# Dtg Hm1 cost of printing and machine?



## a1graphics

Greetings,

I am looking at Direct to Garmet Printers and wonder if anyone owns a DTG HM1, and if you could give me a ball park figure of the following items.
Cost of Machine?
Cost of ink for printing full color front on white shirts?
Cost of ink for printing full color Front on Dark/Black Shirts?


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## graphicmaster

hi,
a1graphics I own a DTG Kis..... it's very good i'm talking to the company to buy DTG HM1 .
Full color White 12X12 image cost under .50cent
Full color Black 12X12 cost aoubt 3.5$ or more


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## sunnydayz

graphicmaster said:


> hi,
> a1graphics I own a DTG Kis..... it's very good i'm talking to the company to buy DTG HM1 .
> Full color White 12X12 image cost under .50cent
> Full color Black 12X12 cost aoubt 3.5$ or more


Yep, those were the prices I was going to list but I have the HM1. your going to love the hm1, it is a great machine.

Also, a1graphics, the price is around 17000 for the machine, that is what I paid at the long beach show. The best thing is to go to a show and make your purchase there as you get a better price and alot of extras with the machine that way.
Bobbie


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## kustom

sunnydayz said:


> Yep, those were the prices I was going to list but I have the HM1. your going to love the hm1, it is a great machine.
> 
> Also, a1graphics, the price is around 17000 for the machine, that is what I paid at the long beach show. The best thing is to go to a show and make your purchase there as you get a better price and alot of extras with the machine that way.
> Bobbie


Sunnydayz

I see you are still happy with the HM1. that is good. I really want one but can't get it till spring. it is too much to take on in the winter when I am working on racecars. it will be my spring purchase and business venture.

but what I was writing was how does the hm1 print on white? I mean does it look like the brother or other printers? I got a black sample from Mesa and all white samples from other manufacture reps. the big difference I saw was the black sample was thick the ink was webbed across the treads where the white samples were like airbrushed into the fabric with no bridging I can stretch it and see the individial weaves in the shirt. I am not sure what feel or look I like. but the Mesa sample has been the best asfar as color brightness and clarity.

It was a clipart, photoshop type of graphic as the other samples have all been photos. so I know I am not comparing apples to apples but want to know if form what you have seen the HM1 prints like others do on the white.


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## sunnydayz

kustom said:


> Sunnydayz
> 
> I see you are still happy with the HM1. that is good. I really want one but can't get it till spring. it is too much to take on in the winter when I am working on racecars. it will be my spring purchase and business venture.
> 
> but what I was writing was how does the hm1 print on white? I mean does it look like the brother or other printers? I got a black sample from Mesa and all white samples from other manufacture reps. the big difference I saw was the black sample was thick the ink was webbed across the treads where the white samples were like airbrushed into the fabric with no bridging I can stretch it and see the individial weaves in the shirt. I am not sure what feel or look I like. but the Mesa sample has been the best asfar as color brightness and clarity.
> 
> It was a clipart, photoshop type of graphic as the other samples have all been photos. so I know I am not comparing apples to apples but want to know if form what you have seen the HM1 prints like others do on the white.


I think the white shirts come out close to the same on most machines as they are the same inks. except brothers of course. The HM1 also is light on the feel , in fact you cant really feel it at all. It looks more like dyed. the reason you feel it on the black shirt is because of the white layer behind the color. I really like the way the white shirts look as do my customers.

Bobbie


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## SoCalShirts

Sunnydayz,

Is that $17000 before or after taxes? 

Thanks,
Ryan


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## kustom

SoCalShirts said:


> Sunnydayz,
> 
> Is that $17000 before or after taxes?
> 
> Thanks,
> Ryan


before taxes

I got a different quote of $18,340 and then that bastard uncle sam wants his $1100.40 in 6% sales tax  even though he did nothing to earn it. (so $1944.04 you could maybe have the machine sitting in your shop)

You gota love a country who now made it legal for Iligal imagrants to draw social security when they have not contributed a cent to this socalled counrty!! 

just my $.000002


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## Tagger

Isn't sales tax a state tax?


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## mk162

Yes, and I don't think this thread was meant to get political. How much is freedom worth to you? $1,100 on a large machine purchase that you will profit from?

Back to the thread...SWF will offer really good deals come show time. We got an embroidery machine for $40K that was normally $50K and we got all of the add-ons for free.

It's worth waiting for a show. You don't have to buy at the show, just call up and ask if there are any show specials going on.


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## queenVee

sunnydayz said:


> Yep, those were the prices I was going to list but I have the HM1. your going to love the hm1, it is a great machine.
> 
> Also, a1graphics, the price is around 17000 for the machine, that is what I paid at the long beach show. The best thing is to go to a show and make your purchase there as you get a better price and alot of extras with the machine that way.
> Bobbie


Hi Sunnydayz,
I'm looking into buying a DTG HM1.. can you please tell me a estimate as to how many shirts you can print.. full color 12x12 you can get from full bottles of ink? Im trying to figure out ink costs. as to how much you have to stock up on? how long have you had your HM1?


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## sunnydayz

He Queenvee,

I have had my machine for a few months now and am really happy with it, my biggest suggestion is really research the maintenance on this machine as it is very important. I cant really tell you how many prints I would get from a bottle of ink in 12 x 12 design as there are too many variables involved also there are several different sizes of bottles the ink comes in. by far that will be your most expensive running cost of the machine. The variables I am talking about would be what dpi are you printing, how many layers are you printing and what colors are there in your design, also there is a major difference on light shirts compared to dark shirts. If you are doing a light shirt, and you do one layer at 720 x 1440 on a 10x12 design your cost will be around 50 to 60 cents. If you are doing the same design on a dark shirt with a medium density layer of white, now you are talking about around $4.00 per shirt. There is a huge difference when doing dark garments. Where are you located? because if you are anywhere near california they are having the ISS show in long beach in january and that is a really great place to see the different machines in action and to get the greatest deals on price. You can also talk to all of the different reps for the machines and get more info, I highly reccomend going to a show and doing major research before purchasing. I myself spent approx. 6 months getting to know this machine I would purchase and am so glad I learned all of the info I did before purchasing. The hm1 really is a great machine though, I absolutely love mine and I am 100% satisfied with it.

Bobbie


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## Ranger West

I am currently considering getting this machine but I only need to tdo black shirts. The cost of about $4.00 per shirt makes this good for small (under 10 shirts) as you can get a good mark up with the cost of the shirt. But if you had to do 50 of the same shirt for a client that is suppling the shirt what would you charge? I do not want to work for free.


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## queenVee

thanks bobbie, I will be attending the long beach show for sure in January.


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## toplinesports

Can this or any other garment printer work on all materials (cotton, polyester, nylon) or are they still limited to cotton and cotton blends?


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## sunnydayz

They work best with any natural fiber, I think the term is cellulous, which in itself means natural such as cotton. They do not work well with polyester or nylon.

Bobbie


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## sunnydayz

kustom said:


> before taxes
> 
> I got a different quote of $18,340 and then that bastard uncle sam wants his $1100.40 in 6% sales tax  even though he did nothing to earn it. (so $1944.04 you could maybe have the machine sitting in your shop)
> 
> You gota love a country who now made it legal for Iligal imagrants to draw social security when they have not contributed a cent to this socalled counrty!!
> 
> just my $.000002


my price from purchasing at the long beach sgia show was $17000 total that included taxes and was my final price, plus I got many extras with the show special.

Bobbie


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## queenVee

bobbie,


> my price from purchasing at the long beach sgia show was $17000 total that included taxes and was my final price, plus I got many extras with the show special.


can you print on baseballs? say a picture of a little league player and print it?


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## queenVee

bobbie,
which heat press did you end up going with if you dont mind me asking?
Qvee


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## sunnydayz

queenVee said:


> can you print on baseballs? say a picture of a little league player and print it?


I myself have not printed on baseballs so I dont know but I am sure you probably could as long as the machine has a deep bed such as the hm1 which can go down to 5 1/2 inches. I know some of the machines dont have the depth and that was one of the things that made me pick the hm1. 

As far as my heatpress I use for my dtg I have the hix 16 x 20 clam shell although now I wish I would have gotten a swing away. When I do my childrens clothing I have 2 hobby lites that I use which are only 9 x 12 and take much less time to heat up  .


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## queenVee

sunnydayz said:


> can you print on baseballs? say a picture of a little league player and print it?
> 
> 
> 
> I myself have not printed on baseballs so I dont know but I am sure you probably could as long as the machine has a deep bed such as the hm1 which can go down to 5 1/2 inches. I know some of the machines dont have the depth and that was one of the things that made me pick the hm1.
> 
> As far as my heatpress I use for my dtg I have the hix 16 x 20 clam shell although now I wish I would have gotten a swing away. When I do my childrens clothing I have 2 hobby lites that I use which are only 9 x 12 and take much less time to heat up  .
Click to expand...

thanks bobbie I'm learning alot threw this forum. I'm a little discouraged at the moment. funny.. at times I'm so pumped up.. and at other times I kinda get bummed  I'm not a graphic artist. I kinda thought I could hire someone to do that. but that would cost to much. I take it you do all your artwork huh?


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## sunnydayz

Yes I do all of my own artwork, but for my kids stuff alot of times I will buy clipart from places like clipart.com or somewhere like it and incorperate my stuff with the clipart I find. If you are not good at designing you might want to try this as sometimes just seeing an image of something will give you an idea for something you can incorerate into it. If you have any other questions feel free to ask  It really depends on what your style is and what market you are targeting but there is art for just about anything out there that you could buy and combine with something else to make it unique.


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## Chemik

back from the dead!! haha . What a gread thread, I came upon it after googling the DTG HM1.


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## DMac

I'll try to breathe more life into the thread. This is my first post. I'm also looking at buying a DTG HM1. So I have a thousand questions.
1. Is the info still good? Is the DTG HM1 still a good choice for printing colors and white?
2. Can you use all sorts of brands' inks with a DTG HM1 but need to use Brother's inks on their GT-782? 
There seem to be a lot of complaints about ink prices on the Brother. 
3. Any other brands I should look at?

Thanks, Don


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## mrbigjack50

All inks are same for Epson based printers like HM1, just renamed is all, all made by Dupont.. except or the brand of ink called DTG inks.
Brother inks may be higher but maintenance is next to nothing, you gain ease of use for 30 cents more or ink cost


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## sunnydayz

DMac said:


> I'll try to breathe more life into the thread. This is my first post. I'm also looking at buying a DTG HM1. So I have a thousand questions.
> 1. Is the info still good? Is the DTG HM1 still a good choice for printing colors and white?
> 2. Can you use all sorts of brands' inks with a DTG HM1 but need to use Brother's inks on their GT-782?
> There seem to be a lot of complaints about ink prices on the Brother.
> 3. Any other brands I should look at?
> 
> Thanks, Don


Hi Don 

I still love my hm1 and it still prints great. I think that if I were to look again today I would make the same decision. With the HM1 you can use other after market brands of ink, but you should also make sure that if you use different ink to flush your system and never mix two different brands. The dupont is the most reliable ink on the market, and most as Sean stated are rebranded dupont. There are a couple different inks on the market that are not dupont.

I myself have not seen any of the new machines that have come out in the last six months, as I have not been to a recent show lately. If you are wanting to learn more about the new machines out there, the best way to do that is to go to a printwear show and see them in action. The best show for this is the ISS show. 

Hope this helps


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## skdave

Bobbie,

After two years is the cost to operate your printer about the same? Ink etc.?


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## sunnydayz

Well the ink has gotten a bit cheaper just because I think there are more people selling it now then when I bought my machine. Plus alot of people are also carrying larger quantities so you can get better price breaks.

Plus when I first got my machine I was only buying my ink from Mesa, not really knowing who was reliable or not for ink  There are much better prices now on ink that is for sure  I would like to see them even cheaper though haha. I had a large supply of the R & H ink that I had gotten a deal on when they quit making it (which is sad because I loved that ink ), but at least there are better deals on the dupont now. 

If I recall correctly also that Dan at dtginks.com not only sells his dtg inks (which is not dupont), but he also has a new brand that is supposed to be pretty much the same as the dupont. I am trying to finish up my physical therapy on my back but as soon as I do, I plan to try it just to see if it does indeed work the same as the dupont.


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## DMac

OK, thanks sunnydayz and big jack.
I'll look around for a show.:tipthank:


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## mrbigjack50

there is a show in Chicago .. : )
not sure exactly when but its soon and is a big show


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## equipmentzone

The show you are referring to is the ISS show in Schaumburg, Illinois on August 13. It is one of the very smallest of the ISS shows. Details are at ISS Homepage

Harry
Equipment Zone


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## mrbigjack50

oh really, I been constantly getting all this info about it, they made it seem like a big event, no that's not one I was thinking of, its called Chicago color or something like that, there gonna have all kinda big boy printers and I know Brother will be there


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## Don-ColDesi

> It is one of the very smallest of the ISS shows.


All of the shows are smaller this year. Many companies are choosing not to exhibit due to cost. Schaumburg has been a decent show for a few years now, the Providence show was a tiny show. 

Jack - is the show in Chicago LabelExpo by any chance? That has traditionally been a very big show for the label making industry that featured all kinds of high end equipment.


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## mrbigjack50

Hmm.. I dunno if called label, I swear was chicago color or print, I see if I find info they sent me in mail


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## mrbigjack50

show is called PRINT 09, in Chicago, in September 12 or something


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## happyharold4

I found this ad and was wondering if any of you would be willing to post your opinions of it---Thanks



This system uses a special inkjet printer that prints directly onto a shirt. No color limitations, photo quality is as easy as plain text.

DTG HM-1
2 Adult Shirt Platens
1 Childrens Shirt Platen
1 Long Sleeve Platen
Colored & /White Ink
Cleaning Solution
Shirt Stock (approx 4 doz various sizes)
16x20 Digital Heat Press
Pretreatment Sprayer
Pretreatment
Compaq Computer w/RIPPro and Adobe Photoshop (Creative Suite)
Existing Customer base.

Barely used. This was being done as a side business.
Change in work situation makes printing difficult.

Completely refurbished. New print head, ink lines, cartdriges and capping station.
Works better then new!!

MAKE ME AN OFFER!!!

$13k Cash

or a lease arrangement can be made OAC through my leasing company 

Happy


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## Don-ColDesi

It is a pretty full package for sure. The price is about 75% of what the equipment would cost new, so you need to make a judgement call as to the value. It is certainly not a "no brainer" due to the cost.


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## ncarothers

I am leasing a HM1, SWF is the company that sold us this machine. I have had it just at year now. I would take a close look at ALL the costs the ink and parts that need to be replaced on a reg basis, read EVERYTHING . We leased/bought a refurbished machine was told it was a great machine from the company ( and would stand be hide it . Something has gone out of it every 3 months we have had nothing but trouble with it. To get help from this company beware you have to call AND e-mail both before you are on the list to get a call back then on the phone with them for hours. Oh, call back is takes several hours. I am usually out a day before I get help for issues with the printer. My printer is down again now and I will need to spend another $150 for a pump and since the pump went out $350 for a head because of clogging. Just paid $375 for new ink before it went out. To say the least I am a very, very frustrated customer. How does anyone make any money with this thing ? I could write a book.
Nancy


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