# question regarding digital printing



## onemorechan (Feb 17, 2006)

Hi,

Quick question on terminology:

Is digital printing the same as direct to garment?

Thanks


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## Mr.4ColorProcess (Dec 5, 2005)

Not necessarily, no.

Direct printing is printing ink directly onto a garment. 

Digital printing, however, only brings heat transfers to mind. Digital printer + transfer paper = Digital printing.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Just so you know, Digital printing can be Direct to Garment Printing as well. We have a machine that prints from computer to shirt and a whole lot more items. Direct to Garment is Digital printing, but not all digital printing is direct to garment.


http://www.dtgprinting.com


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## skulltshirts (Mar 30, 2006)

DTG Printing said:


> Just so you know, Digital printing can be Direct to Garment Printing as well. We have a machine that prints from computer to shirt and a whole lot more items. Direct to Garment is Digital printing, but not all digital printing is direct to garment.


Thats a nice machine DTG. Does that thing come with an easy pay payment plan! It looks exactly like what I need. But it wouldd be years before I could make that kind of purchase probally!
Thomas


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

We have companies that will offer leases for us, but we don't really have a payment plan. The cool thing about Direct to Garment printers is, they pay for themselves very quickly, especially one that prints on just about anything!


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## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

How is the future looking for DTG printing on dark garments. I know it works, but the colors come out faded. Do you know if that is going to change soon. Id rather not buy one of theose printers until they have been perfected. It would really suck to buy one of those, and then a year later find out that had been perfected to be as good as screen printing.


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## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

jdr8271 said:


> How is the future looking for DTG printing on dark garments. I know it works, but the colors come out faded. Do you know if that is going to change soon. Id rather not buy one of theose printers until they have been perfected. It would really suck to buy one of those, and then a year later find out that had been perfected to be as good as screen printing.



There's a post somewhere about the new generation with a white ink tank.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Right now the white inks we use don't have Titanium Dioxide, which clogs the heads. The problem is, it's a whitening agent. If we use it, you would have to replace your head ($450) every 2 to 3 months. So since we don't have TiO2 in the ink it's not as bright. It works well with underbasing lighter colors but the dark colors like black and navy it is not as bright as we would want it.

We have chemists working on the inks every day trying to improve it and once they get it to the point where it's extremely bright, it will be released. There won't be any need for upgrading anything on the machine, just the white ink only. So there's no need to worry about not getting in on it later because our machine is capable now.


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## tra517 (Aug 27, 2006)

this is a very helpful thread! that was my concern too.. purchasing a dtg printer and then having technology improve a year later with a new machine (something we are familiar with with epsons in the fine art publishing biz). it is good to know that new inks will be a cost effective improvement. thanks!


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