it for this kind of quality.


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

Well that is great to hear I am not to worry about the extra time to pretreat them as I am going to purchase a pretreament machine also.
What is the average cost for the the FastColor per Sq in. and how long can the shirt stay after being pretreated prior to being printed on???


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## vinstr (Nov 5, 2007)

I have no idea what the cost per shirt is, but its low. One gallon is about $32 and can last for 100's of shirts -you only need a light spraying...
I pretreat and then print so I also have no idea how long they can sit...sorry


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## vinstr (Nov 5, 2007)

Also, you will save some money on ink costs as the fastcolor makes the prints brighter too so you do not need to lay down as much ink. It may end up being a little more or a little less cost per shirt overall but its not a big difference either way in my opinion...the only downside is the hassle of pretreating...


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## printerguy (Dec 26, 2006)

You can pretreat garments with FastColor right before printing, an hour before, a day before, a week before, or a month before. As with the pretreatment for white ink you can pretreat bunches of shirts and have them stored until you need them.


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## GRH (Apr 25, 2007)

mk162

Do yourself a favor, try the FastColor. They advertise it as working with all digital printers. I am curious to see if it works with the Brother inks. I know Brother has a great reputation for printing on light shirts but I also hear complaints about some washout on them. 

I also hear that brother inks are the most expensive in the industry. If you can lay down less ink with FastColor you may be saving more money than not pretreating at all.

Call Equipment Zone, they have been offering a free 1 quart sample of FastColor, I assume that they still are.


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

I know Brother has a great reputation for printing on light shirts but I also hear complaints about some washout on them. 

I have never had a problem with washout and I am not gentle when washing them.
I use warm or hot and lots of bleach
They have been washed many, many times and still look great

I have not had any problems, not sure of others.


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

Martin...
We just put a deposit on our Brother... any tips on the ol heat press to get the washability you are getting? Thanks, Bo


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

slicebo said:


> Martin...
> We just put a deposit on our Brother... any tips on the ol heat press to get the washability you are getting? Thanks, Bo


I will have to go look at it but it is the one that direct2shirt sold me with the machine
It is a hix I think

Will let you know for sure or if you call Brian at direct2shirt he can tell you also

You will love the machine. I have had mine for a year and a half and no problems (knock on wood)

Thanks
Teresa


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks Teresa!!!!!, 

We had our partner/office manager order it from Brian. He said it was the one he perfers so it's probably the same as yours. Are heat times and temp fairly easy to get dialed in? You probably just keep a list of fabrics, times, temps and pressures, I assume. Can't wait... 
Thanks again, Bo


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

slicebo said:


> Thanks Teresa!!!!!,
> 
> We had our partner/office manager order it from Brian. He said it was the one he perfers so it's probably the same as yours. Are heat times and temp fairly easy to get dialed in? You probably just keep a list of fabrics, times, temps and pressures, I assume. Can't wait...
> Thanks again, Bo


We press at 359 for 35 seconds
Is Brian setting up your machine?
If so he will go over everything with you when he is there.

Where are you located?

Thanks
Teresa


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

Teresa,
I'm in California... and Brian wasn't sure where the machine would ship from. We should know tommorrow. I'm not sure if he's on this coast? If he set yours up (I noticed "buckeye") he probably won't be doing ours. 
Thanks for the info, Bo


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## dan1942 (Jul 1, 2007)

Brian is out of Ohio if I remember correctly.


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks...
Does the Brother machine sit directly against a wall (back)? Or do you need some room in the back? Also how much space on the side is required to operate? I know we should be getting the manual tommorrow but I'm getting "antsy"... Thanks again, Bo


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

slicebo said:


> Thanks...
> Does the Brother machine sit directly against a wall (back)? Or do you need some room in the back? Also how much space on the side is required to operate? I know we should be getting the manual tommorrow but I'm getting "antsy"... Thanks again, Bo


 
We have ours on the stand that came with it.
It sits against the wall but there is some room in between the wall and the machine

Hope that makes sense
Yes we are in Ohio

You will love the machine


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

We ordered the stand as well as all the platens... and yes you are making perfect sense... I'm glad to hear the stand is solid. We will be receiving the machine and training next week... woooohooooo!!!
Thanks for all your input on the forum about the brother it helped ou decision, Bo


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

slicebo said:


> We ordered the stand as well as all the platens... and yes you are making perfect sense... I'm glad to hear the stand is solid. We will be receiving the machine and training next week... woooohooooo!!!
> Thanks for all your input on the forum about the brother it helped ou decision, Bo


Let me know when you get it. I can't wait to see what you think.
I love mine
You will be printing a whole new wardrobe.


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## slicebo (Oct 5, 2007)

We just went downtown L.A... for some blanks T's. I immediatly found myself saying I could print on that... and those... and these 
I'll definatley keep you poseted... Bo


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