# I'm looking for a decent DTG printer but at reasonable price for a start - ideal one would be easy to maintain and cost under 2500$



## player1 (Aug 5, 2008)

Hi all as I'm a new member greets from Poland. I've been reading this forum and googling and still can't find the answer. I'm looking for a decent DTG printer but at reasonable price for a start - ideal one would be easy to maintain and cost under 2500$ (excluding ink etc). 
Of course I have found some that would suit but are way beyond my reach - don't have spare 20k right now.
Hope you can point me to right place, thanks


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## CoopersDesignCo (Nov 14, 2007)

Hello Player1,
First of all, WELCOME to the T-shirt Forums!

I'm not certain you'll find a DTG for $2500, but it's possible. There are many used and refurbished listings. I would check out Equipment Zone in New Jersey, Ebay, and of course, keep an eye on the T-shirt Forum classifieds.


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Hi and :welcome:

This is still just outside of your price range ($3-5K) but one option is to look for programs like this one at the bottom of this page, also refurbs and used:
AnaJet Trade-In Program

Check other mfg's for this type of program as well. Good luck to you.


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## abmcdan (Sep 14, 2007)

My advice is: If you have to start that small it might be better to find someone that has a printer and will print some shirts for you until you get going. That might be hard in Poland though.


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## player1 (Aug 5, 2008)

Girlzndollz said:


> Hi and :welcome:
> 
> This is still just outside of your price range ($3-5K) but one option is to look for programs like this one at the bottom of this page, also refurbs and used:
> AnaJet Trade-In Program
> ...


Well, I think I can eventually get more money, $3-5k doesn't seem that bad. I'll do some more research to find out more about these T-jet models, thank you.

abmcdan: it would cost me too much to outsource my projects to make any reasonable profit.

And btw: recently I found this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWfGWZpMZXU[/media] ($900 tshirt printer).
That's too cheap to be good enough though, just wondering if there's any discussion on these chinese printers on this board.

Thank you for posting.


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

Thanks for sharing the video. Ink stayed on. That's a good thing for sure.
Now I need to get some of these $900 machines.


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## Wags (Jan 28, 2007)

player1 said:


> ideal one would be easy to maintain


Not sure any are easy to maintain. There seems to be much more maintenance that a convention ink jet printer anyway. Ours requires daily and usually a couple of times a day cleanings. And we are in a very clean work area.


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## ambitious (Oct 29, 2007)

player1 said:


> Well, I think I can eventually get more money, $3-5k doesn't seem that bad. I'll do some more research to find out more about these T-jet models, thank you.
> 
> abmcdan: it would cost me too much to outsource my projects to make any reasonable profit.
> 
> ...


Wow! Thank's for sharing has anyone tried contact this company for more info?

$900 sounds to good to be true, But who knows...


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

FYI - You might want to check out this post before you go much farther - http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t51253.html. sodrisc tried to get the ink delivered to him and had all sorts of problems and never got the fixture agent.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

there is a company in England I believe that sells one for $2,000 forget name but sure you can google search it


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

I found a link with a similar Q, I don't know if it will help bc you are in Poland, but maybe - if you don't follow that $900 lead - something in here will help you out:
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t56910.html#post337767


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## mardiv (May 12, 2008)

player1 said:


> And btw: recently I found this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWfGWZpMZXU[/media] ($900 tshirt printer).
> That's too cheap to be good enough though, just wondering if there's any discussion on these chinese printers on this board.
> .


That's a pretty good printer! Wow! The color is amazing!! Thanks for posting! Live it to the Chinese to find a cheaper solution (now I'm just curious about the quality of the machine) but still pretty awesome!


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## sodrisc (Apr 6, 2006)

mardiv said:


> That's a pretty good printer! Wow! The color is amazing!! Thanks for posting! Live it to the Chinese to find a cheaper solution (now I'm just curious about the quality of the machine) but still pretty awesome!


looks great doesnt it? almost to good to be true? thats because it is..... another person here actualy got the ink and the $900 printer, unfortunately the fixing agent doesnt work...... they have promised to send me some samples for free once the games in china have finished (i wont be holding my breath), if they do i will test it and report back.


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## Naga (Mar 11, 2008)

It looks like reactive ink being used in that machine.
The fixing agent for reactive ink is a soda solution.


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## player1 (Aug 5, 2008)

Well I've got an answer form this guy.
All info is online:
SAMSION SCIENCE 
SAMSION SCIENCE
BUT I'm pretty sure the machine would live max like 6-8 months and I'm not sure about the quality of the prints and sure there's no teh support.
Although I'm in no rush about that so better wait for some reviews


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## stix (Feb 3, 2008)

Someone from the forum has contacted this company and ordered products which I believe didn't turn out to be a good transaction. I would lean on the caution side of doing business with them. You can find used original Tjets for under 2500. You have to really look and be patient. They will pop up and you need to be ready. I passed on 2 in the month of July. I found one on craigslist and the other on screenprint university. Good Luck


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I agree with Chris if you can wait, you can find a deal.I realize the inexpensive printer looks good and I would be tempted to give it a try. .... JB


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## ambitious (Oct 29, 2007)

HaHa...Im going to be waiting for some reviews on this to see how it works out, but i still find to good to be true, something seems to fishyyy.


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## DirectSupply (Mar 19, 2008)

Hi!

Have you looked in to creating your own DTG printer, there is a thread and several members of the forum who have succeeded.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t32499.html


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## ambitious (Oct 29, 2007)

Oh yes i have, but im to busy as of now with 1 fulltime job, 3 online buisnesses and on my free time im building my own Screenpress so time is definetly an issue.


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## personalizeme (Jun 21, 2007)

i contacted someone that bought this printer on ebay. have printed and washed it. they love it with no problems. if you look at his feed back on ebay you will find that person that bought it


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## sodrisc (Apr 6, 2006)

i smell a rat...........


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## schenk (Jul 16, 2007)

the chinese company that actually makes the printer is ¹âÅÌ´òÓ¡Íø
samsion buys it from them i think. samsion adds a tshirt platten and the vat dye ink.
the vat dye ink is printing nice, but than you have to cure it with the fixing agent (some potential dangerous chemical) after spraying the fixer the prints looks like total sh*t. also wash test where staining all clothes in the mashine....so pretty much useles.

how do i know? i bough one to test it out. the waste ink bottle still had a sticker on it from the company above (printcd) so i could figure out where samsion bought it.

if you get the magical " The Zimei pitch spirit soluble dyestuff ink" ink you might have some fun with it printing golfballs


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## PressForProfit (Jun 11, 2008)

sodrisc said:


> i smell a rat...........












2008 is the "Year of the Rat" in Chinese Culture


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

> I'm looking for a decent DTG printer but at reasonable price for a start - ideal one would be easy to maintain and cost under 2500$


Aren't we all. Also, still searching for inexpensive method for turning water to gold.


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## WholesalePrint (Sep 23, 2008)

If you buy a DTG for $2500 be prepare to actaully spend about $5000min.

1. $2500 machine
2. $300 Shipping to you
3. $300 Shipping to someone for tune up would be wise
4. $500 For tune up
5. $300Plus for new parts if neccesary
6. $300 for back upHead atleast, maybe more?
5. $300 Ship back to you from Tune up
6. $900 for press
7. Shall I keep going?


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

You can get a used press for 250 bucks but there is cost of ink
some of those figures can be off but cost of Ink 
Ya he prob. be spending 5 grand for BS stuff 

Bummer


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## WholesalePrint (Sep 23, 2008)

Give or take $5k you know.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Mate if you only want to spend 2500. I personally think you are dreaming to get a decent relaible printer for that. You then will want to do everything else on the cheap and will have alot of problems and unhappy customers. You will get what you pay for. I would not even bother with it as you will spend more time trying to find one than whats its all worth. I have alot of people that come to me and want cheap prints on cheap shirts as well and i tell them to stop waisting my time. Pay for quality and you will get it, Printers and shirts. If_ you want to spend more time fixing and sorting out problems then yes keep trying. But if want to make money and have a machine that will work day in and day out and know that when you want to turn it on, it will go without spending 1 hour fixing it then save for a descent one. "Do it once and do it right the first time"_


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Nice post Grant!


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## sodrisc (Apr 6, 2006)

adrenaline said:


> Mate if you only want to spend 2500. I personally think you are dreaming to get a decent relaible printer for that. You then will want to do everything else on the cheap and will have alot of problems and unhappy customers. You will get what you pay for. I would not even bother with it as you will spend more time trying to find one than whats its all worth. I have alot of people that come to me and want cheap prints on cheap shirts as well and i tell them to stop waisting my time. Pay for quality and you will get it, Printers and shirts. If_ you want to spend more time fixing and sorting out problems then yes keep trying. But if want to make money and have a machine that will work day in and day out and know that when you want to turn it on, it will go without spending 1 hour fixing it then save for a descent one. "Do it once and do it right the first time"_


i dont agree with any of that, my wide format cmyk diy dtg cost me under $200, i print on a daily basis and have little to no downtime, the shirts i produce are as good as any out there. There are ways to achieve a cheap dtg printer.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

I would like to see these shirts and can you print on darks??? This is where time comes into play. Time is money. How long did it take you to build this DTG?? and how long does it take to print a shirt form the time you get the shirt out of the box until finished and back on a coat hanger?? What size is the print that it can do?? and can you print 20 shirts of the same and have the same consistancy. Most people out there that build something them selves are god at what they do and have some insight to it all but at the end of the day not everyone can do this as you did.


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## sodrisc (Apr 6, 2006)

its a cmyk only printer as i said above, it can print A3+, consistancy is not a problem i sell direct to retail, not a single complaint so far. im about to start on the 1900 to give me white. It takes me one day to make a cmyk diy dtg (probably two or three to get the 1900 going), so i can be in profit on the whole deal after printing two dozen shirts, how many do you have to print just to break even ? Time is definately money as you said and i saved myself months of work trying to payback the initial investment let alone turn a profit.


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

> It takes me one day to make a cmyk diy dtg (probably two or three to get the 1900 going), so i can be in profit on the whole deal after printing two dozen shirts, how many do you have to print just to break even ?


Sweet, let's get the design and pass it on to the consumers, no need to pay crazy markups to garment decorators anymore. I bet that 1 out of every 3 households would buy one if they were under $500.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

For me it does not really mater as we put out over 800 shirts every week sometimes more. How much can you buy a A3 printer for over there as a new epson A3 printer over here is around $1500 just for a decent 7 colour printer. If you can get them taht cheap I would love to bring 2 over here in A3 even if they are 4 colour as I also do Di Sub work and would live another 2 A3 Di sub set ups. You are 1 in a million though that can put your hands to work and get a good outcome. How many others out there are that tallented or have the time and design knowlege. How long did it take you to desing it??


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## sodrisc (Apr 6, 2006)

Don that sort of commentt is getting very old...... the design is already available based on t's c88 plans, just wider, in my opinion its not that hard to do (im no engineer) and i dont understand why anyone thinking about buying a commercial dtg doesnt at least give it a bash before parting with there cash lump for a commercial one, but then that doesnt line pockets does it.........

Grant i bought up a couple of brand new epson 1160's for £70 a pop on ebay a few months back, an old printer yes but its built to last. I didnt design it i adapted the existing diy c88 plans. At the end of the day its a epson based dtg, diy or not. 

Go ahead and knock it guys, to be honest im getting tired of having to continualy validate the diy setup around here, i think a long break is in order.......


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

To tell the truth I have no time to design one. I have not said it would not work and have stated that alot of us just do not have the time to even think about it. I think you must have some sort of idea about these things before building them. What software are you using??? I myself after using these for a while have some good ideas as well but do not have the time to put in and if expanding would rather build on what i already have. Good luck with the white ink one. Are you going to run 4 white or 3 with a dummy. Also what inks are you using? I am not bagging you in any form just asking questions to find out more about your set up. I would like to see a few pics of it all and if you wouldnt mind emailing me some to [email protected] 

I think this person wants to Buy a good ready to go DTG for 2500 and It sounds and reads like he wants a maufactured one which is easy to maintaind etc etc. This is where I say he will be pushing his luck. He may get one. I dont think so though. If some one is selling theres for that then I would say they want out and why??. (Problems maybe) And if they are selling a good reliable one for that and is easy to maintain ill have it and any other others.

I know the people that help design the DTG kiosk etc and I can assure that alot of time effort and money has gone into the making of these machines. Thay are always testing and improving on them this costs money and time. They do need to get there money back some how somewhere. With out these desingers and there knowledge we all would not be where we are today. It had to start somewhereand we all have along way to go and this is alot of money to go back in to the industry as a whole to improve on everything (inks, machines, software, operation ease etc.)


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Commercial DTG machines In my opinion are way way over priced 
All they did is, well what you did but made it look pretty 
I bet cost manufacturer oh 1800 all together and sell machine for 15 thous 
I can buy 5 24" epson 7880 for price of tine DTG and alot more metal and technolog in just one of those than any DTG 

That being said, I praise you Steve


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

I think it all comes down to how many they make and the set up costs to produce parts for them. EG casings that are moulded etc. I Have a Hako e35 srubeer here and they are a swiss made machine parts for it are very very expensive $600 for 2 pieces of rubber 35'long by 1'wide. $440 for 1 small plastic cover plate and over $700 for 1 brush. I am in the same opinion here as the parts gave me a heart attack when they turned up with the invoice attached. The piont is these part only fit this machine and made only for this machine and there will be probably only 1000 of these world wide. So the cost of making the molds to produce the parts would be expensive and also the time put into desining them has to be payed for somewhere. We will be paying for as I mentioned above future study and testing of new machines which should be better. In saying this 1 year later they also will be outdated. If you can desing a machine that works and does a good job then good on ya and I hope you do well out of it all. I think the idustry will change but remember if evry one has a DTG then we will all be out of business.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

Don-SWF East said:


> Sweet, let's get the design and pass it on to the consumers, no need to pay crazy markups to garment decorators anymore. I bet that 1 out of every 3 households would buy one if they were under $500.


People can already buy t-shirt inkjet transfers from Wal Mart and hundreds of other retail outlets, but that dosn't destroy the garment decorating industry either. 

Steve like many others, has had the foresight to spend a little time and effort to build his own working machine. If someone wants to spend thousands of dollars more for a machine that achieves virtually nothing a home made can't, then that is their own personal choice.

Too many suppliers think that they have some automatic right to our custom and somehow think that they dictate the terms in which we operate. They truly are living in a fools paradise if they believe that.

Advances in inkjet transfer technology are what will eventually threaten the dtg machine market, not a few enterprising individuals that have found their own viable solution to a lower priced machine.

The options currently available are to build your own dtg for $200, buy a Chinese made dtg for less than $2,000, or buy a commercial dtg for substantially more.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Im glad we dont have wall mart over here then. I am actually fixing up a job at present with this transfer method that has been used via laser printer and it all washed out first wash. I would like to know a couple of things where did you get the idea and knowledge form to build you own dtg and how long did the first one take you to build?? (from start of first planing to finish to where you could sell the shirts) It would have taken a few hours. What ink system do you run and what inks?? With the new one you are looking at building are you using a bulk ink system with damper or modified cartriges??

WILL: I would like you go into the companies dictatorship of terms of which we operate a bit more as I have not come across this as yet and donot really understand where you are coming from. Does this happen alot where you come from?


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

You have a clear example of it above, where someone from a dtg supplier doesn't think that plans for a diy dtg printer should even be in existence.

Other examples of dictatorship include Sawgrass inks claiming a 'patent' on a product that was in existence decades before their business even existed, effectively meaning they control the market for printers under 44" format and can therefore charge excessive prices. You have Epson who have recently won a court case to ban the sales of empty refillable cartridges, which is ok unless you wish to use a different type of ink in your printer. Epson have now also stopped the sale of printheads etc for their larger format printers, so instead of being able to replace these yourself, you now have to have them fitted by an 'approved business', which effectively means your machine will be standing even longer now.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Sounds like the big oil companies all over agian on lol


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

DREAMGLASS said:


> People can already buy t-shirt inkjet transfers from Wal Mart and hundreds of other retail outlets, but that dosn't destroy the garment decorating industry either. .


Will is correct that transfer paper is available at WalMart and other craft stores. However, that is typically the transfer paper that can be pressed with a household iron and the finish product is not something that most decorators will sell. Comparing the final results of those types of transfers papers to dtg printing or even the commercial brands (which require the use of a heat press) - whether done print-cut or not - is not far. That is like comparing an economy car to a luxury car. Yes, it can be done... but most people would understand paying more will give you a better product. It is just going to depend on what your expectation is for the product (i.e. gag gift,...).

I still feel it is best that it takes some knowledge, skill and hardwork to do apparel decoratoring and I think that is a good thing! One day, we might see a dtg printer in every WalMart hooked up to an online decorating software program where the customer can personalized the shirt onsite. If this happens, then it will affect the businesses of many on this forum - it is just basic economics.

Just my opinion.

Mark


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

DAGuide said:


> One day, we might see a dtg printer in every WalMart hooked up to an online decorating software program where the customer can personalized the shirt onsite. If this happens, then it will affect the businesses of many on this forum - it is just basic economics.


Dtg machines are just far too unreliable for that to be a realistic proposition. The print quality from a dtg machine still leaves a lot to be desired from many customers, as Mark himself has pointed out in the past. 

Whilst you may not see a dtg machine in every Wal Mart, it is my belief that lower cost machines will eventually appear in instant print shops, in the same way that many of those shops now offer printed mugs and mousemats. 

We all live in a commercial world and none of us are immune from new competition.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Alot of this comes down to the operator. But in saying this the desingers of these I am sure are trying to work on making a relaible easy to use machine which is what this person is after. 
To do this they will need to spend hours and hopurs and alot of $$$$ to try re try and so on to get there all of this costs alot of money they hjave to pay for the mess up along the way as well. This is one reason why they are expensive alot has got in to some of these machines. Then somone else comes along and rips of the idea and can do it cheap beacuse they are using there already tested gians and do not have to pay for the protoype mistakes. Lets face it evrything in the world which has been designed and new on the market was expensive buit as the technoligy improves and in time the making becomes eaiser and faster and they use the good pints of a predasiser the price comes down. Look at the Plasma TV 5 years ago over 20k know you can get a good one for 1.5k top of the line. But alot of them designs have been riped of from someone else pulling apart a machine and repilcating it in someway with a few changes (some good some bad). The car market is the same. I think it will turn around in a few years and hopefully by then I have made my money. One thing I know I will not be paying 400k for a kornit over here. 
Your Wallmart stores seem to have everything. What dont they have?? LOL. We need a wallmart over here.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

adrenaline said:


> Then somone else comes along and rips of the idea and can do it cheap beacuse they are using there already tested gians and do not have to pay for the protoype mistakes.


You mean like my compact swingaway press that I use for backup? Looks remarkably like a George Knight machine, except they have radically improved the design of the handle assembly and introduced a semi floating top platen. Yes it did originate from China, but so does my Epson printer, my Graphtec cutter, my refillable cartridges and even my English branded hover mower.

The only thing that stops the Chinese flooding the dtg market at the moment, is lack of a service and distribution network. Some enterprising individual may change all that at some time though.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Excatly right. Better equipment will come out of it all though. Some bad rip offs will come along with it. But new better and improved ideas will be added to the already good ones and presto we will have a good new product and then it will be copied agian and made cheaper. China is good at this kind of stuff. Look at the desinger dresses one day on TV next week in every store and at 0ne tenth of the price.


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