# New Dupont White Ink?



## CrownedRoyal (Aug 7, 2007)

Hey all,
I was just recently visiting a vendor and he showed me a new white ink by dupont that supposedly was just released in January. He said that it was much much better than the old ink and barely required agitation at all, and it didnt clog his heads. Now I know he is trying to sell me one of his machines, but at the same time, I am intrigued if it is true. Any word on this from you DTG printers out there? Could it be that white ink is possible finally viable?
Also I am going to be doing this in quite a large scale so automation is HUGE for me, hence why i havent gone to black shirts already (slows turnaround time)
Any info or help you can give me would be great
thanks!


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## csquared (Sep 8, 2006)

I will start off by saying the new white ink is leaps and bounds above the old, printing better whites with less ink used. I had never had a problem with clogged printheads so I cannot comment on that. 
Although the white ink is better the pretreatment should be your main concern as this has the most effect on your print, so if you are plan on using a pretreat machine you should be ok but if you are using a HVLP gun or other method expect the same large learning curve as the old ink.


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## CrownedRoyal (Aug 7, 2007)

Thank you, that is good to know. In regard to the new ink, is it going to make black shirt printing more mainstream or do we still have a ways to go. I have to admit I'm still pretty unsure about the capability of really going full ahead with white ink. 
What would you suggest for applying the pre-treatment? The vendor suggested a sort of powersprayer, that to me that seems like a waste of pretreatment.


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

I agree, the new white ink is far better than the old ink, which was far better than the older ink 

We run the machine m-f and take the weekends off, flush out the white ink lines every other week on Sunday and clean the dampers in an ultra-sonic cleaner. Perfect nozzle checks every time.


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## adawg2252 (Dec 12, 2007)

TahoeTomahawk said:


> I agree, the new white ink is far better than the old ink, which was far better than the older ink
> 
> We run the machine m-f and take the weekends off, flush out the white ink lines every other week on Sunday and clean the dampers in an ultra-sonic cleaner. Perfect nozzle checks every time.


I agree with you that the new white ink is awesome and much easier to work with than the old stuff, but if you're using the machine m-f do you really need to flush every other week?

what preparation do you do on the weekends?


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

> I agree with you that the new white ink is awesome and much easier to work with than the old stuff, but if you're using the machine m-f do you really need to flush every other week?


While not the normal recommended procedure, it is working and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You can't keep you white line too clean. Along with flushing the lines the dampers and capping station are also getting some extra love as well - a clean machine is a happy machine!


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

Don-SWF East said:


> While not the normal recommended procedure, it is working and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You can't keep you white line too clean. Along with flushing the lines the dampers and capping station are also getting some extra love as well - a clean machine is a happy machine!


So, Adam & Don, what are the recommended maintenance schedules/procedure for the DTG Kiosks or MH1? Are the maintenance scheds for a Kiosk diffrent for the HM1's?

As for the new white dupont ink, can it now be considered "at par" with the Kornit white ink? (because the Kornit people are always saying that only them has the "true white ink solution").


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

As the HM-1 and Kiosk 2 are different base print engines, they have slightly different maintenance routines. Essentially you need to move the ink (head cleanings and/or printing) on a regular basis (daily is best), maintain a good, clean capping station, keep anything that touches the printhead or shirt clean and maintain a good nozzle check and you will be happy with the performance of these units.
Does Kornit have a good white in solution, yes. Is the equipment within the price range of the vast majority of endusers - no. Does the Kornit also have a series of daily, weekly, monthly rountine maintenance items - yes. Any direct to garment printer has some sort of level of maintenance that needs to be done.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

I found the new white ink to be a vast improvement over the old ink. I now get nice even bright coverage on dark shirts with just one pass. I used to have to use 2 passes and that was inconsistent.


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

adawg2252 said:


> I agree with you that the new white ink is awesome and much easier to work with than the old stuff, but if you're using the machine m-f do you really need to flush every other week?
> 
> what preparation do you do on the weekends?


Every other week is probably not needed however you don't want to get to the point where the machine tells you it's time. By that I mean, you get clogged nozzle checks, doing a head clean will resolve it, but others will appear missing or the head clean will actually make it worse. You really don't want to be in a production run and afraid to do a simple head clean because it may make it worse! Also your prints will not be as vibrant as the prints where your machine was running great. Consistency is the key!

As for my preparations, I empty the white ink back into the bottle and wash out the bulk ink (for white) bottles, there are 3 of them on our machine. Next, I fill the bottles with about 1/3 simple green, and 2/3 distilled water. Warm it slightly in the microwave, put it back in the machine, turn off the other ink valves and begin cycling the warm water through the machine.
When the lines are clean, then I take the dampers off and switch them with a new set that I keep soaked in water. I leave the simple green / water in the machine overnight allowing it to soak in the print head and also do head cleans (since we have the wims board).

With the dampers we removed from the machine, with the new ink they usually are not clogged at all but we still back flush them and put them in the ultrasonic cleaner for a few cycles, back-flushing every time.

The entire process takes about an hour on Sunday night and it's ready for printing the following morning.


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## Justin Walker (Dec 6, 2006)

How much do you estimate it costs you in ink to purge your lines? Any idea? I know you lose whatever ink is in the heads and the lines, plus whatever you use to Power Purge the ink back in. Do you think $10 is a reasonable guess?


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

Justin, yes probably about 10 dollars. Not only do you lose whatever ink is in the lines and dampers, but then putting it back in wastes some trying to get a good siphon.


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## kevrokr (Feb 26, 2007)

Use a syringe to take the ink out of the lines first to reduce product loss.


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

I wouldn't want to put that sludge back into my bottles.


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## DRUMMERGIRL (Mar 19, 2008)

What kind of machine do you have? I have a Kiosk 2 and am nearly going out of my mind trying to keep it running. We are from MO and the dealers here say the new white is not working. They won't even carry it. What is the ultra sonic cleaner you are refering to for the dampers. We have had the 3rd machine (long story) now for less than 2 months. We have been given no training on this machine and have learned a lot on our own and from the forum. We do some of the same maintenance as you but we use windex instead of simple green(didn't know we could) Any help you could give me would be appreciated. 

Thanks 
DrummerGirl


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Hi Drummergirl  What exactly are the problems you are having. Maybe if you give us more details we can help , I have the HM1 and dont have any problems at all with the new white. What Adam is talking about is an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner, they work well to clean the dampers.


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