# What DTG would you recommend?



## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

We are thinking about getting a Direct to Garmet printer. One of my friends just bought a refurbished t-jet 2 for $9000. He seems happy with it. I saw a brand new t-jet 3 for about $14,000. I heard Brother is a good brand but $23,000 for the printer plus all the other fees they added on it came out to about $30,000 which is way over my budget. Are there any DTG's in the $15,000 range you would recommend?


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## estrada (Jun 5, 2009)

UNDERDOGG said:


> One of my friends just bought a refurbished t-jet 2 for $9000. He seems happy with it.


The problem with the T-jet 2 and DTG kiosk 2 is that they are based on an Epson 2200 print engine. Sadly, Epson no longer manufactures that print head and parts for that engine. See here:

Compass Micro - An Authorized Epson and Canon Printer Service Center : Parts Detail



UNDERDOGG said:


> I saw a brand new t-jet 3 for about $14,000.


The T-jet 3 was introduced many years ago, I think around 2008. This model was a dissaster and only very few actually worked. There was a problem with one of the boards that it is no longer available.

What ever you do, do not buy a T-jet 3. You will regreat it.


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## 23spiderman (Jun 26, 2008)

definitely call All American and check out the NeoFlex. it's priced in the area of your budget, and is still tops in print quality, customer service, and you get the NeoFamliy's help on here.


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## lazographics (Mar 5, 2009)

You can find few great new printers around the $15k range and below. Keep doing research and best thing to do is to attend a trade show and see the printers for yourself. Have them print out samples to compare and have a list full of questions.


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## hoosier13 (Jul 1, 2014)

UNDERDOGG said:


> We are thinking about getting a Direct to Garmet printer. One of my friends just bought a refurbished t-jet 2 for $9000. He seems happy with it. I saw a brand new t-jet 3 for about $14,000. I heard Brother is a good brand but $23,000 for the printer plus all the other fees they added on it came out to about $30,000 which is way over my budget. Are there any DTG's in the $15,000 range you would recommend?


I have been working with a DTG M2 that cost about $26.000, for several months . When I opened a new location, I needed a less expensive option for a second printer. I did my research and bought a Spectra 3000. It cost less than $8,000 and I couldn't be happier. I posted a review of the machine as well as some pictures. Just search for Spectra 3000 review under my name. Others commented on my review. One said he thought that it is the best A3 printer on the market for the money. Another guy that bought one also praised it.

I hope this helps


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## IrvineShirtGuy (Oct 13, 2012)

I've owned a Brother's and Anajet. I sold both and got a NeoFlex. I wish I would've owned the NeoFlex sooner!


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## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

I've been hearing good things about neoflex. What is their price range? Also I just heard about Spectra 3000, good quality, prints fast and it only costs $8000. Thanks for the feed back you guys are great.


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## estrada (Jun 5, 2009)

The Neoflex is probably the best DTG printer out there. Just recently they lowered the price considerably to 12 or 13 k. Support for the Neoflex seems very solid from what you can read in these forums. The spectra is a very recent printer and there aren't as many reviews on it's performance or suport. However it is very well designed and build. In terms of quality, I think it is a close second to the neoflex, with the advantage that it will be a little bit faster. I think whichever of these 2 printers you choose, you will be very happy with.


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## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

ISS trade show in Las Vegas Aug 3,4,5 is that the show I need to attend if I'm interested in buying a DTG?


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## IrvineShirtGuy (Oct 13, 2012)

UNDERDOGG said:


> ISS trade show in Las Vegas Aug 3,4,5 is that the show I need to attend if I'm interested in buying a DTG?


YES! A must go if you're shopping equipment. Ask for a demo and ask tons of questions. Ask about their maintenance requirements. 

Brothers, Anajet and All American printed me sample t-shirts. In the end AA had the better print quality.


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## lazographics (Mar 5, 2009)

UNDERDOGG said:


> ISS trade show in Las Vegas Aug 3,4,5 is that the show I need to attend if I'm interested in buying a DTG?


That's the next ISS show. A great one to attend. Also SGIA is back in Vegas in October. Usually companies have discounted show prices so if your ready to buy then a show price would be the way to go. Companies I would visit would be Equipment Zone, BelQuette, and All American. They all have their own Epson based dtg printer and also sell the new Epson F2000. Not sure if Spectra will be there but check them out as well.


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## 102557 (Mar 6, 2010)

lazographics said:


> That's the next ISS show. A great one to attend. Also SGIA is back in Vegas in October. Usually companies have discounted show prices so if your ready to buy then a show price would be the way to go. Companies I would visit would be Equipment Zone, BelQuette, and All American. They all have their own Epson based dtg printer and also sell the new Epson F2000. Not sure if Spectra will be there but check them out as well.


Spectra does a limited # of shows call the office for that info, far less than most. Trade shows are expensive for the manufacturer/ reseller and @ spectra's price point its a tough task without raising the cost. One of there missions is to provide the customer/ end-user the fastest return on investment (hence the low price point) and gaining customer loyalty on the consumable sales.. 

Demos are available in there N.J office pretty much 24/7 by appoint if special time or hours are requested.


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## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

So IrvineShirtGuy what brand did you buy from AA and how is it working out for you?


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## IrvineShirtGuy (Oct 13, 2012)

UNDERDOGG said:


> So IrvineShirtGuy what brand did you buy from AA and how is it working out for you?


I bought the NeoFlex for Textile. It's been AWESOME! Here are some of the reasons I like it.

1. The print quality is amazing.
2. It prints fast
3. I can print 3 shirts on a single run (I can either do 3 of the same design or 3 different designs on a single run)
4. Maintenance is super easy. Takes about 5 minutes a day.
5. Epson parts are easy to find and get.
6. Software is easy to use and control.
7. The maintenance costs are low.
8. It has a large print area! Bigger than Brothers and Anajet.

Brothers GT-3 series and Anajet can only print 1 shirt at a time. This is too slow for me because I print over 50 shirts a day (especially if you're doing dark garments).

I used to work on the Brothers GT-782 and I owned a Anajet Sprint. I didn't like either of them. The 782 maintenance costs were super high and it broke down a lot. There was too much downtime with the 782 because of mechanical issues and the quality wasn't that great for the price of the printer.

The Anajet was a pain the butt! It was hard to replace parts because the machine is so bulky and large hands don't fit in their tight spaces. The print speed was on the slower end. It took me about 10-20 minutes to start the machine each morning because it took so many cleans to get the nozzle checks to show decent patterns. This was under ideal room environment! Sometimes it would stop in the middle of a print and do a auto maintenance (this would cause major banding). Called tech and they said there was no way around it. The print quality was OK. It couldn't compare to the Brothers or NeoFlex.

I didn't see any difference on the print quality with the Anajet mPower. So to me it's more like an oversized Sprint. 

What's more amazing is the NeoFlex is cheaper than the Brothers and Anajet and it's a far better printer! The best time to get the NeoFlex is during the shows like the ISS Las Vegas that's coming up. It should be around 13-14k out the door with shipping. Maybe less depending on where you live. 

Just look at the print quality at the show. It's night and day with the NeoFlex. I was in your position not long ago. I went to the Vegas show and had a blast looking at everything. I wish I didn't make the mistake of wasting so much money with the Brothers and Anajet  But it was a good learning experience.

Hope this helps!


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## SkylineDesigns (Jun 27, 2014)

Irvineshirtguy how much did the neoflex for textile cost? how much have you had to put into it for maintenance since you have had it?


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## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

IrvineShirtGuy exactly which neoflex did u get?


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## IrvineShirtGuy (Oct 13, 2012)

There's only 1 NeoFlex model. It can either run textile or solvent inks.


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## IrvineShirtGuy (Oct 13, 2012)

SkylineDesigns said:


> Irvineshirtguy how much did the neoflex for textile cost? how much have you had to put into it for maintenance since you have had it?


This printer is about 3 years old. The only major thing I replaced within that time is the capping station and printhead. So about $680 in parts. 

The little stuff like dampers and encoder strips are cheap. I get the dampers from a local place for about $7 each and the encoder strips is about $13. 

Since the NeoFlex is based off the Epson 4880 it's really easy to find parts and replace things yourself. Opening up the printer and replacing parts is easier than most DTG printers. Everything inside that printer is easily accessible.


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## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

I just called All American thinking that the price would be around $16,000. But the guy said they are on sale for $11,999. So as of right now it is between the Neoflex and the Spectra 3000 for $8000, but I need to do more research on the spectra. Thanks guys for the feed back.


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## paata01 (Aug 31, 2013)

UNDERDOGG said:


> I just called All American thinking that the price would be around $16,000. But the guy said they are on sale for $11,999. So as of right now it is between the Neoflex and the Spectra 3000 for $8000, but I need to do more research on the spectra. Thanks guys for the feed back.


I have Spectra 3000 and I can say its amazing.I had printer based on Epson 4880 and it's was too slow. Epson 4880 is outdated.This one is so fast, and EK RIP works great. It saves a lot of time. All those ads on many DTGs promising 300 t-shirts a day is just a joke, its impossible. And on this one I got my record number of prints per day on Father's day sales. The pressurized ink system really makes a difference. 

Also I got Another Spectra 3000 couple of weeks ago, it sells for 6000$ now.


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## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

paata01 said:


> I have Spectra 3000 and I can say its amazing.I had printer based on Epson 4880 and it's was too slow. Epson 4880 is outdated.This one is so fast, and EK RIP works great. It saves a lot of time. All those ads on many DTGs promising 300 t-shirts a day is just a joke, its impossible. And on this one I got my record number of prints per day on Father's day sales. The pressurized ink system really makes a difference.
> 
> Also I got Another Spectra 3000 couple of weeks ago, it sells for 6000$ now.


So are u saying the Neoflex runs Epson 4880?


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## paata01 (Aug 31, 2013)

UNDERDOGG said:


> So are u saying the Neoflex runs Epson 4880?


I am not talking about Neoflex, I never had neoflex. I am talking about Rainbow based on Epson 4880.


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## joe83 (Apr 26, 2013)

paata01 said:


> I have Spectra 3000 and I can say its amazing.I had printer based on Epson 4880 and it's was too slow. Epson 4880 is outdated.This one is so fast, and EK RIP works great. It saves a lot of time. All those ads on many DTGs promising 300 t-shirts a day is just a joke, its impossible. And on this one I got my record number of prints per day on Father's day sales. The pressurized ink system really makes a difference.
> 
> Also I got Another Spectra 3000 couple of weeks ago, it sells for 6000$ now.


I just checked because I thought it was a price without warranty but I was wrong. According to their ebay listing, its a summer sale and you have 1 year warranty as long as you go to training at their NJ facility.

There are a lot of specials this month!


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## lazographics (Mar 5, 2009)

The Neoflex is based on the Epson 4880.


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## UNDERDOGG (May 30, 2009)

I talked with a sales rep from Spectra and he said he is not going to attend the Las Vegas show in August. I would like to see it perform in person before i buy one. But they are on the East coast and I live on the west coast so that makes it hard. Also he said they have only been around since January 2014. ALL of the reviews I have seen have been positive about the Spectra but I'm leaning towards not buying one because, 1. I can't see it in person in less I fly to the east coast. 2. They only had it on the market since January of this year. 3. He says he has a 4-8 week waiting list. 4. I'm a very skeptical person and all those good reviews, might not be real, if u know what I mean. The guy also said that the spectra 3000 was a game changer for $8000. He said DTG companies have been taking advantage of customers for years by over pricing for their machinces. And he also said alot of companies are dropping their prices like Neoflex went from $16,000 to $10,000, because of the Spectra 3000. Right now even thought it is higher in price, I think I might go with the Neoflex.


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## estrada (Jun 5, 2009)

Still you make some good points. The neoflex is a proven printer with exellent reviews in performance and support. The spectra has a lot less reviews because it's new. I guess it depends whether you want to "take a chance" on a new printer and save $6,000. Or take the safe bet and get what we all know is the best dtg printer out there. Like I said whichever you choose, I'm sure you will be a happy customer.


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## IrvineShirtGuy (Oct 13, 2012)

In terms of support the Neofamily has a strong presence in this forum. Lots of places to get help on top of the tech support you get from AA.


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## 102557 (Mar 6, 2010)

UNDERDOGG said:


> I talked with a sales rep from Spectra and he said he is not going to attend the Las Vegas show in August. I would like to see it perform in person before i buy one. But they are on the East coast and I live on the west coast so that makes it hard. Also he said they have only been around since January 2014. ALL of the reviews I have seen have been positive about the Spectra but I'm leaning towards not buying one because, 1. I can't see it in person in less I fly to the east coast. 2. They only had it on the market since January of this year. 3. He says he has a 4-8 week waiting list. 4. I'm a very skeptical person and all those good reviews, might not be real, if u know what I mean. The guy also said that the spectra 3000 was a game changer for $8000. He said DTG companies have been taking advantage of customers for years by over pricing for their machinces. And he also said alot of companies are dropping their prices like Neoflex went from $16,000 to $10,000, because of the Spectra 3000. Right now even thought it is higher in price, I think I might go with the Neoflex.


The NeoFlex is a great printer you cant go wrong. They have a talented staff, they also have an excellent 2 day training in philly! don't forget to get a chese steak when your there..


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## allamerican-aeoon (Aug 14, 2007)

When anybody has some doubt best choice is go to the show and check with own eyes. Worth Gold.. Jeff is talented guy. His partner has to keep up with new launch until have many references. Another option is send your art work work to all Dtg manufactures and ask print for you. Choose hardest image you can. Wish your best.
Cheers! Inks are on me always.


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## tee09 (Oct 30, 2009)

german13 said:


> The NeoFlex is a great printer you cant go wrong. They have a talented staff, they also have an excellent 2 day training in philly! don't forget to get a chese steak when your there..


Very clever. You say nothing but nice things about Neoflex, but all your links in your signature is Spectra 3000. What type of inks does the Spectra 3000 use and how do they compare with Neoflex?
Thanks in advance


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## allamerican-aeoon (Aug 14, 2007)

UNDERDOGG said:


> I Neoflex went from $16,000 to $10,000, because of the Spectra 3000. Right now even thought it is higher in price, I think I might go with the Neoflex.


LOL,
Thank you but Wrong statement. But good guess which I never thought about it. Spectra present is not AA's concern at all. Actually I support Jeff and advise him how to be success many times. Best service, provide lowest possible price, love them as own family, their success is your success ---etc. Jeff used to work for AA. Jeff was DIY started person who loves Dtg. We get along real well. 
My competitors are BIG guys. I will never aim who try to make a honest living. I just prey for him "never like easyT guys". I told Jeff face to face at show while we share sandwich together.
AA discount cause is much deeper than many are thinking. I believe it was right choice. 
Your success is Our success! AA does believe this.
Cheers! Inks are on me always.


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## allamerican-aeoon (Aug 14, 2007)

I want to add one more benefit to choose between Spectra and NeoFlex is
Buyer can only change Printer only. Not exchange whole machine. New printer introduced? just add on with little investment. Take less than 3 minutes. I think Jeff learned when he works for AA. Lol.
So much fun, I love forum.
Cheers! Beers are on me always.


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## tee09 (Oct 30, 2009)

Nevermind, I found it.


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## 102557 (Mar 6, 2010)

tee09 said:


> Nevermind, I found it.


 Spectra uses and recommends DuPont Artistri ink. Its the industry standard, DuPont has very high quality control standards.


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

> ISS trade show in Las Vegas Aug 3,4,5 is that the show I need to attend if I'm interested in buying a DTG?


attending a trade show before buying a DTG is almost mandatory
you'll get a better deal if you haggle at a trade show
&
you'll be able to compare printers directly and hands on as well as see their output. someone here suggested spending an hour working with any printer you're interested in to learn it's quirks and find the best match

i should have finished reading this thread before adding redundant info.

it's really exciting to see the prices for both spectra and neoflex dropping. $18k+ is a lot of money for a small startup to invest in a DTG printer. whoever said they're doing 50 shirts a day is pretty lucky. another member here does a couple to a dozen shirts a day.

$6k for a spectra is even better than the already reasonable $8k list price compared to the competition and a $10k neoflex is a nice bargain too for sure. 

i was already convinced that neoflex is the measuring stick to compare all other printers against before visiting this thread and now see it as "the absolute gold stand" (no pun on absolute printers intended) i know you can get one for $12k, but would imagine you really need to go to a show to get the extra $2k savings.

i bet american DTG printers are starting to feel some pressure from chinese brands. i personally would never trust one unless it was proven in the marketplace and had dedicated US based service. otherwise, i picture a nightmare of owning a very expensive brick.

just yesterday, i saw mention of UFO brand printers that sell for just $2k-$4k. that definitely creates pressure on other brands to stay competitive. at that price, i bet they're made in china.


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## OmniPaul (Jun 11, 2014)

I totally agree about going to shows and bringing your graphics to print, pay attention to the entire process. how easy was it to print, how close do the colors match. Ask maybe to be walked though it quickly. Its a very competitive market and everyone is going to tell you its the best printer. taking the time to see what really goes on to make it happen and comparing the quality is key. If you get turned away even see if you can come back at the end of the show to do it. And don't forget to give them all a good wash, a good print does noting for you being washed down the drain after a few washes.


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## hoosier13 (Jul 1, 2014)

One nice thing about the Spectra is that it is light and portable. Here is a picture of me working like a "dog" this weekend at home. Had a bunch of shirts to print and didn't want to go to the office.

Seriously though, it weighs about 30 lbs and is very easy to transport and set up. I often work at home and this printer is perfect for that


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## 102557 (Mar 6, 2010)

hoosier13 said:


> One nice thing about the Spectra is that it is light and portable. Here is a picture of me working like a "dog" this weekend at home. Had a bunch of shirts to print and didn't want to go to the office.
> 
> Seriously though, it weighs about 30 lbs and is very easy to transport and set up. I often work at home and this printer is perfect for that


 Looking good!  your actually pretty close on the weight. Its approx. 40.5 # pounds with the removable platen off and approx. 47# pounds with the platen on  Considering the original print engine weighs in @ 35 pounds before conversion in the equation is pretty remarkable outcome.. you cant mistake weight for strength this is a misconception, there are a lot of materials very strong and light weight an example being carbon fiber.. best of luck in your venture...


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

Spectra 3000 Spectra 3000 Digital Garment Printer...the affordable DTG solution about $6,000 blows the doors off of anything. If you want to spend more, the new Epson SureColor F2000 with White. The latest and the creates as well, a real workhorse for about 16K
THESE ARE BOTH THE NEW 3rd GENERATION DTG PRINTERS!

Stay away from everything else and don't buy anything used!

john eisenberg call me if you wish, just did the whole due diligence thing LEARNED MUCH! Beware lots of Snake Oil Salepeople pushing Anchor Weights CAVEAT EMPTOR.


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## fancyneat (Feb 1, 2013)

Hi underdog. I worked with family in the tee biz for 2.5 years as the mgr. we had brother gt-541. I never had the first problem with it. we paid 26K for it new. we didn't get our money's worth out of it. however, I was basically the only employee. we couldn't find enough biz to stay open. we sold our gt 541machine and the whole biz for around 12K. it was an excellent machine and all our customers loved the work it produced. we ran into a few probs as far as always getting calls about doing black tees and us not having white ink was an issue. maybe u could buy a used machine. good luck .


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## 23spiderman (Jun 26, 2008)

johnleisenberg said:


> Spectra 3000 Spectra 3000 Digital Garment Printer...the affordable DTG solution about $6,000 blows the doors off of anything. If you want to spend more, the new Epson SureColor F2000 with White. The latest and the creates as well, a real workhorse for about 16K
> THESE ARE BOTH THE NEW 3rd GENERATION DTG PRINTERS!
> 
> Stay away from everything else and don't buy anything used!
> ...


the printers you mentioned are great, but "stay away from everything else"??? NeoFlex included? Mod1 included?

my Neo allows me to print anything that fits on the 17" x 42" bed. when i do production runs, i'm never waiting on the printer...it keeps printing while i unload and load shirts. it has the best print quality, excellent customer service and tech support, and it's price was recently lowered. just wondering why it is now in your "stay away" list?


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

The Brother 541 was a workhorse, still is if you're going to print White or Light Blanks ONLY
Also, it's NOT a 3rd GENERATION DTG Printer like the Epson and Spectra3000 are. Everything else out there for now is passé technology. Also, if you buy used, make sure you can still get parts and support...


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

1. It's now antiquated technology which is why the price is dropping like a rock.
2. The print quality was OK / certainly comparative to the Espon at $16k and ALMOST as good as the Spectra3000
3. Agreed, it's a Workhorse with a biggerPlaten than most will ever need. 

If you've got the space and the production and don't mind buying outdated technology, go for it, be my guest. Most I believe will find the platen size just fine for 99% of their orders.


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## 23spiderman (Jun 26, 2008)

gotcha. not arguing, just questioning.

i do disagree with you regarding the Epson 4880 being "antiquated/outdated technology", and that definitely is not the reason that the NeoFlex price went down.

i do think you'll be happy with the Spectra, and at the end of the day, you have to do what is best for you. Jeff German (German13) is a standup, trustworthy guy in the DTG world, and i know that he is involved with the Spectra in some way.


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

thanks Mon, agreed.
Like I said the NeoFlex is a workhorse, the samples Randy ran were exemplary, At the end of the day it's a simple formula that's totally specific to the situation.
For me, it's about having control and not subcontracting our orders for production. That also allows us to control graphic sizes and blanks. We're wholesaling to the Luxe market at $24. -$36. per piece and they'll keystone it for the floor. I'm not dealing with the public. We're a High End Fashion House that's chosen to produce ourselves. Who knows, if we get into imaging Blank Dresses I'll layoff that production to you.
Keep in touch,
john e.


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

> about $6,000 blows the doors off of anything.


there's a line i saw advertised on youtube called UFO, i think, that has 3 DTs from $2,000 to $4,000, but at those prices, i'd suspect they're chinese made and possibly a nightmare to deal with for parts and service. i found no info on them other than their website.

the things i like most about spectra besides the price in my research is that they use an upgraded motor that indicates quality is important to the brand and the fact that they use pressurized inking and allow users to get bagged inks making clogs less likely. 

yeah... i'd love a neoflex myself, especially with that huge print area and all the love they seem to get from users and reviews. in the short term though, frivoulous concerns like EATING are more important. LOL


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

I agree. Eating is not optional. In the printing biz the rule of thumb was buy it on the outside and mark it up. Then, when your total purchases per / month / annum equal the cost of the equipment plus the cost of the consumables plus the cost of the footprint fully loaded plus the cost of the operator. Take that total and multiply it by 120% which assumes an 80% productivity rate and you'll see if your ready for you own gear. NEVER turn away an order that too big for your platen or your capacity. This is another reason why we're all here. You can either out source for size or to augment capacity you can't keep up with because of a deadline, split the run... Think fast and on your feet, success comes in cans NOT cant's


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

Actually, I disagree. Trade Show Demos can be notoriously deceiving. With today's technology, I simply sent files, had them imaged and had the potential vendors report ink usage in Millliliters split between White and CMKY and their cost per liter for ink. That's what I based my decision upon subsequent to spening about 5hrs down at Spectra DTG experimenting with ink saturation and resolution levels and running many, many test images. You won't be able to do that on a Trade Show floor, most of the demo's are "canned"


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

I don't recall eating being that important to me when I started businesses in the past. Although I am also a huge proponent of Intermittent Fasting and the benefits of skipping meals when you're stressed, ha.

The dilemma that occurs in budgeting for your first DTG printer isn't really the cost of the printer: it's the cost of *everything else*. The biggest cost to buying a new printer isn't even hardware, it's your time.

You can go and buy a shady heat press, but I have 4 or 5 broken shady heat presses in my basement. I could have bought two Geo Knights for the same loss. Spend the $1500-$2000 on a quality heat press, and make sure it is in your budget. I would estimate that we lost ... hundreds of hours ... dealing with shady heat presses. Not including down time when a press died and we had to wait for a new one. So call it hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars in lost/refunded jobs. Since the heat press is a point of failure, I actually recommend having a backup. $3000-$4000 for heat presses right there, almost the cost of a new entry level DTG machine.

Pretreating... I know we ruined our first print head years ago by pretreating "near" to our DTG printer with a hand sprayer. That stuff is acidic and sticky and gets everywhere. Can you budget for a pretreatment machine? If so, that's $4000 to add. A good pretreatment machine also means your time is conserved AND you're not wasting expensive pretreatment chemicals on overspraying using a manual spray tool. Now our pretreatment step takes literally 10 seconds from box to curing platen (second heat press comes in hand here) and can be done WHILE setting up jobs to print.

Platens ... do not ignore this issue. We have a dozen platens or so. Oversize, a bunch of adult normal size, youth, sleeve, toddler. If we have a big job with identical prints, preloading platens can double efficiency. Having one or two platens only means you have a point of inefficient waste where you could be preloading shirts but instead you're sitting around waiting for a print to complete or a shirt to finish curing. I personally would budget $1500 for platens -- get a youth, get a toddler, get a few adult platens, and get an oversize one if your machine offers it.

UPS ... don't plug your printer into your outlet directly. Buy a quality UPS. $250.

Production/RIP PC ... don't do your accounting, billing, web browsing, Youtube watching or emailing from your production machine. Don't design on it. Have a solid machine, with a lot of RAM (4GB minimum) and an SSD hard drive, and use it strictly for loading files, ripping and printing. I am exhausted from providing 2 years of free assistance to people having "massive printer issues" that boiled down to their PC not being able to handle sending the data fast enough to the printer. Consider this: If you are printing a 12" x 15" image, with white underbase, the PC has to send nearly 300 MEGABYTES of data to the printer. Over a USB cable. Possibly while also calculating all of those millions of pixels as it rips your file while sending data out. Budget $1000 minimum and get a beefy machine. Plus your design/accounting/service PC. Call it $2500 for everything for both, including monitors, etc.

All of a sudden, to reduce inefficiencies, and to reduce points of failures, and to reduce headaches, and to conserve time, you're looking at more than the cost of a DTG printer. And we haven't even discussed upsell hardware like a steamer (we charge customers for steaming printed shirts) or a sewing machine to sew on custom labels (easy profit, easy money) or rent on the 500-1000 square feet of space you'll want.

In the end, the cost of the DTG machine isn't the big problem. It's all the other little things that add up to the scary final number.

But, according to my market analysis, which I run twice a year, there is enough room for 15,000 more DTG shops in the US. And that's a conservative value. The #1 reason people fail to make money? Laziness in developing new business. The #2 reason people fail to make money? They run out of money before meeting reason #1.

And that's the final thing that is important in starting a DTG business or any business: have money in the bank. You will have slow periods where you still have to print shirts. Even if you have no customers that day or week. So print and keep printing, even at a loss, so you can build your reputation and become profitable.


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

Thanks Professor,
Your wealth of knowledge shared so eloquently is a beautiful thing. Once again, the pen is mightier than the sword... 
That having been said, my recent "Due Diligence" experience has lead me to the realization that many "suppliers" cost per Liter for ink can vary from a high of $380.00 / liter Epson Surecolor F2000's 600ml. Cartridges, Anajet at $305.00 / Liter for White and $264.00 / Liter for CMYK in their High Capacity 220ml. Cartridges down to Spectra at $150.00 / Liter for White AND CMYK delivered via Gravity feed in an Oxidation proof IV Bag with a 250 Mil Capacity.

I agree regarding computer fire-power! I ran an International Publishing Company with 250 Macs on the network in a completely pdf work-flow. Keep the biz side on one side and the production side on the other! 

In the printing industry you die the death of 1,000 (or whatever the run is) due to lack of attention to detail.
Since I'm ADD and OCD and also suffer with PTSD and according to my wife PPS (Peter Pan Syndrome) AND most importantly, my first job was shoveling 40 stalls twice a day. Been shovelin ever since.
john e.


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

The Spectra has a lot going for it. Until I have one in my hands, I can't push too hard in one direction, of course.

The cost per liter isn't enough to gauge profitability. For me, the cost of ink accounts for less than 6% of the final retail gross income on a shirt.

Some printers, the Epson F2000 for example, are faster than some other printers. My labor cost is very expensive, being in an urban environment AND in a popular area AND on a popular street. If one printer is 20% faster than another, my labor savings alone is more than the cost of ink total.

Also, there is more than just the speed of printing. How fast does it take to load and unload a platen? There are probably 10 different platen systems I've played with, and all of them have different requirements for loading and unloading. How fast does it take to put a platen into the machine and take it out?

On top of that, you have the RIP itself. Using identical PCs, different RIPs take different amounts of time to generate a print file. This can lead to inefficiencies. Some RIPs definitely require some manipulation in Photoshop before a file is acceptable. Again, inefficiencies. On top of all of that, different RIP manufacturers do a different amount of work on color profiles. One RIP I worked with was great in terms of work flow, but colors were terrible. We had to tweak for months before we had a profile that worked with 80% of customer files. The RIP I use now works with 95% of customer files and I haven't tweaked it AT ALL.

In my opinion, the worst enemy in the DTG game is typically the salesman. The best friend in this business usually is your competition -- if they are willing to share their knowledge.


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