# What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer (DTG Printer)?



## plaid (Mar 2, 2007)

I do embroidery, and I was looking at a magazine and I saw a Digital Apparel Printer. I thought it looked really cool. But I have never hear of this before! There were several different companies that have them in this magazine, and I think I would enjoy something like this ( I love to draw and see my work on shirts), if in fact it is a good machine! 

Can anyone tell me if they have one and if it is worth looking into more? Like I said I haven't llooked into it, but just saw one in a magazine. Thanks in advance!


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*



plaid said:


> I do embroidery, and I was looking at a magazine and I saw a Digital Apparel Printer. I thought it looked really cool. But I have never hear of this before! There were several different companies that have them in this magazine, and I think I would enjoy something like this ( I love to draw and see my work on shirts), if in fact it is a good machine!
> 
> Can anyone tell me if they have one and if it is worth looking into more? Like I said I haven't llooked into it, but just saw one in a magazine. Thanks in advance!


It prints your image directly onto the apparel. It is good for small runs, but not practical for large orders.


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## JPD (Nov 8, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

Teddy, what do you consider a "large order"?

Eric


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## plaid (Mar 2, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

So is this just like it sounds, like a printer? And is the ink expensive?


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## nicop1777 (May 25, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

No this is not a joke...I have done my homework. It is real and looks good on light colored shirts. The white add on for most machines is not worth having for a run over 3 dozen. The ink cost and the time involved is great. If you want to make 7 shirts this machine is great. Customize shirts at fairs another great idea. Price is still really high for what you get. Printing on black shirts is still horrible with the T-jet atleast. I watched one at the dax show in MO


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*



nicop1777 said:


> No this is not a joke...I have done my homework. It is real and looks good on light colored shirts. The white add on for most machines is not worth having for a run over 3 dozen. The ink cost and the time involved is great. If you want to make 7 shirts this machine is great. Customize shirts at fairs another great idea. Price is still really high for what you get. Printing on black shirts is still horrible with the T-jet atleast. I watched one at the dax show in MO


I agree that most machines are not -great- for large orders (over 100 or so).
For Darks and Colors the machine will put down a white-base which causes the machine to do 2 passes, one for white and one for color.
They do have multihead machines that are much faster, and also oversized machines that can do oversized prints or multiple shirts at one time.

Now, the problem with printing white is that depending on the machine and the printer you can get varrying results due to the inconsistency of the pre-treatement and practice needed for printing with white ink.

There are several DTG printers here who have T-Jets, DTG Kiosks and Kornits who produce great prints on dark and black colored T's.

Check the DTG part of the forum for samples.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*



plaid said:


> So is this just like it sounds, like a printer? And is the ink expensive?


Yes, it is more commonly known as a "Direct to Garment" printer or shortened as DTG. You can read all kinds of reviews and opinions on different types of the machines in our Direct to Garment printing section of the forum here.

There are several different makers of the machine out there on the market.

From what I've read, the ink can be pretty expensive, but those are costs that you can pass on to your customer.


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## plaid (Mar 2, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

These sound interesting, thanks everyone. I may be looking into this more!


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## knight7th (May 29, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

I used a tjet2 for over a year and I agree, under 10 shirts is fine, but over that, you run into quality problems. 

The DTG for me was a great call because it allowed me to print single designs with no setup, allowing me to build my volume. The support from US Screen was great too. 

I am currently liquidating my printer because we have simply grown too busy for it. I would say they are good to start with, but have several production methods at your disposal.


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## nicop1777 (May 25, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

thanks for that input. I have been tring to preach this to my partner. What exactly is the problem with it after 10 if you don't mind me asking and how much for your machine?


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## Starpride (Jan 9, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

Hi,

I've seen them run from 10-20K. They may do short runs best, but you'll wish you could do long runs to pay the damn thing off.

Starpride


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

The DTG Kiosk runs about 13k with the white ink upgrade, the newer HM1 is about 15-17k. We have a standard Kiosk that we do batch orders of dark / black shirts anywhere from 12-120 on a weekly basis.
The only real problem is the time that it takes to print, the bigger the batch the less suited a single head DTG printer is.
10 Shirts seems to be a very small batch IMO. You could finish that in less than 2 hours even doing multiple passes (white + color).


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

I think the important thing to understand that there is not one single type of decorating technique that will be perfect for all jobs. Thus, it becomes important to understand all the techniques and when it is best to use them. The substrate (i.e. fabric type, metal, tile, ...) is also an important factor. 

I have found from speaking with several dtg owners that they feel it necessary to do overs between 50-100 dark shirts on a dtg to help justify the cost of the equipment. Depending on the design (logo vs. picture, number of colors,...), some orders have to be done on a dtg. But ones that can either be outsourced to a screen printer or done as a plastisol transfer, I think these alternatives should be strongly consider. The profit per an hour could be the same if not better and it frees the dtg owner up to do other things (i.e. go after new customers, do other orders,...) and also extend the life of the printhead.


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## Shirtmaster55 (Jun 8, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

To best educate yourself before investing between $10-$20 grand on a Digital Printer is to understand that it will NEVER replace your "manual" screenprinting press. If you have the surplus to buy and notice I did not say "invest" a Digital Printer I say go for it because ypu will find customers who are willing to fork up $30.00 for a special multicolor design on a T Shirt or somehow how if you have a weekend kiosk somewhere that attracts nothing but tourist then you have hit the jackpot. I purchased a T-Jet last year thinking that I finally can do those multicolor designs in bulk but after 8-10 prints they started to look horrible and weren't consistent like the first print and the fact it was a little time consuming. Back to the word "INVEST", assuming you have spent aprox.$18 grand on the printer and are looking to pay it off based on your customer orders on average well I can tell you on average from previous post in this forum including myself NOT!!! The bottom line it's a risky investment but if you have capital up front and are looking for a novelty then go it.


Aloha


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

Shirtmaster55 has good advice. The best thing you can do is go visit a distributor and watch the machine in action. Bring some of your own artwork to see how difficult it really is to print with the machines. Make sure you attend the training for the white Ink part, that seems like where people spend 90% of their troubleshooting.

Many of us DTG owners have overcome many hurdles since working with our machines. Some of the problems mentioned above may be operator or machine specific. When Shirtmaster55 described the colors being different after 8-10 shirts usually points to Ink starvation, you should be doing more Ink charges / Head cleanings to keep a consistent print. Also, the problem may be the T-Jet brand OR his specific machine. The KIOSK has it's own set of gotcha's that need to be monitored durring printing so make sure you spend the time getting to know the machine before investing.

It's not all bad though for example we did a batch of 120 shirts starting on Friday morning. 79 were black shirts and the rest were white. We completed the run Saturday afternoon in time to make the shipping cut-off with only 3 rejects the entire run (one of them was a shirt that had a hole in it we didn't catch until after printing).


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

Not to be argumentative, but I don't think anyone is suggesting the DTG technology will replace a manual (or an automatic) press. Can it be an alternative for some jobs? Yes. Can it do things that most screen printes can't do (i.e. print a photo realistic quality print)? Yes. Does it have it limitations? ABSOLUTELY! So does inkjest transfers, sublimation,... A DTG machine also takes up less space than a full screen printing shop. But, it will never do any of the specialty printing (high density, glitter, gels, beds,...) that a press can do. Again, there are positives and negatives to all the different types of decorating techniques.

I do know a lot of DTG owners from most of the different manufacturers that are doing very well with their printers. Is it important to have the right equipment based on your target market? Yes. Does it expand to more than just a kiosk in a mall. Yes.

All of this is based on my conversations with approximately 100 other companies. I respect ShirtMaster55 experiences as well. Best wishes.

Mark


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## tdeals (Dec 13, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*



plaid said:


> I do embroidery, and I was looking at a magazine and I saw a Digital Apparel Printer. I thought it looked really cool. But I have never hear of this before! There were several different companies that have them in this magazine, and I think I would enjoy something like this ( I love to draw and see my work on shirts), if in fact it is a good machine!
> 
> Can anyone tell me if they have one and if it is worth looking into more? Like I said I haven't llooked into it, but just saw one in a magazine. Thanks in advance!


Hello Plaid,

Like you, I also wanted to learn more about DTG printing options. If you want some up-close experience with this printing process, I strongly suggest going to the NBM Printwear Show in Indianapolis this coming September 2007. The exhibits only pass is free if you register in advance.

I just attended the Charlotte, NC version of this show a few days ago and learned a lot in 4 hours from 5 different DTG print companies. I also posted sample prints done with this print process, at the show, in this thread. 

Good luck! 

AB


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## Klondike2000 (Jun 8, 2007)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*

I had my mind set to purchase one in July but based on what I read I will hold off when the price is more reasonable and affordable, right now I see it as a luxury item rather than a tool. The idea of printing 24 black shirts with an average turn around time 1 hour or more is unacceptable, my two partners were totally against purchasing one and I guess they were right I cannot imagine having to hear it from them daily...I told you so!!


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

*Re: What exactly is a Digital Apparel Printer?*



Klondike2000 said:


> I had my mind set to purchase one in July but based on what I read I will hold off when the price is more reasonable and affordable, right now I see it as a luxury item rather than a tool. The idea of printing 24 black shirts with an average turn around time 1 hour or more is unacceptable, my two partners were totally against purchasing one and I guess they were right I cannot imagine having to hear it from them daily...I told you so!!


1 hour per shirt average or 24 per hour? Yes 1 per hour is unacceptable, but 24 per hour on a single head machine is not realistic. You will probably get 6-10 black shirts per hour out of a Kiosk or T-Jet. By not having to burn screens and separate colors, won't you save a bit of time?


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