# DTG Printing Problems.. SO MANY PROBLEMS!!!!



## CaitlinButton (Nov 20, 2020)

HELP!!
I work for a printing company in Australia. We only started up mid last year, but since beginning we've had problem after problem.
We purchased our DTG M2 Industrial machine through Impression Technology. Unfortunately, they are located in NSW, whereas we are located in Western Australia. We were never able to have a technician come to us (as was agreed upon when purchasing machine - and has been paid for), the reason being Covid. We know that it was not possible for them to come help so we have had to start the company ourselves. 

I need help with so many things, from the bare basics use of the machine which I learnt from a Team Viewer meeting and my many attempts at finding information online.
The most prominent issue we are having currently is the lack of solidity of our white prints. I've read a fair few forums where people have said they can pretty much never get a solid white on a dark garment. Which is where we have a major issue, because every client request black shirts with bold white fonts!
I have attached images of the white lacking in boldness. The more frustrating part is that our shirts when we first started printing were thick, and we were always getting solid white.
I have resorted to ink charging, manually syringing the lines from the capping station and doing a full clean on the machine 3 times per week (when we print). The issue seems to get slightly better, but never as perfect as it used to be.

I pretreat the garments more or less to see if there's any change, but it never seems to make a difference, besides when there's not enough it makes it less solid.
I have also replaced the dampers and the pump recently.
The white lines were also drained using a syringe to remove all blockages and air from the lines. This worked for a day, but still not up to the standard customers are happy with.

Am I not running the machine enough?
Is there an issue with the climate maybe? We live in an area that is regularly 30+ degrees Celsius, so when the temperature rises too much we have been using the air con all day.
Does anyone know of any other troubleshooting methods that we maybe haven't been told to try by the techs over east? Unfortunately without them physically being here they have been unsuccessful in completely diagnosing the issues. 
Or is this just how the white looks on black? I don't mind the look of the ink sitting in the shirt like this, but customers what the white to be bold and are requesting refunds and returns when it comes up like this. My original shirts all have the issue of the ink peeling or sticking after washing a few times, so is this going to be the decision we have to make? Either way, I haven't been able to get it as thick again.

I am at a complete loss..








PLEASE HELP!!


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## Shirts In 24 (Oct 3, 2019)

CaitlinButton said:


> HELP!!
> I work for a printing company in Australia. We only started up mid last year, but since beginning we've had problem after problem.
> We purchased our DTG M2 Industrial machine through Impression Technology. Unfortunately, they are located in NSW, whereas we are located in Western Australia. We were never able to have a technician come to us (as was agreed upon when purchasing machine - and has been paid for), the reason being Covid. We know that it was not possible for them to come help so we have had to start the company ourselves.
> 
> ...


What kind of Pretreat?


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## swaggin.com/ (Jan 11, 2021)

I work on the brother GTX and have 3 of them running all day and night. No issues. I imagine they need the same type of care. You need to keep that room cool at all times. I would keep the AC on all the time. I would place a humidify underneath the machine, I would do maintenance. I would check what type of garment you are printing on. Something doesn't sound right. You should see a huge diference with a pre treated garment verus a non pre treated garment. What pre treat are you using. What pre treat machine. You need to answer all of those things for someone to help you good sir


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

I can actually see the banding on the print, and that means a lot of missing nozzles.



CaitlinButton said:


> Is there an issue with the climate maybe? We live in an area that is regularly 30+ degrees Celsius, so when the temperature rises too much we have been using the air con all day.


Not good! 
You should not have the printer or the inks exposed to more than 30C.
The ideal temperature is around 20-25C and ideal humidity around 60-70%.
Once you take care of the environment issue, flush the white ink and replace it with fresh ink that has not been exposed to heat.
Your existing Ink stock may still be salvageable, as long as you filter it before using in the printer. 
Don't rely on the printer filters. They get clogged easy and will cause ink starvation. 
These rules apply to all DTG printers by the way.


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## Moneymookie (Jan 31, 2021)

Do you know any company to service my no name DTG I bought from China (stupid me). Never printed a shirt.
Now it is sitting on table with no power. (power doesn't come on at all) and I can not get in touch with anybody from the company. I am located in Camden, NJ


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

Moneymookie said:


> Do you know any company to service my no name DTG I bought from China (stupid me). Never printed a shirt.
> Now it is sitting on table with no power. (power doesn't come on at all) and I can not get in touch with anybody from the company. I am located in Camden, NJ


if you are getting desperate contact any local printer repairman (in the end it is probably just an epson printer with a sliding table attached)
you might find a one-man operation who welcomes something out of the ordinary


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## BangkokShopper (Sep 24, 2013)

Hello,

Sorry, am I allowed to ask ? Why DTG is still a problem most of the time ? Is there any successful business using DTG ? This technology is old already, so why it never became something easy ?

Can you give me some hints ?

Thank you so much to all !


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

BangkokShopper said:


> Hello,
> 
> Sorry, am I allowed to ask ? Why DTG is still a problem most of the time ? Is there any successful business using DTG ? This technology is old already, so why it never became something easy ?
> 
> ...


it's the ink
it's the moving parts
it's the materials used in the machine
it's the inherent planned obsolescence
it's the operator
it's the circuit boards
it's the workers putting the machine together
it's the workers' toxic work environment
it's the ghosts in the machine
it's the shipping
it's the societal malaise
it's the stock holders demanding a greater roi (return on investment)
it's a fallen world

how bout a song:
'i get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine' - meaning = use your head
extricate yourself from the crowd
no longer ask why, ask why not (this is a true stepping stone across the stream)






~


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

BangkokShopper said:


> Sorry, am I allowed to ask ? Why DTG is still a problem most of the time ? Is there any successful business using DTG ? This technology is old already, so why it never became something easy ?


It depends. CMYK with an Epson F2100 should be fairly easy.
White ink... extra complexity
Converted printer... a lot of extra complexity.
Cheap Chinese conversion with zero support, bought by clueless newbie... a disaster waiting to happen.


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## BangkokShopper (Sep 24, 2013)

TABOB said:


> It depends. CMYK with an Epson F2100 should be fairly easy.
> White ink... extra complexity
> Converted printer... a lot of extra complexity.
> Cheap Chinese conversion with zero support, bought by clueless newbie... a disaster waiting to happen.



so what is the cheapest reliable machine that can be used without any problem please ?


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

BangkokShopper said:


> without any problem


It does not exist.



BangkokShopper said:


> what is the cheapest reliable machine


The cheapest machine in terms of reliability is the Epson F2100.


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## designpal (Jul 25, 2013)

CaitlinButton said:


> HELP!!
> I work for a printing company in Australia. We only started up mid last year, but since beginning we've had problem after problem.
> We purchased our DTG M2 Industrial machine through Impression Technology. Unfortunately, they are located in NSW, whereas we are located in Western Australia. We were never able to have a technician come to us (as was agreed upon when purchasing machine - and has been paid for), the reason being Covid. We know that it was not possible for them to come help so we have had to start the company ourselves.
> 
> ...


It could be due to the tube supplying the white ink that's being partially obstructed causing insufficient ink flow. It happened to our machine once. Changed the tubes and it worked fine after that.


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