# Anajet vs DTG HM-1...Help me decide!!!!



## jki540

Hi Everyone...Just returned from the garment printing tradeshow in Long Beach. I'm on the market for a DTG printer that is able to print on black t-shirts. My budget is ~$17K. Most of the major DTG printers were at the show. First of all (hopefully to the benefit of the forum members who have been SO helpful over the past several weeks), here's what I learned in case anyone is interested:
1) Brother makes a nice DTG printer, but it does NOT work on black shirts. They are working on black shirt printing, but not as an upgrade to their existing printers. You'd have to buy a new machine...so they're out of my running.
2) Sawgrass (i think) also make a DTG, but it's not doing black.
3) The DTG Kiosk has good quality, is relatively cheap ($14K w/white ink attachment), and can print on black. But it's SLOWWWW...and the set-up doesn't seem as easy as the others.

So...I'm left considering these three: T-Jet3, DTG HM-1, and Anajet.

Of these three, i've heard really bad things about the T-Jet (clogged heads, bad support, etc.), so i've narrowed it down to the HM-1 and the Anajet.

Does anyone have any comments/opinions on these 2 machines in a head-to-head comparo?

Here's what i know...
1) Anajet is SUPER easy to use. The ink comes in cartridges, so the issue of clogged heads is not as big with this printer. However, i think the ink cost per shirt is higher for Anajet than with HM-1.
2) The Anajet is new, so i don't know how well it's supported, and I know nothing about the reliability.
3) The Anajet was built from scratch...it's not an Epson refurb. I have no idea whether this is good or bad.
4) HM-1 seems like they have excellent support. I live 2 hrs from their tech, so in a worst case, i can drive the guy out here to my facility.
5) HM-1 has higher upfront cost for machinery, but i think the ink costs are lower.
6) Speed on both is the same.
7) Anajet output is 'softer'; HM-1 feels a bit like an opaque transfer.

If anyone has thoughts or comments, I'd be so grateful. I'm really torn about which direction to go in. The Anajet is winning by a nose, but I'm really worried about the reliability and support from the company.

Thanks as usual to everyone!


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## Printzilla

jki540 said:


> 3) The Anajet was built from scratch...it's not an Epson refurb. I have no idea whether this is good or bad.
> 4) HM-1 seems like they have excellent support. I live 2 hrs from their tech, so in a worst case, i can drive the guy out here to my facility.
> 5) HM-1 has higher upfront cost for machinery, but i think the ink costs are lower.
> 6) Speed on both is the same.
> 7) Anajet output is 'softer'; HM-1 feels a bit like an opaque transfer.


 A couple bits of misinformation in your points. First the Anajet IS an Epson. It is built on the 1800. They try and play that down, but I can assure you that is built on the Epson 1800 platform.

The Epson 2400 (HM1 platform) is faster than the 1800. Probably not enough to matter, but it is faster.

I am unclear as to why the Anajet would produce softer prints, as they use the same ink and pretreatment.

With that said, I am not sure of your time frame, but SGIA in October will probably produce a couple of new machines, and rumor has it some in the 10-12k range.

If I had to buy today, of all the printers on the market, hands down, I would get the HM-1. In my opinion it is the premiere machine.


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## jki540

Thanks for the info Printzilla. Very helpful. They definitely play down the Epson remake stuff. They had me fooled!

So, in your opinion is the only true difference the fact that the Anajet uses those cartridges rather than bulk ink? Like you said...speed is not a big issue and they're using the same inks. The only thing I can think is that perhaps the bulk inks make a big price difference in the long run? what about the idea that the white ink is more easily clogged in the bulk ink bottles rather than the cartridge format...do you think that's marketing BS too?

it's tempting to wait until Oct. especially for this big of an expenditure. i didn't know there was so much development right arond the corner. the industry changes so fast, it's hard to keep up.

thanks again for your insights...i really appreciate it.


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## Printzilla

I do like the cartridges. If it was a tie between a couple of machines and that was the ONLY diff, I would go cartridges. I do think that they will help cut down some on ink issues, but nothing short of proper maintenance and procedures will cut them way down.

Overall I would wait until the preshow announcements are made in the next 3- 6 weeks before I bought anything. If its true that some 10-12k machines are coming you could possibly get two machines for 20k! One setup for dual cmyk to only do white T's, and the other setup for dark shirts.


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## sunnydayz

I too was at the long beach show and looked at all of the machines, I also have samples on light and dark garments from the machines. I actually put in my order for the hm1. I will tell you the differences that I noticed on the anajet and the hm1. The hm1 has a power height adjustment button where as the anajet you have to manually adjust the height. The hm1 has the white ink adjitator and the anajet you have to remove the white cartridge and shake it. On both the light and dark garments the feel is pretty much the same from both machines, although the color looks more vibrant on the hm1 garments. I asked the people selling anajet questions and they didnt know hardly any info on the machine where as Amy was very knowlegable on the hm1. The reason I mention this is because I asked all of the same questions to all of the reps, I want to know what kind of customer service I am going to get once I purchase the machine and if they dont know about them they are not likely to be very helpful to me in the future. I asked the anajet people if the ink was made by dupont that they use, they didnt know. The hm1 did print much quicker than the anajet and it also layed down more ink per pass due to the different print head. So those were my observations and I cannot wait till I get my machine , I go talk to the leasing people on monday and hopefully will have my new hm1 in a couple of weeks

hope this helps

Bobbie


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## Printzilla

I was unaware that the 2400 head laid down more ink than the 1800 head. Did the rep from SWF tell you that, or are you just going by what you saw?


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## sunnydayz

Amy, the rep told me that it lays twice the ink per pass. I can see by looking at the garment that the ink does have much better coverage. We had went to thier anahiem warehouse awhile back and they did alot of test prints for us also with the hm1 compared to the original kiosk on darks and lights and it is definately noticable.

Bobbie


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## Printzilla

I believe a difference in the 2200 v the 2400 (or 1800 for that matter), because they have radically different heads, but I am skeptical about the statement made about double the ink between the 1800 v 2400. The heads are much closer (maybe even the same, but Epson lists two different part numbers, and i have not removed the heads from either printer) as far as size and number of nozzles.


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## jki540

Bobbie...This is VERY helpful info. I agree with your methods. I also talked to all the reps and asked basically the same questions. I had a good rep to speak with at Anajet, so my experience was quite positive with them. But to your point...Consistency with cust svc is critical, and the DTG guys all knew how to answer the questions.

when i was there, they didn't have the HM1 set-up to run white. Only the kiosk. I assume the output onto dark t-shirts from the HM-1 are superior to the kiosk? 

thanks again for your insights. i'm doing this all by myself, so it's extremely nice to get feedback from knowledgable sources.


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## Printzilla

The output from the hm1 on darks is not much different than the kiosk. They only have one more channel of white. The big difference is the speed. I have the same image printed from both machines at the same time while at a show, and the only real difference was how much longer the kiosk took.


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## sunnydayz

I dont have the machine yet and havent printed on one myself, the opinions I have stated are just my observations. 

Marc, it sounds like you have a great deal of knowledge about the machines and I have learned so much from these forums from people like yourself as I do think that I have learned so much from reading others experiences with them. I am really excited to get my hm1 and start learning myself. I definately think It will be a learning process and I dont plan to start making money right away as I will make sure I know what I am doing before I offer the service.

I am so glad I learned about what problems to watch for and have learned alot of great advice for maintenance to try to keep the white working a little better (humidity, dampers, cleaning and such) although no matter how much I read I am definately a more hands on learner .

Bobbie


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## indysam

The Anajet would be using half of it's nozzles to print white so if the HM-1 was just printing colors then it wasn't a fair comparison. 

When set up for white t-shirts only the Anajet will lay down twice as much ink in each pass.


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## Printzilla

Indysam - Welcome to the forums.

My comparison is both machines using 4 white channels and cmyk. The Hm1 will also lay down twice as much ink on a single pass when setup for dual cmyk white shirt only printing.

Indysam - what type of dtg do you own?


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## jki540

Hi Marc...How do you learn about new DTG printers that are going to be announced at the SGIA show? Is there a mailing list or newsletter that you subscribe to? I found their website, but there's nothing on there about a release of product info.

Thanks...You make some really great points about being patient to make a smart decision.


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## Printzilla

jki - I have been in this industry since the start, and have developed a relationship with people in the industry. Those relationships sometimes payoff with a little advanced or inside info. Nothing is ever sure however, until I see it on the show floor! If this was March and you were looking I would encourage you to move forward, but this is a good time of year to see what shakes loose in the next 3-6 weeks.


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## csquared

with the new advancements in white ink I wounder if the 8 channel is the way to go? just something I was thinking about today.


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## mystysue

I was not really impressed with the anajet.. but i had experance much like sunny in that the person i was talking to didnt know alot.. and basically tried to tell me the black i saw thru on the white print was designed to be there in the graphics.. which was not the case.. The fact that he lied to me.. made me walk away from the booth.. I dont like being taken as a fool..lol..


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## sunnydayz

I also had the same problem with my sample from anajet, it completely missed a spot of white on the design. I will take a pic tommorow and post to show what I mean. The design has a mirrored image on part and one side has the white on the tip of the horn and the other it is completely missing. I asked the tech about this and he tried to tell me it was supposed to be that way but you can clearly see on the design that it was mirrored and should have been the same on both sides.

Edited to add, it wasnt white that was missing on the design, there was a white spot where it should have been yellow. sorry its been a long day 

Bobbie


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## Printzilla

The issue is that people want to believe that the dtg is the answer to everything. This puts pressure on the reps to tell them what they want to hear. If the rep from xyz tells the real truth, then the rep from abc tells the prospect what they want to hear, Prospect buys abc machine, xyz misses out on sale, leading them to realize people buy hype and emotion, not truth, consequently they follow abc's lead. 

The sooner people realize what those of us that have had success have been saying all along is true, the better off they will be. Use the printer for mostly white shirts, and only for very short run, high margin dark shirts. If you do not want to put up with a long learning curve, proper maintenance, and the expense of replacing heads then just buy the machine setup for dual cmyk. Trust me there is plenty of business for whites and lights!

With the info, and user reviews that are available online, anyone who buys a dtg printer and then blames the dealer when it isnt easy or perfect, gets no sympathy from me.


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## csquared

Marc i don't know if you read minds but that is exactly what I was thinking...


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## sunnydayz

I already expect when I get my machine that I will have many problems and I am going into it with eyes open. I have been researching since last november before deciding on what machine I was going to purchase. I dont expect it to be easy and I do expect to do more maintenance than what they suggest once I get my machine. I do however believe that the reps should know about the equipment they are selling and be able to relate that info to their potential customer. I also expect to be learning for a very long time on what works best and also plan that I will have to buy extra parts. What is great about these forums is I have learned alot about what problems to watch for, and how to remedy some of these problems should they arise such as I already am ordering an extra set of dampers so I can clean them every two weeks and change them out so to keep from them clogging, I will also make sure I have a extra print head just in case so I am not left hanging in case it should have a problem. I have made sure I have an area that does not have to much air and has the right humidity to try to keep that from being a problem. I have done my homework and know that the white ink can and probably will cause some issues sooner or later. So I would say I have prepared myself fairly well for this endeavor I am about to go into. To me the learning curve is worth it for the white with what I plan to do. Doing just lights is not an option as I have much higher expectations for myself than just being satisfied with doing what is easiest. 

Bobbie


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## Printzilla

sunnydayz said:


> I have done my homework and know that the white ink can and probably will cause some issues sooner or later.
> 
> Bobbie


No probably to it. What exactly is your plan for the dark shirt side of the biz?


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## csquared

bobbie that is what we need in the DTG field...people who know what they are getting into and excepting the challenges that lay ahead of them... with that mind set I think you will so great things with your printer.


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## mystysue

Bobbie and I were discussing the issues with the dtg at dinner.. I think that both of us had the feeling that the people at the one booth were trying to B. S. us is interesting.. I am differant than the customer that printzilla mentioned that buys from the company that lies and tells me what they think i wanna hear.. I will never deal with a company that has lines of BS in thier sales pitch.. .. The trick is finding the upsides and downside to the products and thinking hard if the down sides are something you can live with and make a profit with.. I myself am not ready to spend the amount of money that dtgs cost for a product that i do not believe any of the companies have perfected.. If im gonna spend that amount of money.. I want it to work all of the time.. on everything they claim it will.. and im not sure any of the machines out there at this time do that..


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## sunnydayz

Printzilla said:


> No probably to it. What exactly is your plan for the dark shirt side of the biz?


No long runs only short, but I carry many colors of garments and it is one of the things that makes me unique from others so it is important to be able to have that service available to my customers so I can continue to have an edge on those that only carry light colors, in that part of my business they are only short runs. Any larger runs I plan to do will be on light garments that will be supplied to a completely different client base. The first being infant clothing with small designs (this is where I will be using dark color garments) and the latter adult tees (which I completely plan on selling the customer on light color tees).

Bobbie


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## sunnydayz

csquared said:


> bobbie that is what we need in the DTG field...people who know what they are getting into and excepting the challenges that lay ahead of them... with that mind set I think you will so great things with your printer.


Thank You Chris, it is nice to see someone who is encouraging 
I am a very determined person and I dont do anything I havent researched thuroughly (I dont think I spelled that correctly hehe). I have done alot of things in my life and the bigger the challenge the more interesting it is for me, besides the bennifit of the fact that I can also use my creativity in this business.

Bobbie


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## Printzilla

The issue is that they are not always full of BS. Sometimes they just do not disclose everything. Or maybe they just let people believe that they can print lots of multi shirt jobs using the current PT system and white ink. I know of reps who lost sales to other companies just because the other company told the customer what they wanted to hear. Obviously if you know it is BS you wouldn't fall for it.

I hear people say all the time that they rule out the Brother because it will not do dark shirts. Yet there are only a small amount of business models that will be profitable using dark shirt printing with dtg's, and all of them center on VERY small runs. These people buy a machine other than the Brother or one of the cmyk only versions of other dtg's. Then they have down time and technical issues that prevent them from being profitable. These people either give up, change to a cmyk only machine, or change the business model.

I am not saying that a white ink dtg is not a valid solution (2 of my 4 dtg's have white ink kits), it is, but only in its niche.


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## Printzilla

Bobbie - I hope I did not come across as discouraging. I actually think that you will do well. It seems like you have given this lots of thought. It is refreshing to see someone entering with a realistic view.


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## sunnydayz

Printzilla said:


> The issue is that they are not always full of BS. Sometimes they just do not disclose everything. Or maybe they just let people believe that they can print lots of multi shirt jobs using the current PT system and white ink. I know of reps who lost sales to other companies just because the other company told the customer what they wanted to hear. Obviously if you know it is BS you wouldn't fall for it.
> 
> I hear people say all the time that they rule out the Brother because it will not do dark shirts. Yet there are only a small amount of business models that will be profitable using dark shirt printing with dtg's, and all of them center on VERY small runs. These people buy a machine other than the Brother or one of the cmyk only versions of other dtg's. Then they have down time and technical issues that prevent them from being profitable. These people either give up, change to a cmyk only machine, or change the business model.
> 
> I am not saying that a white ink dtg is not a valid solution (2 of my 4 dtg's have white ink kits), it is, but only in its niche.


 
I guess if you dont do your homework first than you would believe the lies that the reps would tell you. I am very aware of the limitations with the white ink. Let me ask you this, do you print on dark garments? If yes, didnt you have to learn in the beginning also. I know with every thing I have done in my life I have had to learn how to do it first. I like doing things that are challenging and difficult, it keeps me interested. I dont plan on making my profits by printing dark, as I am aware it rarely happens, however it is something that I can offer in small quantities that will make my customers happy. Most of my customers purchase light color garments but the fact that I offer dark color garments also makes me more unique than all of the others that only offer white, light blue, pink and heather. So maybe you can understand my train of thought with this a little better now.

Bobbie


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## Printzilla

I do print on darks. I was the first in the US to have the white kit on a tjet, almost two years ago. I believe that having an edge on your competitors is important. I did have a large learning curve. It is because of this that I am acutely aware of the limitations of the process. I also think you understand what the limitations are.


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## sunnydayz

Printzilla said:


> I do print on darks. I was the first in the US to have the white kit on a tjet, almost two years ago. I believe that having an edge on your competitors is important. I did have a large learning curve. It is because of this that I am acutely aware of the limitations of the process. I also think you understand what the limitations are.


Good, now when I run into a problem I will come look for you  jk

Seriously though, I really am very aware of what I am getting into, and my plans for the future are to invest in another machine just for lights but right now with spending the amount I plan to spend on this machine I want to at least have the capability to do both.

Bobbie


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## Rodney

> The issue is that they are not always full of BS. Sometimes they just do not disclose everything. Or maybe they just let people believe that they can print lots of multi shirt jobs using the current PT system and white ink. I know of reps who lost sales to other companies just because the other company told the customer what they wanted to hear. Obviously if you know it is BS you wouldn't fall for it.


I don't think that's the issue at all in this specific situation. 

I'm sure it could be an issue, in this specific instance, the rep was saying things that just weren't true. Not "letting people believe", but just (what seemed like ) flat out lying.

It doesn't really matter, from a customer's perspective, if the rep is going to lose his sale to another company. That's up to each rep to be truthfu about what they are selling.

_Some_ people believe that DTG is the answer to everything, but I don't think that's the case here.


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## PinkFreud

Its good to see a good dialogue going in the forum...I especially appreciate hearing from Printzilla (Marc)....I respect and usually agree with most of what he says...He is one of the few people who had USSPI's white ink before I got mine, not much before but needless to say those of us who took the original plunge into printing "The holy grail" in 2005 are pioneers....I think we originally thought that we would be able to print large runs of black/dark shirts for our customers with only minimum extra effort...well....that is clearly not the case with the current 
method used by DTGs....Printing with white was trial and error in the beginning and 2 years later it is still evolving....Fortunately my business model is strictly
1-off retail and low run wholesale.....I print mostly on black/dark shirts and have printed well over 10,000 shirts since I started. A business model that tries to use a digital garment printer to compete with screen printing is doomed to failure..
I usually turn down most of the high volume low profit jobs, even on light shirts
...it just is not what I do....I am strictly a digital printer and offer my customer full color and photographic prints in low quantities...even one....on any color shirt including black....This is a lucrative niche that most screeners wont touch...I suggest that anyone buying a DTG machine consider that their business model is much more important then which brand machine they buy.


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## Printzilla

Rodney said:


> I don't think that's the issue at all in this specific situation.
> 
> I'm sure it could be an issue, in this specific instance, the rep was saying
> _Some_ people believe that DTG is the answer to everything, but I don't think that's the case here.



I was speaking more to the general than the specific. I agree that in this situation it was just BS to cover the inadequacies of the machine on that particular print.

Just to be clear....99% of what I have posted in this thread goes to the industry in general, and was not aimed specifically at the thread starter or the experience they had with the rep for Anajet.


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## Printzilla

PinkFreud said:


> I suggest that anyone buying a DTG machine consider that their business model is much more important then which brand machine they buy.


Best advice in the whole thread!


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## jki540

for the record, i couldn't agree more either. it's all about the biz model, and how much of a premium you can charge for your service. IMHO, DTG wouldn't work well for large runs, but screen printing prbly works awesome in this arena. the method should match the model...otherwise all the equipt in the world can't save you 

marc...thanks for your sage advice. it'd be great if you could let us know what you find out, as info from the next big show is made publicly available. i'll do my best to find/post info for everyone's benefit, but i dont think i'm as dialed-in to everything as you are.

as for mktg BS, i don't have much commentary. however, marc and susy both bring up great points around consistency of service. if one is bad, and the other is good, it averages to mediocre...which - by definition - is not good. it "feels" like DTG has better consistency of service. anajet seems patchy about service level (sometimes good; sometimes bad). is this a fair statement?

also...one final question: is most of the innovation around DTG occuring with ink? or with the printers? if it's ink, i don't mind buying today and upgrading the ink as new formulas come available. if it's equipt., it makes more sense to wait. if anyone has an opinion on this issue, i'd love to hear it.

as always...thx in advance for insights and opinions.


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## DAGuide

Wow, this thread brings backs the good ole days when the Flexi-Jet and DTG printers were first coming out. I think I can add some insight into the Anajet printer since I have been working on two of them (one Dual CMYK and one with White Ink) for the last 5 days. I spent two days at the manufacturing facility of Anajet in Costa Mesa, CA and then ran the two printers in Advanced Color Solutions booth at the Long Beach NBM Show. Those that know me or stopped by the booth know that I tried to be as upfront as possible about anything with the Anajet. This includes the positives and negatives.

First, I think the important thing to understand is that the machines that are coming out in the market now are the 2nd Generation machines. The manufacturers learned from the past couple of years and made some really good improvements. The word from Dupont is that the new white ink that does not settle as much is only a couple of months away. So, things are definitely looking brighter for this area of application in our market. Most of us need to give thanks to the people like Printzilla and Pink Freud that were willing to be the pioneers (or guinea pigs depending on who you talk to) that have gotten the direct-to-garment part of our industry to where it is today.

As for the Anajet, it is based on an R1800 printer with some modifications. For example, the print head that is being used is not a standard R1800 print head. This came directly from the Manufacturer (i.e. lead technician, National Sales Manager, Owner of the company) and from another DTG manufacturer that looked at the print head and is familiar with the R1800. The R1800 and the 2400 (which is what the HM-1 is based off of) are pretty similar in print head speed – but the 2400 is slightly faster. What is different is that the R1800 is able to drop down a larger dot than the 2400 - which allows it to drop more ink and give better coverage without overworking the print head / nozzles. This information came from the RIP manufacturer for the HM-1 who I work with on another project outside of the DTG market. Anajet also allows you to change the dot setting from a small (i.e. light) to medium to large (i.e. heavy) dot size very easy in their RIP. Anajet also has a nice feature in the RIP that allows them to print a Test Pattern. This will allow you to determine what settings to print on when you switch from different types of fabric. Helps remove some of the trial-and-error that most people have done in the past.

The inks in the Anajet I believe are in fact the Dupont inks. Even though I could not get final confirmation about this from anyone at Anajet - but I do believe that the same company that cartridges other types of ink (i.e. heat transfer) for other companies in the industry is doing this work for them. This is just like what Fast T-Jet and DTG did when they first started because all the manufacturers want to make sure that you buy the ink from them. Consumables are on-going revenues for them. But everyone knows that the only real good white ink that is out on the market right now for DTGs is Dupont ink. So, I would go under the belief that the inks are in fact the same.

As for the cost per a print between the two machines (or any machine or ink when you compare cartridge versus bulk), the cartridge inks are going to cost more than the bulk inks. It is a lot a cheaper to pour down ink into 1 large liter bottle than it is to put into a bag, add a nozzle, vacuum seal the bag, glue the bag to one side of the cartridge, add a "L" piece of plastic to the bag (that tells the printer when you are getting low on ink) and pay for the plastic part of the cartridge. The difference is when you run ink a cartridge system (not matter whether it is a DTG, Sublimation, Large Format,...), you are running a closed ink system. The Anajet cartridges are specifically designed to almost eliminate all air in the ink delivery system. Bulk systems open the door to getting air, dust and other containments into your ink delivery system. The bottom line is that the cost per print on a cartridge-based printer is more, but you should have less down-time (and your labor time) getting your printer to work properly. Determine how much you value your time in doing maintenance and the potential more down-time running a bulk ink printer versus a cartridge printer will help you determine which way to go. This also goes back to the discussion above about finding a DTG printer that works best with your business model. 

Also, remember that I believe there is approximately $2,500 price difference between the two machines. Anajet's MSRP is $14,500 and HM-1 from what I was told is $17,000 - of course there could always be show specials. So, whatever the difference in the cost per a print is not going to make that much of a difference until you cover this extra cost as well.

The other nice thing with the cartridge-based systems (Anajet, Direct Advantage - but not the Brother because you can't move it or you lose your warranty) is that it is easier to take on the road. You can easily pull the ink cartridges out and not have to worry about them getting shaken up (i.e. air bubbles in your bottles) or spilling on to your machine. Since the Anajet cartridges are vacuum packed, you can shake the cartridges and you will not create air bubbles. Anajet also has cartridges with cleaning solution in them. So, if you go on vacation or are not going to use your machine for a week or more…all you need to do is pull out the ink cartridges, slide the cleaning cartridges in and run a power clean or a couple of head cleanings.

As for the auto height raising of the HM-1 versus the manual height raising of Anajet, I don't see much of an advantage going one way or another. Most of the auto height devices that I have seen (including the Direct Advantage) don't always work right. They usually have the shirt too far from the printhead to get the best results. This is done because the manufacturer does not want to take the risk of the shirt hitting the print head and being responsible for replacing it. The best way is to manual move the head across the platen to see how high you want it and do this in different locations on the platen. Over time, you will know what the gap between the print head and the shirt needs to be in order to get the best results based on the settings in your RIP software. Most of the auto height versions also do not do a good job when you want to print on to a sleeve or a collar as takes the height measurement from one specific point on the platen. Some of the machines (not sure if the HM-1 has this feature) like the Anajet have an Obstruction Laser sensor that comes on when the pallet is sent into the machine to be printed on. This will act like a backup for the auto raising laser feature, but it covers the entire length of the platen (and the shirt). This sensor saved me a couple of times when I wanted to print a 15" long x 6" wide design that ran over part of the sleeve seam and the collar.

One of the little hidden gems that I really like about the Anajet is how you can get an absolutely level platen. The platen has 4 screws in the top of the platen that allow you to easily adjust the angle of the 4 corners using a level. The screws go into the clear piece of acrylic like material and sits on springs before they screw into the post that holds the platen up. There are 4 hand-tight screws under the platen that will secure the level platen when you are done. Anajet has a youth platen but currently does not have a sleeve platen, but are working on one. I honestly don't know what platens are available for the HM-1.

As far as the RIP differences, Anajet does have a much simpler to use - but not as powerful RIP software. Anajet has the ability to preview the design in the RIP and change the color of the background to match the color of your shirt. The HM-1 uses one of the most widely-used RIPs in the industry with some features that are specific only to their line of machines. You can do larger production runs with only ripping the job once on the HM-1 (i.e. send a smaller file to the printer and then have the ability to print it multiple times after that). The Anajet RIP currently does not do this. However,...(some insider information) there is the potential of using a similar version of the same software (just different printer model without some of the specific features made for DTG) of the HM-1 printer for the Anajet in the near future. So, the RIP software capabilities could be pretty close to the same in the near future. No guarantees on this though. 

Saying this, I don't want to take away from any of the positives of the HM-1 printer. I have seen it print and it does look like a great machine. I have never had the chance to get inside the machine like I did on the Anajet. Hopefully, some of this information will help clear up some of the confusion that might have been created on the show floor. I have worked a lot of shows with a variety of different companies and now what it is liked when questions are flying at you from all the directions. I don't want to make it sound like I am making excuses for anything that was said at the show that might of been incorrect or misleading. Just trying to clear up some things that people have had questions about. If anyone would like to see some pictures of the Anajet machine, please send me a PM and I will send you some links to a private photo album that I created. 

Now, time for me to get some sleep. Red-eye flights are the worse, especially when you are flying back to Orlando with a bunch of juiced up kids going on vacation. Good night.

Mark
DAGuide


----------



## jki540

hi mark...thanks for all of your great advice. i'm curious to know what your opinions are about the level of service between DTG vs Anajet.

I'll be honest. I really like the Anajet, because it seems so simple to use, and i think the cartrdge based system is the way forward. however, i didn't get a good "feeling" about the support level with anajet. the consistency between rep to rep wasn't as solid as DTG when i was at the tradeshow.

do you have any insights into how anajet manages their service? if something breaks, or i need help setting things up, am i on my own? or will someone be holding my hand ... LOL...

thanks!


----------



## Printzilla

Absolutely great info as usual Mark, thanks! I agree with the comments on the cartridge based system. I think it is a plus, and all thing being equal I would choose carts over bottles.

A red eye full of vacationing snotty noses...priceless!!


----------



## tomtv

Great info everyone!

There are so many little areas that get blown out of proportion in the average sales process. Crazy production rates, times and settings, ink costs are blown up in some places and hidden by others. There will be bad machines, bad operators, bad locations etc. but there will be many more great or good experiences in the long run.

Inks AND pretreatment are improving and really offer contined hope for easier operations etc. that will make the learning curve even shorter.

Industry support is getting better, new players are coming to market with innovative products and the market is just plain maturing a bit.

Here, Here on the business model being one of the main things to consider. It is just the tool, though very important it still needs a craftsmen of some sort to operate it in order to get the most out of it. A real craftsmen takes care of his tools, maintains them and does preventative work to ensure their long term quality. 

Great to hear all the experiences,

Tom


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## DAGuide

jki540 said:


> hi mark...thanks for all of your great advice. i'm curious to know what your opinions are about the level of service between DTG vs Anajet.





jki540 said:


> I'll be honest. I really like the Anajet, because it seems so simple to use, and i think the cartrdge based system is the way forward. However, i didn't get a good "feeling" about the support level with anajet. the consistency between rep to rep wasn't as solid as DTG when i was at the tradeshow.
> 
> do you have any insights into how anajet manages their service? if something breaks, or i need help setting things up, am i on my own? or will someone be holding my hand ... LOL...
> 
> thanks!


It is important to understand that DTG America (the main distributor for the HM-1 and other DTG brand line of equipment) is split up into two companies in the United States. Anything west of the Mississippi River is the selling / support responsibilities for SWF Mesa (headquarters out of Texas, with offices in multiple locations). East of the Mississippi River is handled by SWF East (headquarters in Tampa, FL and offices in multiple locations). Since I live on the Eastern half, primarily all of my contact has been with SWF East. Don Copeland, Bill Schneider and the rest of the tech guys at SWF East are a good group of people and for the most part I have heard nothing but positive things about them. SWF East tends to wait a little longer to release things than SWF Mesa. A perfect example is SWF East just recently launched the HM-1 and I have seen the same printer in SWF Mesa's booth for a couple of shows. So, I am afraid that I can't really compare SWF Mesa to Anajet in terms of customer support because of the lack of interaction with SWF Mesa.

What I can tell you is how Anajet handles its support. You first level of support should be the distributor that you purchase your machine from. Anajet does not sell machines direct. Remember, DTG America is just a distributor of the HM-1 machine - they are not the manufacturer (that is MasterMind out of Japan). So, your first level of support is the company that you purchase the Anajet from. Last week I was in SoCal learning about the machine so I could put together a support package for Advanced Color Solutions (the Anajet Rep for the SoCal area). ACS is one of the largest Roland distributors in SoCal (#1 last month for the large format printers) and has an excellent support system set up. The lead tech (Mike) can take almost any printer apart and put it back together. Depending on where you live, I know that ACS has the capability of personally delivering the machine, installing it and providing the training in your shop – which is a really nice feature. But, obviously that can’t do that for everyone in the US or the world. You will need to talk to them directly to see if that is something that they can do for you. I would call and ask to speak with Matt Gusse if you are interested in seeing if this is possible.

Anajet will also do support as well. They have 3 full-time technical support guys (Ken - head tech, Eddy and one other guy that I can't remember his name) and several other people in the office that can supplement support as well. It is important to understand that the Anajet people are only manufacturing and supporting DTG printers. Again, I have little contact with the SWF Mesa group...so I am not sure if the same techs do the DTG machines, embroidery machines and the other equipment that they sell. This is something that you should inquire about. 

Since you are only 2 hours from the SWF Mesa office in Anaheim, that should put you in about the same range from the actual manufacturing facility of the Anajet. They are out of Costa Mesa. I am pretty sure that we drove through Anaheim on the 55 highway to get to Costa Mesa from Riverside. (Please don't get me started on the traffic on the 55 and 91 - ). So, access to any inks or parts if necessary should not be a problem for you. I don't think Anajet is set up to do Customer training in their facility for all their customers. But, they might be open to allowing someone to come through and walk through the building if that is what you need to make the purchase. It might not hurt to ask, but I can't guarantee you anything. 

I am not sure if there is much else that I can tell you. I would recommend getting more information about the companies that you are considering buying it from and go from there. If you have more detailed questions, feel free to private message me as well. Hope this helps.

Mark
DAGuide


----------



## sunnydayz

I have to say that I did see several booths that were selling the Anajet, maybe sue and I went to the same one as the reps at that particular booth did not seem to know very much about the machine. The reason I went to see the Anajet was because I had heard alot of good things about them. I myself dont know a whole lot about the machine as I wasnt able to find out much info from the rep I dealt with and that was what made me walk away from considering the machine. I go on the theory that the customer service I get in the beginning is going to be what I deal with in the future. So I decided against the anajet and went with the HM1.

I am not saying that customer service is all that matters, the machine matters the most, but I also want to have a company that is there to help me when I need them. I just think that particular distributor did not do the anajet any justice in the way that they were selling it.

Mark, the HM1 also has the laser guide for height as well. 

I agree that your business model is the most important thing and I took that into account before I made up my mind what type of printing I wanted to get into to expand further in my business. All of my orders are small run, I dont do large runs at all and that is why this machine fits my plan. If I were going to do large runs I would never consider DTG as I am aware the inks are very expensive and the consistancy on a large run is not there. 

I think both machines probably are good machines if the person buying it is willing and has the time to learn it, do proper maintenance on it and prepare themselves before jumping into a purchase.

Bobbie


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## DAGuide

Bobbie,

Congrats on your HM-1 purchase! By no means am I discouraging anyone against that machine or that company. It sounds like you have done your research and will be happy with your decision. I know how frustrating it can be when you can go to different booths (or even the same booth and speak to different people) and get different information. Below is a picture of the ACS booth since I have gotten a couple of emails from people wanting to which booth I am talking about. The Anajet printers are on the left side on two grey tables. Sorry, the picture is kinda dark.










Bobbie, can you please confirm that the HM1 has a laser that stays on the entire time the platen goes into the machine before it prints - not just while the height is being set. I know some (like the Direct Advantage) use a laser that tells the platen to stop when it is being adjusted up to the print head. However, I like to lay the shirt on the platen so that part of the sleeve or collar is on it. Because the seam sticks up higher than the rest of the shirt, you can get a head strike (i.e. where the bottom of the print head touches the shirt and some ink goes on to the shirt - more of a hassle than anything else). I really think all the manufacturers should have a way where you can have both types of lasers and be able to override them if you want. But, I might be day dreaming on that one.

Have fun printing on your new machine when you get it. Let us know how great it is by posting some pictures. Have a great week!

Mark


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## sunnydayz

Hi mark
Your booth is not the one I was at, the one I was at had two anajets set up right in front and there was some type of poster board sitting behind them. it was also in the middle of a row and it looks like you are on the end, I also did not see them selling any other equipment. They had a display of shirts set up to the side of the machines. That is the best way I can explain it hehe. It seems like you took the time to get to know the machine and probably would have been more helpful , unfortunately I didnt meet you. and yes it does have the laser that that stays on while it does a test pass over the complete garment. On the HM1 the platen stays still while the print head moves over the garment to print. I did notice that it was the only machine that does this and I will see when I get mine whether it makes a difference. At first I was worried about that because of alignment issues and such, but on the other hand it might it could be completely opposite. I dont know because I did not see any other machines built this way.

we will see 

Bobbie


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## Rodney

> then ran the two printers in Advanced Color Solutions booth at the Long Beach NBM Show.


Hey Mark, sorry I missed you at the Long Beach Printwear show. I walked right by that booth a couple of times. If I had known you were there I would have stopped by and said "hey".


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## DAGuide

Rodney, 

I did try to check badges as people walked by to see if I recognized some names, but things got busy (especially on Saturday). I did get to talk to Eric and his wife for a little bit. Maybe next time in January. It definitely is nice to meet people from the boards to helps to break up all the serious talk about equipment, applications and tricks. Hopefully, you found it a beneficial time.

Mark


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## zoom_monster

Excellent posts Mark and Marc. I am a Anajet user and am very happy with my purchase. I chose the Anajet for a couple of reasons: 1) for the quality of the prints I saw. 2) because I felt comfortable about my prospects of great service. I did quite a bit of looking before I purchased. I know most of the machines out there will give the the end result I needed. At the time of my purchase, the Anajet was the only smaller Printer that I found that had the 8 channel config that was ready for market. I have found their service and support to be excellent. As Mark said They do use The epson head, but if you look a little deeper at this machine it is more than a simple modification of an existing paper printer. As 'zilla talked about, Choose your company more on how the company is willing to help you. Depending on where you are located, the service picture is bound to be different. In my area, there are several people that had experiences that shaped my choice (both good and Bad) The people who have brought us the Anajet have been around for many years before inkjet on t-shirts came around. They make their own machines here in the USA, and from what I've seen, they have shown a huge commitment in research and the development of making this industry the star that it can be.


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## DAGuide

sunnydayz said:


> On the HM1 the platen stays still while the print head moves over the garment to print. I did notice that it was the only machine that does this and I will see when I get mine whether it makes a difference. At first I was worried about that because of alignment issues and such, but on the other hand it might it could be completely opposite. I dont know because I did not see any other machines built this way.


Bobbie,

I would not worry about the difference of the head moving. The Flexi-Jet has been around a long time and it does the same thing (i.e. the printer moves and the platen stays still). I am sure it will work just fine. 

Good to hear about the obstruction laser. This is definitely a nice feature. Kinda like an airbag in a car. Not as necessary as the brakes, but definitely beneficial when you need it the most. 

Happy printing!

Mark


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## Printzilla

zoom_monster said:


> They make their own machines here in the USA,


Where did you get this info about the Anajet people?


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## sunnydayz

Remember, DTG America is just a distributor of the HM-1 machine - they are not the manufacturer (that is MasterMind out of Australia). this was stated back on the thread by Mark

When I was out at Mesa I asked where the machine was being built and they informed me that the hm1 is built in texas. 


Bobbie


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## csquared

you can tell this industry is young when people start saying things like the flexi has been around for a long time.


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## zoom_monster

Printzilla said:


> Where did you get this info about the Anajet people?


 Marc, About three weeks ago I was at the factory in Costa Mesa. I had the privilage of watching a group of workers make and test their machines. My partner and I also sat down for about an hour with Chase (president of Anajet) talking about the company. Of course, there are certain parts from overseas. Chase rattled off many parts that are made within 40 miles of the plant in California and all of the assembly and testing is done right there in Costa Mesa. I got the feeling that this company is really in control of their product. The techs can explain how things work and at the same time, are interested in hearing what you think. I was very impressed.


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## Printzilla

Thanks for the info. I am always curious as to what is made where. I always like to hear about equipment at least assembled in the US.


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## Don-ColDesi

Gotta jump in a clarify a couple of things here. Mastermind is in Japan, not Australia. All current DTG machines are made in Japan, in the same city as Epson corporate, with Epson's blessing and support. Iproof, the developer of RIP Pro is not developing a RIP for the Anajet - and, not all oem versions of their direct to garment software - PowerRIP - are the same - they have different features, profiles, etc. 

Marc, care to repeat what you said to me about the HM-1 this past weekend in Schaumburg? How many of them did you say you wanted?

Happy Printing

PS - Mark - you really need to stay off the Red Bull prior to posting on these forums! 3 full pages of review is a bit extreme!


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## FredP

Some more info.

Just to clarify a few more things 

Using small dot sizes does not "overdrive" the print head. 

DTG RIP Pro can preview the job as well (better) than Anajet's little rip. It actually does many things that it does not. As far as simplicity, I think the fact that you can print directly from ANY application to RIP Pro guarantees it will be simpler to use than any "stand-alone" application which you have to "feed special food" to  . 

As far as support, I have had the opportunity to work closely with both SWF East and Mesa. Their customer support absolutely fantastic. These guys look after their customers. NOTHING falls through the cracks. Am I biased because they're a great customer of ours? Sure, but rest assured that if that wasn't true I wouldn't say it... I would just say nothing.  


Fred Padilla
V.P. Of Software Development
iProof Systems, Inc.


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## Printzilla

Thanks for the info Fred. Nice to see you posting here.


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## yomasa

Printzilla said:


> I was unaware that the 2400 head laid down more ink than the 1800 head. Did the rep from SWF tell you that, or are you just going by what you saw?


 
the reason it put down more ink is because the print head is double the size thats partly why it's faster...


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## Printzilla

Welcome to the forum yomasa! Do you mean the actual width of the head is larger on the 2400 than the 1800?


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## Belquette

jki540 said:


> Hi Marc...How do you learn about new DTG printers that are going to be announced at the SGIA show? Is there a mailing list or newsletter that you subscribe to? I found their website, but there's nothing on there about a release of product info.
> 
> Thanks...You make some really great points about being patient to make a smart decision.


You may want to check this out:SGIA Virtual Trade Show : Belquette Click on "Belquette' and check out the what's new section.


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## Printzilla

Hey Mark - Nice to see you posting here. You must hold the record for fewest posts in a 36 month period! 3...

Excited about seeing the PT machine as well as your other debut!

Zilla


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## Belquette

I actually forgot all about this forum, but from looking around there seems to be a lot of great info here with a lot less politics.

I will defiantly become more active and get into some of the tech questions users may have.

Great Forum!


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## FredP

Belquette said:


> I actually forgot all about this forum, but from looking around there seems to be a lot of great info here with a lot less politics.
> 
> I will defiantly become more active and get into some of the tech questions users may have.


Yey, the Belquette boys are here! Cool. Did you bring the Keg?


-- Fred


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## Printzilla

WOW! Only Fred (and Bagley) would think of a Keg at 9 in the morning!


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## YoDan

Ya, I am glad I do not drink BUT Iam serious thinking about starting 
*"HAPPY PRINTING"*


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## DAGuide

Printzilla said:


> WOW! Only Fred (and Bagley) would think of a Keg at 9 in the morning!


P...zilla,

Today is the start of College Football. So, consider it a little tailgating while pretreating some shirts. This must be why Fred and me get along. Some people whistle while they work...other of us work on our girlish figures. Besides, it becomes more of an art when you can (pretreat, load, print, unload, press & fold) one handed. Not to mention the graphic side comes much easier.


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## TahoeTomahawk

Hi All,
as a DTG Kiosk user the one thing I really hated with the first Rip software we used (Print Pro) was there were so many settings (resolution and dot sizes). We had to do several test prints in order to get the image to print to an acceptable state. Somehow the save settings did not save everything so if you go back to re-print that image a week or month later, you probably lost the settings you originally used and making it very difficult to reproduce the exact print again.

With iProof's new Rip software, it's VERY simple to use, the color profiles are great and we hardly ever do any test prints anymore.

Although I agree it's nice to have control over the dot sizes, but when you are going through 40 or so 1-off prints a day, it's hard to keep track of dot size, resolution, margin, number of passes for white / color, etc.


----------



## chrisstitches

zoom_monster said:


> I got the feeling that this company is really in control of their product. The techs can explain how things work and at the same time, are interested in hearing what you think. I was very impressed.


I did my due diligence and purchased a Anajet after giving the industry a chance to mature a little. The closed cartridge system made the most sense to me. The techs I deal with, Eddie, Sean are pretty good guys. The RIP software is constantly being updated, could it be better? Of course but it is getting there. I found that printing on white or lights a snap, printing on darks/black a bit of a challenge and very friggin' expensive. The numbers that Anajet gives you as to ink cost/print are on the money. How do I know, easy, start with new cartridges, weigh them with a gram scale, print and re-weigh and do the math.

Now full disclosure, I did purchase it direct from Anajet a few months back. I have been having problems with the white not flowing after sitting over night, they are working on this with me. Frustrating to say the least and darn expensive in both time and material. Of course my first jobs were on bright colored shirts and were a serious pain.


----------



## FredP

TahoeTomahawk said:


> Although I agree it's nice to have control over the dot sizes, but when you are going through 40 or so 1-off prints a day, it's hard to keep track of dot size, resolution, margin, number of passes for white / color, etc.


Thanks for the nice words Tahoe  

Actually, the main purpose of allowing a user control over the spot size is to control saturation. Changing the spot size will NEVER give you the granularity of settings one needs when adjusting saturation is necessary. That's why I put in 5 sliders in RIP Pro, 1 for each channel. This is in addition to the full curve-control which has been there from day 1. If you really need to (seldom, since the product comes pre-profiled) you can not only tweak the saturation, but you can do it on a per-channel basis. Getting a little bleeding? Turn down the CMYK a bit, etc. Printing on a material where heavy white is too much and medium too little? Turn the white down a few percent and use heavy.
The spot size chage causes a very abrupt change. You go from 40 pl to 16 pl. That's like going from 100% to 40%. With the slider system, if you need to turn the ink down "a little"... you can. The printer is profiled for a certain media, ink and spot size (yes, spot size) because of the dynamic range of each spot size, changing the spot size kills your gamut scale (you get "bumps" in the curve). If, however, you change the endpoint (with the slider) and leave the spot size alone, the saturation turns down evenly througout the entire color gamut.



-- Fred


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## discmann

hi, the hm1 seems a big trouble. some of us who bought it have ruined our lives. don't hurry. find someone who owns an anajet and ask about clogging print heads. do anajet have such a problem? if they do, then don't buy now, wait for new ink to appear on the market.


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## DAGuide

Discman,

Can you please elobrate on your statement? The reason I ask is that every dtg machine (HM1, T-Jet, Anajet, Direct Advantage, Flexi-Jet, Brother...even the Kornit) will have the lines clogged if the maintenance is not done properly and the printer is not used often enough. Can you explain in more detail what experiences you are encountering and maybe someone here can help you out. Sometimes, the actual users of the machines might be able to give you some of their tips that will help you out.


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## discmann

ok, in about a week i will be more specific but the problem with the white ink is enough, isn't it?


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## FredP

discmann said:


> ok, in about a week i will be more specific but the problem with the white ink is enough, isn't it?


The "problem with the white ink" as you call it is not unique to the HM-1. ALL direct-to-garment printers use the same white ink. It does require extra maintenance just to have white ink loaded in your printer. If you're going to "set it and forget it" like you would with regular Epson inks, then you're doomed to failure... on ANY dtg printer. As long as one understands this fact then they can have sucess on dark garments as *thousands of users* are now doing with the HM-1, Flexi, T-Jet, Anajet, etc. All using the same white ink.

-- Fred


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## discmann

ok Fred, i might think and act under too much stress. we'll see. thanks anyway.


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## discmann

you say: if the printer is not used often enough. what about if someone has just started and has not too many clients yet? i think that this machine is made to empty your wallet. ink is terribly expensive, especially here in greece, so when i just touched it i lost quite enough to make me feel scary a little bit for the future with it.


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## discmann

but you have to admit that many people complain in this forum so this properly maintenace you are talking about might be the excuse of the producting companies.


----------



## Don-ColDesi

Hi Discman and all of you other DTG'ers out there,

First off, Fred P is right on in regards to maintenance. If you are not going to use ANY machine with white ink for a week, you should make sure to clear out the lines OR, if it has a provision for auto-head cleaning, leave it turned on to cycle these cleanings. If you do not have business for the machine when you first get it, then spend that time making samples to to help attract business and to learn how to print with the equipment. Ink prices are not going to move significantly in the near future, everyone who is in the marketplace is facing the same ink pricing, I recommend that you print a handful of shirts a day and take them ariound to prospective customers - this will help drum up business, keep the machine printing and better educate you on how the process works.

Happy Printing!


----------



## DAGuide

There are several reasons for why you have seen complaints on this forum and in other ones. Here are some of them:
1. People don't do the proper maintenance
2. There is a defect in the machine
3. The user does not do their research or is told the wrong thing by a sales rep. Thus, creating the wrong expectations.
4. There are not enough instructions / manual / videos / guides to let people know the proper way(s) to use the machine(s).

Just because you see 100 – 500 or more people making complaints does not necessarily mean that the majority of people are having problems. At this point, it would not surprise me if there is somewhere around 10,000 of these machines out in the marketplace worldwide for all brands. I have no clue what the real # is. I know several people that have a machine and had a nightmare running it in the beginning. Once they figured the machine out, their problems have dropped way down and they know how to address the remaining of them.

I think the main problem is education / knowledge. Too many people either buy the machine and try to run it without going to training or the training / support from the manufacturer is not where it needs to be. I can speak from my own experience selling a software product, most of the users don't read the manual, the How-To PDFs, watch the videos or anything else that we created to assist them. If anyone thinks that the dtg side of this business is something so simple that anyone can do it without learning it in advance, then they are wrong.


----------



## AJU

mystysue said:


> I was not really impressed with the anajet.. but i had experance much like sunny in that the person i was talking to didnt know alot.. and basically tried to tell me the black i saw thru on the white print was designed to be there in the graphics.. which was not the case.. The fact that he lied to me.. made me walk away from the booth.. I dont like being taken as a fool..lol..


Curious who you spoke with at the show. The print you sawe might have been designed that way. You are more than welcomed to come to the factory to get a demo and bring whatever graphic you would like to se printed. It also brings up another thought. The pretreatment can sometimes be off, and at that show we had to rush many black t shirts to 3 booths with only a few days noticed. Unfortunatley some were not prepared properly.


----------



## anajetuser

David, what is your connection with Anajet?


----------



## discmann

hi Don,
my maintenance is excellent and my nozzle checks prove it but i face problem wih missalignment of white and colour layers. any suggections?
best
discmann


----------



## zoom_monster

discmann said:


> hi Don,
> my maintenance is excellent and my nozzle checks prove it but i face problem wih missalignment of white and colour layers. any suggections?
> best
> discmann


Side to side, or front to back? is it always a consistant amount? In my software there is an adjustment that "chokes" back the white so that the color layer will straddle the edge of the underbase.


----------



## discmann

white all around the design. which software are you using?


----------



## zoom_monster

discmann said:


> white all around the design. which software are you using?


 Eukon EK print studio. I would think that there is some way to do this in yours also. Also, if you are doing your transparency layer in photoshop, you may check how much feathering you have all around the outside of the image. You should have this set to the smallest amount.


----------



## FredP

discmann said:


> white all around the design. which software are you using?


Sounds like you should either a) Set the platen closer to the head or b) Increase the white choke in the RIP (RIP Pro V03)

The choke is selectable by resolution and specified in pixels. Start with 5 all around and see how that looks. Be careful you don't use too much as this will erode thin lines and small type, etc. 

Once you have it dialed-in you shouldn't have to change it. It's a "per-printer" adjustment, not a "per-job" adjustment.

-- Fred


----------



## queenVee

printzilla,



> Yep, those were the prices I was going to list but I have the HM1. your going to love the hm1, it is a great machine


do you own a HM1? why this machine.. I'm thinking about buying one. over the t-jet3


----------



## Heat

I bought the anajet and am quite frustrated . Clogging is hell, and cleaning is necessary constantly. Use of cartridges was nice I thought, but ink is expensive, which makes cleaning even more painful. Service sucks as well. They refer to their dealer, which couldn't provide assistance.


----------



## martinwoods

That's not good news for the people looking at those. I was in the market and that is the machine I have been looking at.


----------



## AJU

Hi this AnaJet. Sorry you are having a bad experience with our machine. We would be delighted to help you. Please be so kind to tell me who you are and I will persoannly make sure someone helps you.


----------



## psychwardsgirl

Heat said:


> I bought the anajet and am quite frustrated . Clogging is hell, and cleaning is necessary constantly. Use of cartridges was nice I thought, but ink is expensive, which makes cleaning even more painful. Service sucks as well. They refer to their dealer, which couldn't provide assistance.


Frank, this is Florence from AnaJet. I am sorry to hear that you are frustrated with the lack of support from AnaJet technicians. Please call me at (714) 662-3200 and I will be sure you are taken care of.


----------



## BETO

Hi Florence do you work for anajet? if it is would the anajet would be avalible to work with the stocks desings like fast art fro tjets, or the melco anajet?


----------



## psychwardsgirl

Heat said:


> I bought the anajet and am quite frustrated . Clogging is hell, and cleaning is necessary constantly. Use of cartridges was nice I thought, but ink is expensive, which makes cleaning even more painful. Service sucks as well. They refer to their dealer, which couldn't provide assistance.


Frank, you have been contacted by three people from AnaJet now who would like to resolve the issues you are supposedly having. We still have not heard from you. If you are really having issues with your AnaJet, please contact us as we cannot help you if you don't tell us what the problems are. 

Are you really one of our customers? Right now, I have my doubts. Florence


----------



## zoom_monster

Hey Frank, Tell us about your situation. Maybe I can help. I've been using for a while and I love my Anajet. I've always got great service from the manufacturer. I'm not saying it was easy at first, but once I'd learned some techniques I've been very happy. Take care of your machine and it will take care of you.


----------



## DirectSupply

Hi,

Just wondering does anyone know what kind of ink anjet uses?

-Rod


----------



## sunnydayz

I believe anajet has there own ink, it is also water based like other dtgs.


----------



## DAGuide

They use Dupont ink, but they put it into a cartridge that is similar to an old Epson 3000 cartridge (i.e. no chip on the cartridge).


----------



## Heat

Florence, didn't you get my reply? Then something is wrong with your internal communication  I could email a photo with my Anajet to make you a true believer  .
I did the cleanings every couple of hours, this helped. Now all nozzles are printing. I will print a testpattern every day to see the results and keep you informed.


----------



## Heat

Thanks for your message. I guess you really have to watch the machine, so no drying in the head occurs.


----------



## DAGuide

Frank,

Where are you located? You might want to invest in a digital temperature gauge that has a humidity guage. Most dtg printers work best at 50% humidity. You might need a small humidifer.

Another trick is at the end of the day, take a damp towel and put it on the tray below the platen. Load the platen into the printer (usually happens when you turn the machine off). Then cover the front of the printer with a towel. This will help keep moisture under the printhead overnight.

Just a couple of tricks to think about. Hope things go smoothly for you since you got everything flowing now. Best of luck.

Mark


----------



## HybridImages

wow, I can't believe I just read this whole thread. Anyway just wanted to say it was a good read. :thumbsup: 
Some of the points that I got from this thread as well as many others have been the importance of service, maintenance and taking advantage of training of any of these machines. 
I was pleased to see that my business model will work great for using the DTG for dark garments. My model is similar to PinkFreud in that we do a lot of one off work.



PinkFreud said:


> Fortunately my business model is strictly
> 1-off retail and low run wholesale.....offer my customer full color and photographic prints in low quantities...even one....on any color shirt including black.


The question I have though is in regards to what I should be able to expect of either the Kiosk II or the HM1 as far as what would be considered a large run? Like I said we usually handle smaller orders of less than a dozen shirts. Though we get orders occasionally for 50-200 shirts. Currently we do this with Transfers. I'm sure with dtg printing we can get better profit margins while at the same time turning out a better quality product.


----------



## zoom_monster

HybridImages said:


> I'm sure with dtg printing we can get better profit margins while at the same time turning out a better quality product.


Not really, at least on the profit margin part. Though, this could depend on several factors, printing that large of a quantity might be cheaper (mostly in time) to do the pre-made transfers or screenprinting. After you get to 25- 30 shirts your economies of scale tend to level out. Direct to garment is great for small run, high color jobs where set-ups and separations are cost prohibitive. I must say that keeping a machine printing is a good thing, Just don't expect a 200 pc job to get done as fast as it would by a different method.


----------



## ShineApparel

Hello Good People:

What an amazing forum. What a long thread! This stuff has been a great read, though. 

Our budding company is full of zeal and we are willing to do the grunt work to learn whatever is necessary, but we are novices. All we really have are able bodies and minds, some financial support, and our designs: . They are fairly "tricky" [we've heard] when it comes to colors [fades, gradients, etc.], and as such we've been directed away from heat transfers and screen printing in the past. I don't know how valid this advice is/was.

Through many trials and tribulations, however, we have ended up here, looking for a DTG. We are not a "printing" company per se, so we may have our own unique troubles to deal with. We will not be printing "jobs", we will only be printing our own designs for sale on our website. What are the dynamics of this kind of situation? Similar to a 'Junkfood' or 'Threadless' type of operation in some ways, I guess. Any users experienced in this type of situation?

We are certainly willing to consider other methods, but we are currently looking at the HM-1, the Fast T-Jet [which has received some boos and hisses here], and the Anajet. Other recommendations are of course welcome!

Thanks in advance.
Jermaine Walker
Shine Apparel


----------



## zoom_monster

Great designs Jay. I think what you do would be a great fit for Inkjet to garment printing. You seem to be fairly prolific and skipping the separations and the initial costs of screenprinting would be a great benefit in getting the designs to market.


----------



## ShineApparel

zoom_monster said:


> Great designs Jay. I think what you do would be a great fit for Inkjet to garment printing. You seem to be fairly prolific and skipping the separations and the initial costs of screenprinting would be a great benefit in getting the designs to market.


Well, thanks, zoom_monster!

It's extremely nice of you to reply so quickly. Please excuse the ignorance, but by "Inkjet to garment" printing, you are referring to these various machines from this thread, correct? If not, again, please excuse the ignorance.

If you are, do you happen to have a printer recommendation or some material I should go read, now that you've seen what we will be attempting to print? Also, we had in mind to release only a few designs at first, and we don't know how many, or if this will be of any benefit. Any ideas about that?

Finally, since we are a beginners, and a little strapped for immediate cash, we were considering a "refurbished" printer. But is this fundamentally a no-no?

Thanks for your help and willingness!
Jermaine


----------



## vugi71

Hi my name is Alex, I am from Serbia.

I am the owner of internet t-shirts shop on http://www.vizioshop.com". 

I got epson 2100/2200 based printer from so called "azon", and I'm near heart attack with it. But, this is not my question.


I payed (a leasing company payed) few days ago HM-1. So for this decision I want to thank you all !! With your posts and opinions you helped me a lot !


So in a next few days (Im hopping) I will become a happy owner. Distributor told me that he will supply me some rip software called HIKARI, with some recommendation that this is the best solution for HM-1. Can somebody tell me something about it ?


Thanks in advance.
Alex.


----------



## sunnydayz

Hi Alex,

I have not heard of that rip software, maybe someone else has. With my HM1 I use Rip pro and it works great. I have also heard of international dtg machines coming with iproof, but I have not heard of that one. Sorry I couldnt be more helpful


----------



## vugi71

Soooory, my mistake.
I misspelled the name !!!

It is "Kothari" !
And I was just confused is there more versions of "print pro", or it is just newer version 
(from some other software producer) ?
I got the pdf manual for "print pro" from dtgdigital with same name on 1. page ...

Sorry again.
Alex.


----------



## sunnydayz

Hmmmm I have not heard of that name, maybe it is a different name where you are at if the pdf says printpro.
I know that printpro was the original rip program that came with the kiosk but I have heard of it being the one used in other countries with the hm1. Here in the us we have rip pro that comes with it. It sounds like it might be print pro renamed maybe.


----------



## vugi71

You can see this info in pdf on this link: http://www.dtgdigital.com/Downloads/Print-Pro-for-DTG-Easy-Start-v1_01.zip

And as I understood, rip pro is software which is, lets say "print manager" for printing from all applications, and what is "print pro" ?

I hope I don't bother all others with those posts, maybe this question is for support stuff, but if this can help to someone else too .... why not ..
Alex.


----------



## ShineApparel

Hey BobbieLee:

Are you an Anajet owner and an HM-1 owner? I thought I'd seen some of your other posts about the Anajet. Either way, I'm looking for some advice. We are a brand new company, and we're looking to sell our T-shirt designs online. Color separation seems to be very ambitious for our designs, according to other more experienced printers, so we can't really do screen printing. Our budget is kinda limited, and we have been looking over at EquipZone at a refurbished Fast T-Jet. They have it priced at $7500, with a 1 year warranty. What are your thoughts on the whole situation? Bytheway, our designs can be seen here, if it helps paint the picture better. T-Shirts by jaywalker - RedBubble

Of course, any experienced printers are welcome to respond!


----------



## sunnydayz

I myself have the HM1. I know the tjet and the kiosk were made by the same company when they first came out so they are very similar (the tjet and kiosk, not hm1) and Harry at equipement zone is a super nice guy. I know others who have bought from him have been very happy with the support they have gotten there, if your on a budget you cant go wrong with Harry . Your designs are really nice  I think dtg printing would work awesome for them. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.


----------



## sunnydayz

Ok Alex, I posted a big long post and apparently it didnt post for some reason so I will post it again.

Printpro and Rippro basically do the same thing, they are both rip softwares that are needed for pritning white ink. For some reason on international orders they give the customer print pro instead of rip pro for the hm1. I have seen where a couple of people have preferred the rip pro program over printpro as I think it has a few more options than the printpro version. There is a dtg forum for machine owners that you can get a membership to if you have already made your purchase. You would just call your distributor and ask for an invitation code to the forum which is located at dtgforums.com , then you would go there to register but you have to have the invitation code first. On that forum there are sections for both printpro and rippro softwares that you can read what the differences are and whether it would be available to you. I think its worth looking into since I think rippro has a few different layer types that printpro does not have. Hope this helps some in your research


----------



## vugi71

That was really usefull !
Thank you very much for all infos !

Alex.


----------



## sunnydayz

No problem Alex, if you need any other help let me know


----------



## FredP

Let me shed some further light on the difference between RIP Pro and Print Pro. Yes, they are both RIPs but...

Print Pro was the first rip program offered by all DTG distributors. It was developed by a different company than RIP Pro. It is no longer distributed in the US by DTG Distributors as they have upgraded to RIP Pro (by iProof Systems). I understand Print Pro is still sold in Europe.

RIP Pro is a "Print To" RIP which means you print to it from any application just like a printer driver. It has a vast array of features and evolved from a professional-quality PostScript RIP. Print Pro is more like a little print utility that allows you to open a JPG file and send it to the printer (can not print directly from Corel or Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.).

This summer, the V4 release of RIP Pro will further widen the gap by adding the ability to do both. You're gonna love it  


-- Fred


----------



## sunnydayz

yay I seen something on dtgforums about the new version and was waiting for it  I love Rip pro and it just keeps getting better with every update  Thanks Fred.


----------



## FredP

You're most welcome BobbieLee. The new version on the forum is the latest V3 Build 7.4.3E which has some nice improvements... but it doesn't have the "big" new feature. That one (V4) is still a few weeks out. I'm working on it as we speak.

-- Fred


----------



## vinyl signs

Fred what postscript rip is rip pro developed from?


----------



## FredP

RIP Pro was derived from the PowerRIP Server series (PowerRIP ImageSet & PowerRIP SilkScreen). Over time it has become highly specialized for direct-to-garment. The interface is very similar, though, so migrating between the products (PowerRIP, RIP Pro, MultiRIP, etc.) is pretty painless.

-- Fred


----------



## sunnydayz

yep I have the current version, just waiting for the big suprise


----------



## Edtico

Hi Everyone, I'm new here. I am a new entreprenuer and trying to open my first business. Right now my biggest decision is choosing between an anajet, or a HM-1. can you please help me. Thank you.


----------



## chrisstitches

Who was it you talked to? Just wondering.


----------



## BETO

That is bad Jki i thoug they are better people about taking care there customers that is good that i didnt became a delaer from those guys thanks for those guys that they jump over me and me partner but well i still looking for an other option to make dark garments with out have to manny problems with the white ink but yes if a pick one good machine from the dgt printer in the market i will go for brother.


----------



## chrisstitches

Your first post did catch me by surprise. I'm glad to see they made things right. I received a call from AnaJet that the printer I'm letting go will have a full 1 year warranty and training.


----------



## Rodney

jki540 said:


> i went with the anajet, and i would now recommend the HM-1. here's why:
> 1) anajet support is bad. they can help on the phone, but that's it. i've had to dismantle and reassemble my machine three times. many components on it were broken. when i called for help, they told me to ship the defective printer back to their factory (at a cost of $152!). when i called to complain about the freight fee, the woman on the phone told me i was lucky to get anything at all. she had lots of attitude, which is really painful when you're bleeding money out your eyeballs already, b/c the printer is broke and now they're putting a screwdriver in your back to save themselves a few bucks.
> 2) the ink is ridiculous expensive.
> 3) printing on darks isn't good. decent, but not good enough to where you feel confident about your product. and if you're not confident, you won't be able to sell. really, it's true. as an entrep., you need to believe your product is the best in the world. the anajet shirts on dark shirts does NOT make you feel like that.
> 
> i use my anajet for only white/light shirts, which makes me feel like i should have bought a brother. but from what i hear, the HM-1 ain't perfect either, but the white ink printing is better (b/c of that agitator), and the ink is much cheaper.
> 
> anajet might be easier to learn b/c of their cartridge system, but the support really blows. and when it comes to this stuff, the support really needs to be solid or else you'll go crazy and lose tons of $$. i can't imagine if i lived somewhere really far and had to pay frieght fees to have the machine shipped back to so cal.


Thanks for sharing your honest opinion and feedback. Hopefully things will work out for you with the company.


----------



## tshirtstudioNZ

Thanks all for your comments, I've learnt a lot. I'm new to this forum so still finding my way around. I have a brother gt-541 and we've done over 5000 prints without any probs...it's great. Obviously the disadvanatge is the inability to print white ink. I looked at the HM1 last year before we purchased the brother and was not happy with it. I've only just learnt about the Anajet. I am keen to buy one, we loose to much $$ not being able to print on dark colours. Is there anything that goes wrong with the Anajet that I may not be aware of...so far everything I've heard is positive...from their reps???


----------



## sunnydayz

Hi Danny, I was wondering, if you dont mind me asking, what was it about the HM1 that you didnt like? I am just curious as I have never really asked someone who was looking for a white ink printer, why they would count it out. Thanks so much for the answer. I am just curious


----------



## tshirtstudioNZ

iT WASN'T WORKING WHEN THEY TRIED TO DEMONSTRATE, THEY HAD ALSORTS OF PROBLEMS WITH THE KIOSK. ALL GOOD THOUGH. WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND? ANAJET OR HM1. THE IDEA OF A CLOSED INK SYSTEM SOUNDS GOOD. PEOPLE SEEM TO BE SAYING THAT THE OPEN BOTTLE INK SYSTEM CAUSES CLOGGING PROBLEMS???


----------



## Printzilla

tshirtstudioNZ said:


> iT WASN'T WORKING WHEN THEY TRIED TO DEMONSTRATE, THEY HAD ALSORTS OF PROBLEMS WITH THE KIOSK. ALL GOOD THOUGH. WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND? ANAJET OR HM1. THE IDEA OF A CLOSED INK SYSTEM SOUNDS GOOD. PEOPLE SEEM TO BE SAYING THAT THE OPEN BOTTLE INK SYSTEM CAUSES CLOGGING PROBLEMS???


I have never had clogging issues relative to a non closed bag ink delivery system. The issue with a closed bag system is the amount of ink that goes to waste, not to mention the fact that it is 2-3x as expensive.


----------



## sunnydayz

I totally agree with Mark on this one. You have to realize that if you are going to get a clog it is usually caused by not doing proper maintenance. As long as you take care of the machine you will not have a problem with clogging. They all use the same inks. Also the HM1 has a white ink agitator that mixes your white ink on a continuous basis. The other machines do not have this, you actually have to remove the white carts every day and shake them with the other machines. With the hm1 it mixes itself  I have more issue with the fact that I would have to shake my ink every day then whether my ink system is closed.


----------



## tshirtstudioNZ

Hi Mark, sounds like you know what you're talking about when it comes to these DTG machines. I'm down in New Zealand and have a brother...it's great! I need a machine that prints white ink and so far seem to be leaning toward the Anajet. Have any other machines recently come to market that you can tell me about. Much thanks,
Dan


----------



## Printzilla

Danny - I will just reiterate the expense of ink in a closed cartridge system. It will cost you 2-3x as much to make the same shirt as someone with a bulk system. Just depends on your business model. If you are getting premium prices then _*maybe*_ you can justify the extra cost. I cannot justify it, no matter what I am charging. I have nothing against a closed cartridge system if the ink yield and pricing was in line with the open systems, but as of now it is not.


----------



## DAGuide

The reason for the higher ink cost (at least in part) is the difference between pumping ink into a bottle, put a lid on it and a label (i.e. this is a Bulk Refill system) vs. putting the ink into a vacuum bag, putting a nozzle on the bag (that requires a needle to puncture a gasket to prevent additional air from entering the ink delivery system), putting the bag in a cartridge, putting a label on the cartridge and in some cases...having a chip on the cartridge that reads the ink level (this is a Closed Ink system). I am not arguing with Printzilla at all. Just explaining maybe one of the reasons why the cost per a print on a closed ink system is higher than a bulk refill system.

I do agree with Printzilla that you need to find a printer that works with your business model. Ink cost is important... more important to some companies than others. Some companies like how easy and reliable that the Brother printer is and don't have a problem paying more for the ink. Other companies are focused on doing contract work or competing against the large players (Custom Ink, Zazzle,...) and ink cost is important. I guess it is a lot like whether you want a sports car or an SUV. Different strokes...for different folks.

Good luck in your research.

Mark


----------



## Printzilla

Another issue with closed cartridge systems for me is the inability to flush the system with distilled water on a regular basis. This is something I do on a regular basis, and would hate to give up the ability to do this crucial piece of my maintenance procedure. It costs me less than a buck. 

I wonder what it costs if you are using cleaning cartridges from the manufacturer?


----------



## tshirtstudioNZ

Thanks Mark & Printzilla for your comments. I appreciate the advice and I'm taking it all on board. Right now I'm leaning toward the Anajet. I get the impression that it is more reliable. I've seen the HM1 in action in Sydney and at the time they were having problems with the ink which didn't give me much confidence at all. Can anyone further comment on the support and service Anajet Costa Mesa provide...is it excellent, good or barely average??? For now they seem good but that could simply be because they want to sell me a machine??? thank you.


----------



## tshirtstudioNZ

I'll be attending the Long Beach CA printwear show. Should I hold off on my purchase until then? Can anyone tell me if any new machines or up-grades will be coming out?


----------



## DAGuide

Danny,

If you have time, I would always suggest waiting to see the printers and the companies behind the printers face-to-face. So if you can wait till the show and it does not hurt your company severely, then I say waiting to be 100% (or as close as possible) is your safest choice. JMHO.

Mark


----------



## tshirtstudioNZ

Thanks Mark. I think it's best to wait. I've been trying to register for the show online and have had no luck. Does one actually need to register for the show?


----------



## DAGuide

Here is a link to a website that has an ad for the show on it - Large Format Printing, Dye Sublimation, Inkjet, Solvent, Engraving & Cutters. In the bottom left corner of the ad is the source code that you can use to register for free online or at the show. If the online system is not working for you, then you can wait till you get to the show and use it and still not have to pay the admission fee.

Enjoy the show.

Mark


----------



## DSGRAPHITA

We have been doing a series of test and the Anajet is out in front in terms of image quality on dark shirts. The colors are overly saturated -which is Ok if that's what sells, but for realistic color a digital ICC profile for the printer might calibrate the previews...

We are looking for a printer profile. I'll post it if I can find one.


----------



## tshirtstudioNZ

Thanks Heapz Mark.


----------



## zoom_monster

Printzilla said:


> Another issue with closed cartridge systems for me is the inability to flush the system with distilled water on a regular basis. quote]
> 
> Marc, I backflush my Anajet with DW or CF. I lose whatever ink that in the actual damper. The ink in the lines can be gently pushed back towards the carts (not all the way). I agree the ink is very expensive but I find in my case that time/labor will factor larger in the overall cost. As you have done, after you live and breathe these beasts for a while, you find ways to save and not pay so-much to the "man" As always, thanks for all your great tips and insights!


----------



## Printzilla

That is one way to skin the cat!


----------



## Printzilla

This could help with ink costs.

DTG Inks - Anajet 250ml Refilable Cartridges


----------



## BlackEagle

I've read loads of threads and helpful advice on this forum, brilliant resource!

I'd just like to thank everyone, as with all the demos I've seen, coupled with the comments read on here, we have decided to go for the HM-1 machine.

Our business model means we will print on both white and dark colours, so we need to offer that.

The HM-1 demo we had today was excellent, the brought it to us for the day and let our lads loose on it!

HM-1........It does what is says on the tin......


----------



## sunnydayz

Wow that is cool that they brought the machine to let you try it  Where are you located? I love my hm1, it really is a great machine. If you need any help with anything let us know


----------



## BlackEagle

sunnydayz said:


> Wow that is cool that they brought the machine to let you try it  Where are you located? I love my hm1, it really is a great machine. If you need any help with anything let us know


Thanks!

We are based in the UK. We were about to go with the Brother, but the rep here convinced me to wait a couple of days, and, good to his word, turned up at my place (250 mile trip!) and spent the day with us!

I'd only seen the D-1 previously, but the HM-1 was brilliant.....cost of inks, price per print, and even the maintenance was xplained and demonstrated....very easy machine to use!!


----------



## martinwoods

BlackEagle said:


> -1 was brilliant.....cost of inks, price per print, and even the maintenance was xplained and demonstrated....very easy machine to use!!


That is until you get it home

No I am just kidding (I hope) good luck with your purchase and let us see some pics when you get it.


----------



## BlackEagle

I will.

Although custom t shirts is an obvious thing for us to consider, that wasn't the reason we got it!

Don't want to say too much yet, as I don't want my competitors getting ideas before I get up and running. We already supply sports clothing, and that is where we are going to start with our printing!

Did the same on embroidery, got that running, and gradually we've started doing more corporate type work.

Will happily post some pictures when we get it and start producing!


----------



## sunnydayz

You will love it  That is so cool I think that they made that type of effort


----------



## torrent

Hi, guys.
I believe, when it comes to printing quality, Anajet and HM-1 are on a par with each other. But what if they are compared to Zazzle's quality? (some say Zazzle uses TJet and some say Kornit (Zazzle recently bought around 15 Kornit printers). Have you ever compared?
I would appreciate your honest opinion.

Regards.


----------



## DAGuide

Dennis,

It is my opinion that the quality of the print has more to do with the other factors than it has to do with the printer. The artwork, the ink, the pretreating and curing procedures will all have a larger impact on quality than which printer you are using. Would be like saying which is a better car - a Honda or Toyota or Mercedes - for driving to the grocery store? The operator in all the printers cases is the most important tool.

The only major difference between the printers you mentioned is the Kornit's pretreating technique is part of the printer and the inks are a higher viscosity. But I have seen some good quality prints come off of the smaller printers that would be right on par with the Kornit prints... it just takes a little more work with the lower cost printers.

Hope this helps you.

Mark


----------



## max-au

Hey i been looking at the Kiosk and the HM-1.
I have a store and i want to be able to print tees on the spot for customers based on designs i have or designs they bring.

I know all the procedures and i have read over most of the topics about dtg's and spoken to a few different people, i know its not going to be a simple plug and print process but i just want to get opinions about this and is there a major different between these 2 machines and does anyone else use these machines they way i want to with printing on the spot for customers, if so how does it go for you?

Also, print pro and rip pro, is there a huge difference? i know rip pro is the new software but would you recomend not to use print pro?


----------



## selanac

I hope you don't mind if I jump right in. We own a DTG with no white ink. It isn't worth the money in my opinion, but let me explain why. 

We bought the unit with a single head embroidery machine. We were just breaking in to the business and didn't know much about the industry except as users who bought t-shirts for sports and church clubs. 

We couldn't bring in enough money at the beginning and had to learn on the fly. I was still working when we started, plus had to take on a part time job installing and repairing computers to make the payment. 

The thing was slow, and you have to be in the right market to make money. We pretty much sold to everyone. We needed customers that wanted a lot of color, but with the mind set that they didn't want to pay a bundle so they came to us, or a screen printer that didn't have a dtg, and didn't want to screen print all those colors, yet he could still charge his customers the same amount. 

So, I believe someone wants a dtg to print on the fly. Do you have enough people coming in to pay for the dtg or which ever system you buy? If not do you have enough coming in from other products to pay for the dtg? 

If you're expecting the dtg to bring in enough to pay for itself, stick with transfers, they're way cheaper and easier to work with. 

We never had a clogging problem with the dtg. We had many alignment issues, and eventually the heads go out, and you have to replace them every 2000 t-shirts I believe. They may have better heads now, but I daught it. 

Many people complain about the tjet, but the DTG is an exact replica of the tjet. The tjet is made here in the USA, the dtg is made somewhere else. 

If we decide to buy another machine, I would buy the tjet. At least I know someone else who has one, and it seems like they have better public relations then does the other guys. 

There is another company that makes a good machine and puts out quality work, but the name excapes me right now, and the product is about double that of Tjet, and DTG Kiosk.


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## Printzilla

The previous post contains several errors. The DTG that is the "exact" replica of the tjet is made by the same company..in JAPAN. They are also not exact replica's, but have some feature set differences. I just replaced the head on my original tjet a couple of months back. I did not keep an exact count, but it was at least 5x as many prints as the 2000, and probably closer to 10x. The head replacement varies. It could go 10,000 or 100 prints. It depends on a large number of variables.

As far as the public relations aspect, US Screen probably has the worst reputation (just search this very forum). Some of that is undeserved (not all of it), and some of it is caused by the much larger number of machines. More machines, more issues, more complainig.

As far as transfers go, I do not know of a company that makes a transfer paper and ink that costs between $0.12 - $0.50 per print, because that is what the vast majority of prints on an Epson based, non white ink printing DTG cost. I have not done transfers in over 5 years, so I could be out of touch. In a quick search of three popular transfer papers, I found that the average price for just the paper was between .55-.75 for 8 1/2 x 11 sheets. If you factor in equpment cost, then yes transfers can be done cheaper. However, IMHO they are not even close to the quailty of DTG printing, unless you are doing dye sub, in which case the garments cost 3-4x as much, so again transfers lose on price. As for ease of use, I find both to be very easy on white shirts.

I respect the fact that your opinion is that they are not worth the money. I certainly agree that for some that is true. I also think the advice of making sure you have a proper plan in place, or at least other revenue streams, is excellent.


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## max-au

selanac said:


> So, I believe someone wants a dtg to print on the fly. Do you have enough people coming in to pay for the dtg or which ever system you buy? If not do you have enough coming in from other products to pay for the dtg?


I have had my store for about 5 years, we get a fairly good flow through the store and this will not be the main source of income but i do want this to work for me finacially, i want this printer to keep us different from other stores but i dont want to get a machine that is not going to work, i have read so many posts about these machines and seen some people love them and other have had so many problems so thats why i ask if this machine will work for what i need.


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## Printzilla

I started out with a printer in my retail shop in the mall. I printed well over 10,000 shirts before I sold out, and the store is still going strong. Another member here is Pink Freud. He changed his CD store to a Tshirt store, and saved his business. 

If you have good traffic made up of the right demographic, it is a no brainer. I paid for my first machine in less than 90 days! Just stick to white shirts at first. Build up your knowledge, and clients, then ADD a SECOND machine to print on dark shirts.

I wish you luck, though if you do this right, you won't need it.


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## max-au

the customers i have are the exact demographic for this and i really want to get this going, the only concern i have is all the negative reports about it, but on the other side i have heard so much good.
how did you go printing black and white tees straight after each other?


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## tshirtstudioNZ7

Hi, I am quite convinced that The Anajet printer is probably the safest and best DTG printer to buy other than the GT-541 which we already have. I have a small business in New Zealand. Our national colour is balck so you can imagine our frustrations in not being able to print on dark coloured garments. I am ready to purchase a machine that prints white ink. I could not make the long beach trade show. Can anyone give me some advice please? Does anyone know of any new white ink printers that have recently come to market? The GT-541 is awesome. Does anyone know if they will be bringing out a model that prints white ink? Mark, I heard you have some great advice. I've recently been speaking with Eric from JPD who was very helpful...thank you Eric. I would appreciate any advice.

thank you.
Daniel


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## obzelite

wonder if anyone knows what the dtg bullet machine is based on. kiosk or hm1?.

both the t-jet and anajet reps here have failed to give me quotes i asked for over a week ago, so as we have already bought an embroidery machine from the dtg dealers and are very happy with the backup service they offer i figured the dtg machine would be the safest bet.
i know the rep while over here for other reasons actually helped a customer with her dtg machine that was purchased from another source and got it all working.

it would seem all the machines have basic problems and a decent backup service it what really matters.


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## sunnydayz

I have the HM1 and love it  I am not sure what the bullet is based on but I know the eclipse is based on the hm1, at least i'm pretty sure it is. Its similar in the way it prints to the blazer in that it prints 3 shirts at a time and is a double head machine, one for white and one for colors.


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## TahoeTomahawk

I think the Eclipse is the Dual head machine and the Bullet looks like a wide format possibly Epson 7800? Both the 7800 and the Bullet have a 24" wide print space.


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## DAGuide

tshirtstudioNZ7 said:


> Mark, I heard you have some great advice. I've recently been speaking with Eric from JPD who was very helpful...thank you Eric. I would appreciate any advice.


I am not sure if you were referring to me or another Mark. At this point, the best advice for someone looking to purchase a dtg printer would be to go to a trade show where you can see as many printers at one time. The best show where this can happen in the next couple of months would be the SGIA Show in Atlanta in October. You will be able to see machines from all over the world there and there are usually a couple new ones that are launched there.

By your name, I imagine that you are from New Zealand, but I could be wrong. So the other thing would be making sure that you have a good support network from either the OEM or a distributor that is familiar with the environmental factors in your area (i.e. temperature, humidity, altitude ...).

The last recommendation I will mention is go into it with realistic expectations. Don't think that in a matter of hours you are going to have the process down and will be making money. Learning the proper pretreatment technique is an art and understanding which settings in the RIP works best for certain graphics is really important. You have to do your wash test before you even have a clue if you are close. Not to mention the type of fabric you print on is extremely important and the fabric can change even from the same one manufacturer if the garment is made in a different factory or covered in sizing. So plan on going through around 48 shirts and trying a lot of different techniques (i.e. try curing at different temperatures, use different pressures, try different fabrics and colors,...). I like to write on the tag of each shirt a number. This number will coordinate with a log you will keep that states the following:
- What brand and color of the shirt was used
- How you pretreated the back and the front of the shirt (use different methods to get the most use out of the shirt)
- What RIP settings you used
- What time, temperature and pressure it was cured at

Then do a wash test with all the shirts and make sure you wash/dry them like your customers are going to do. Be realistic as most customers are not going to flip the shirt inside-out and hang dry the shirts (at least in my area). See which sides of the shirts hold up best. Then use those settings for your production methods. From time-to-time, you will want to do some wash tests to make sure that nothing has changed to affect how the garment holds up in the wash. There are always going to be new inks and pretreatment released and these will have an effect on the wash test. So, it is a never ending process.

Hope this advice helps. Best wishes in your research.

Mark


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## Tshirtguy

This is a very passionate thread. If someone can't make the bill to pay for their printer (and they are all expensive) that has nothing to do with the merits of t-shirt printing.

I know I needed to hit a certain volume before a t-shirt printer was worth the money for me. I made it to that point and I know the finances work. That's really the same for any business purchase.

I probably sound like a broken record because I think I say this in all of my dtg posts now but there are only a few big players in this market and (except Brother) they are all based on Epsons. They are all going to work well when treated right.


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## tshirtstudioNZ

Thanks Mark, yes I believe it was yourself Eric was talking about. Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.


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## DAGuide

Danny - not a problem. Best wishes in your decision process.


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## max-au

I visited the DTG guys here in Sydney and got a few prints done on the Kiosk on both black and white tees (mainly black) the designs i took had very heavy detail aswell as graidents, glows and the print was great... we even done the same prints using about 25% less ink in colour, you could see the difference but it was still good.
So far i have washed and dried the tee's 3 times and the prints still look great.. i prefer the print that used full setting of ink, not 25% less, its more vibrant and looks like it will last longer.


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## selanac

What about maintenance? How often do you have to change the print head, and how many types of platens come with it, and how many do you need to buy or can you buy in addition to what they give you, versus Anajet, and of course, how much?


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## Traceyt

sunnydayz said:


> I guess if you dont do your homework first than you would believe the lies that the reps would tell you. I am very aware of the limitations with the white ink. Let me ask you this, do you print on dark garments? If yes, didnt you have to learn in the beginning also. I know with every thing I have done in my life I have had to learn how to do it first. I like doing things that are challenging and difficult, it keeps me interested. I dont plan on making my profits by printing dark, as I am aware it rarely happens, however it is something that I can offer in small quantities that will make my customers happy. Most of my customers purchase light color garments but the fact that I offer dark color garments also makes me more unique than all of the others that only offer white, light blue, pink and heather. So maybe you can understand my train of thought with this a little better now.
> 
> Bobbie


Thank you, these posts are really helping me. I was looking at the chromablast technology and heat press but I really thought the direct garment was the way to go. The person showing me my different options discouraged me from direct to garment printers saying the technology wasn't far enough along yet, they were slow and wasted ink. So I guess I will wait and keep reading until my eyes explode. I don't know what to do now and I too am ready to buy.


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## sunnydayz

Wow thats a blast from the past hehe  That post you qouted was something I wrote a year ago and I can say that I am still very happy with my HM1 and still like it as much as the day I bought it. it really is a great machine.


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## selanac

I hope I didn't discourage anyone from buying. All the DTG machines especially the ones that have white ink, are simply a tool. They can't print as fast as an automated screen printing press, but they have their place in the market. It's kind of like buying a cad cutter. They do several things, but can't do it all. 

When we bought one, it was DTG's Kiosk (not to be confused with the industry, Direct To Garment Printing). The machine was slow, and didn't look all that great, but many of our customers loved it because it saved them lots of money from screens, and multiple colors. At first they didn't understand why we weren't charging them for screens. So, we adapted and charge them for setup charges. That made them happy, and us too, because we were getting more money. 

Anyway, to make a long story short, a DTG in my opinion has it's place, and is not to take the place of all screen printing. You can however decide to use it for the market of multiple colors, and/or an easier functionality screen printer. No screens, print to garment, etc.


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