# Looking for Best DTG Printer



## tshirt787 (May 20, 2008)

Hi I'm looking for a new DTG printer. I already have a Brother but I'm interested to print on Dark garment. I was in ISS Show in Orlando and I liked a lot the T-Jet. Can someone with more experience in this type of printers help me to choose the best. Which one is better on support, service and quality? Thanks!!!


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

While you are waiting for replies, Bobbie Lee's thread is a must read

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t41520.html


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

Just my opinion here based on what I 've read:

1) The new Kornits seems to up there because it's the DTG being used by most well known fullfillment companies out there like Cafepress, etc. Their inks are cheaper (even the white ink), and they have integrated (and automated) the pre-treatment process in their machine. Kornits use 4 (or 8?) Spectra heads which are bigger and more expensive than the EPSON heads being used by almost all other DTG manufacturers. I'm thinking that these bigger heads means lesser occurence of head clogging (white ink). Their machine is the most expensive though. I have a quote here at USD97,000 FOB for the 932NDS model.

2) Having siad that, I'm also seriously looking at the Mimaki GP-604D. The machine does not use white ink (at least at the moment) but rather a discharge liquid (in cartridge also). It uses 2 heads for the CMYK (I'm guessing they're epson), and 1 head dedicated to the discharge fluid. Their inks are more expensive than Kornit's but they come in cartridge form so it helps address the contamination,pressure,etc. issues that comes with bulk ink systems. Although you will not be able to get bright/true whites when printing black shirts being a discharge system, there can be other interesting ways and colors achieved when printing with the discharge fluid. Not to mention that discharge prints are softer and becoming popular again especially with teenagers and with fashion and band shirts. Also with this printer, you don't need to do any pretreatment when prinintg on dark tees. Proper care must always be obseved on the discharge head though. It is recommended that the discharge fluid be replaced with the cleaning fluid when you are not going to use it for more than a day. This printer normally costs around USD25,000.

3) Brother GT-541: If you don't have plans on printing on black/dark tees, then this printer is highly recommended by almost all its users. The interface they say are very simple and it's very user friendly. It uses ink cartridges so it has the advantages of closed systems (less ink contamination and pressure problems). Of course the inks are more expensive than those used by the open/bulk systems. Not sure but cost is around 15T USD.

4) DTG Kiosks, HM1, Eclipse, Bullet from DTG Digital; Tjets from US SCreens; Flexijets; Anajets, etc.:
Nothing wrong also with the other DTG's from the other manufacturers. If you can get good support or are near a distributor, then there's no big problem getting one from them. I have a distributor of DTG Digital in my area so that I'm also seriously looking to buy the HM1 or eclipse from them. They offer different models with different number of heads, speeds, print area, other platen availability, RIP and ink systems (cartridge or bottles). Of course, Almost all DTG printers here with white ink would require you to do pretreatment. I imagine that they all use very similar inks which comes from Dupont or R&H, so that the ink costs are almost the same for these printers (except maybe for the cartridge type). The entry and secondary levels would cost fromt 15 to 30 plus thousand dollars.

When choosing the right DTG, It would also help a lot if you would think what kind of business and market you have or plan to target. This is almost as important as the machine itself. You don't want to get stocked with a very fast but very expensive machine when all the customers coming to your shop only wants 1 to 10 shirts. Mark, (daguide) posted a must read pdf here:
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t41828.html

Hope this helps, and I want to see more feedback from users of the Mimaki because it's the apple of my eye at the moment.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

great post Byron  just wanted to clarify one thing though, R&H no longer makes their ink unfortunately as it was a very vibrant ink, it was discontinued at the beginning of this year. Most of the machines use dupont but there are also several new inks on the market. all american is carrying their own ink and there is also Dans dtg inks. I belive dtg east coast also has their own new ink that is being sold by coleman company. So some have left and new ones have come out


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

Thanks Bobbie. I've read some of Dan's post, and had the impression that his inks are cheaper (is it true?), and that's a great development. Are his inks compatible with your HM1? have you tried them?


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