# Best DTG Printer for start up company?



## YouNeedItByWhen (Nov 14, 2011)

What would anyone recommend for a company who is getting back into the t-shirt business. We are using the magic touch system, or paper to do t-shirts on white shirts and photos on dark shirts with a white background. We have enough interest in shirts to move to the next level but would not be running a DTG printer all of the time. Which printer, if any, can sit for a few days unused and then produce without a lot of maintenance? Which printer would you recommend, for DARK SHIRTS as well as white, in this situation? We do want high quality output when we are using the machine.


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## abmcdan (Sep 14, 2007)

None of the machines on the market that have white ink are going to low maintenance or good in a situation where you aren't using the machine pretty much daily. As the machine sits the white ink begins to separate and you run the risk of ink drying up in your printhead.

If you can do without white ink you might have better luck leaving it sit more often. I would have to say the Brother GT 541 has the best reviews for being low maintenance and easy to use.

Hope this helps.


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## YouNeedItByWhen (Nov 14, 2011)

That is the information I am finding out also. From what I have read you have to work with the white ink daily, or remove it from the machine completely when it sits for a few days.


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## YouNeedItByWhen (Nov 14, 2011)

And thanks for the information.


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

Seperation of white ink is a real concern and a cause of a lot of the "downstream" issues with dark shirt printing direct to garment printers. The circulation system on the DTG Brand machines that we sell prevents this seperation by circulating the inks at scheduled intervals. We leave our showroom machine for periods of 3- 4 days at a time with no longterm issues. Next week the machine will set for 5 days as we are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

The real concern when someone asks about letting a machine set for 3-4 days at time is not really about the settling of white ink, however, it is more about does the business merit the addition of a direct to garment printer. I would be more worried about justifying the expense of the machine than about settling of the white ink. JMHO


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## Resolute DTG (Jun 27, 2010)

YouNeedItByWhen said:


> That is the information I am finding out also. From what I have read you have to work with the white ink daily, or remove it from the machine completely when it sits for a few days.


There is a solution available for your question, circulation systems work great but no printer can circulate through the dampers or printhead so this means expensive auto cleaning cycles.

We have this covered for up to 3 weeks with no circulation or cleaning cycles.


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## ROYAL SAVAGE (Feb 18, 2009)

Don-ColDesi said:


> The real concern when someone asks about letting a machine set for 3-4 days at time is not really about the settling of white ink, however, it is more about does the business merit the addition of a direct to garment printer. I would be more worried about justifying the expense of the machine than about settling of the white ink. JMHO


Don - Thanks for saving me the trouble of typing . OUTSOURCE!

During the recent storm our machines sat for 4 days because we had no power - no problems. Every machine will eventually have recirculating systems to combat the settling of *TiO2* based white inks. The *TiO2 *suspension issue will be overcome. Advances in dispersion systems and particle configurations will change the way we look at white pigmented ink.


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