# Direct to garment printers - buying in the UK, which one?



## francesca (Feb 2, 2008)

I'm in the UK and I'm looking into buying a Direct to Garment Printer but I would appreciate some advice on which one to buy! I have read some of the previous posts on here but they are quite out of date. I have emailed many companies asking them to give me info on the machines but I am still unsure which one to go for.

Obviously the cheaper the better but I would rather pay a little more for better quality printing. I am also looking into buying one "on finance" (not sure if that's the right term!) as I'm not sure if I want to leap in there and buy one out-right. Or is it better to buy out-right???

Please help...it's so hard to decide!!!


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## fdsales (Jul 1, 2007)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*

Support is really, really important. Whom ever you purchase from needs to be able to support you in the UK, as well as if you're in the USA.
I would check with whatever manufacturer that you're interested if they have any type of support for UK users. Will the support be just by email or phone? What about shipping charges? What happens if your machine has to go back for repairs...who pays?
These printers require a lot of maintenance, and there's a very steep learning curve. How will you get your questions answered, and will you have to install the equipment yourself, or will a tech install & train. Can you visit a dealer & see the machine in action?
I'm sure there's more, but really do your homework here...this is a really big investment, and you will need support along the way.
Good Luck!!


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*

If you have to have the white ink the brother is out. We have a brother and love it but of course it does not print white ink. Very little learning curve. We were printing within a few hours.

Good luck


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*

As far as having tech support available if you need it, I agree, I would buy from someone who will be able to give you the support you may need later. Installing and setting up the machine is not a major ordeal as long as you go to training of running it before hand. I set up my machine and it was pretty simple other then the fact that the software I was given was not vista compliant. But printzilla helped me there  But as far as setting it up and loading your inks its pretty simple, as long as you know how to install software.

Here is a thread that might help you get an idea of the different machines from actual printer owners http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t41520.html , this might at least give you some idea of the pros and cons of each. Hope this helps.


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## francesca (Feb 2, 2008)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*

Thanks everyone, I've learnt a hard lesson before in not having the right support so thanks for reinforcing that point!

It is a printer with white ink that I will be after. Has anyone got any recommendations for which machine to go for (i.e. makes and models)?

We've been in contact with a supplier who deals with MS (an Italian company), has anyone used any of their products? We're interested in this company purely because they're in Europe and their machines use bulk supply rather than cartridges.

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks again.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*

Hmm I have not heard of that company. Do you know what machines they sell? What the brand of the machine is? I myself have the dtg hm1 and it has been a very solid machine for me. It does take some learning, more so of the pretreating and maintenance, and also getting the files proper for printing. But as long as you are commited to taking care of the machine and learning the process, it really is pretty easy. I think most machines can be good as they are mostly built around the same technology, which is a modified epson. The only printer that prints white that is not epson based is the Kornit which is in a class of its own  So the basic function of any white printing machine is virtually the same (of course besides the Kornit). Each machine has its own functions though and it really is about what features are important to you.


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## Titchimp (Nov 30, 2006)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*

Printing machines:textile,digital,leather,fabric,tshirt.Textile steamer,steam ager,color kitchens for MS


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*

Wow that was wierd  I watched the video on the ms one white, and in the video it says it prints flock? I wonder what they mean by that. Interesting I will have to keep an eye on this and see if some one gets it, if it does indeed print flock. It seems that might be a little difficult to do with an epson printhead hmmm.


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## Titchimp (Nov 30, 2006)

*Re: Direct to garment printers*



sunnydayz said:


> Wow that was wierd  I watched the video on the ms one white, and in the video it says it prints flock? I wonder what they mean by that. Interesting I will have to keep an eye on this and see if some one gets it, if it does indeed print flock. It seems that might be a little difficult to do with an epson printhead hmmm.


Lol, i thought the exact same thing.


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## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

Flock = Cotton


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I guess I am thinking of flock as a textured print. Hmmmm.


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## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

fleece/flock/cotton - I have seen them intertwined.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Ok I feel like a total air head now haha. I was thinking it said it printed a textured ink, duh hehe.

Ok completely disregard that previous statement of mine  I get it now, that its saying it can print on basically a sweatshirt, even though in the video it is only showing a tee when they are making that reference. That was what was confusing me is that they stated flock showing a standard tee.


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

There is also a printable flock material that is manufactured somewhere in Europe I believe that can have an adhesive backing on it and used like a heat transfer. It was my understanding that the preferred method of printing on this flock material was sublimation ink, but I don't see why you could not use dtg ink since it has a tight matting to it. Just another alternative explanation.


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2008)

I have been selling dtg machines and providing support in the UK for many years. Please visit www.adelco.co.uk and give me a call if you need to discuss.


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## IGS-UK (Sep 28, 2008)

Hi, I have a T-Jet blazer pro & I am in the UK. The company I bought it from now has there own UK based support with engineers, loan machines etc. If you want to call them feel free to mention my name. We print between 200 & 500 dark shirts a week with no problems at all. The daily maintenance is important but it is simple.

Hope this helps Check out my website and there is a video of the machine working.

Colin


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