# Are you happy DTG printing?



## ROYAL SAVAGE (Feb 18, 2009)

With so many people looking to enter the DTG market I believe that the more questions posed and answered by experienced forum members the more useful the forum becomes. 

*Are you happy DTG printing?*

*Is your DTG business growing, about the same, or down this year?*

*Do you feel that investing in DTG was worth it?*

*What do you dislike about DTG printing?*

*What is your number one item on your DTG technology wish list?*

*I plan on adding more gear at some point?*

*Would you buy a different brand of machine?*

*Why? ( Speed, Ink Costs, Print Quality, Pre-Treat Issues, Service, etc.)*


----------



## WholesalePrint (Sep 23, 2008)

Are you happy DTG printing?
A: Pretty Happy for the most part. Price on ink can be better.

Is your DTG business growing, about the same, or down this year?
A: Growing and shifting

Do you feel that investing in DTG was worth it?
A: Yes, could've been cheaper but I like being out of the range of the competitions reach and quality 

What do you dislike about DTG printing?
A: Not as messy and labor needed like Screen.

What is your number one item on your DTG technology wish list?
A: Lower white ink cost

I plan on adding more gear at some point?
A: Already decided to just waiting on pulling trigger.

Would you buy a different brand of machine?
A: NOPE at the moment. Don't think Kornits are worth it nor epsons up for the task.

Why? ( Speed, Ink Costs, Print Quality, Pre-Treat Issues, Service, etc.)
A: Why what?
__________________


----------



## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

WholesalePrint said:


> Do you feel that investing in DTG was worth it?
> A: Yes, could've been cheaper but I like being out of the range of the competitions reach and quality
> __________________


In what way?


----------



## WholesalePrint (Sep 23, 2008)

After owning a Epson based printers and hearing the horror stories from our clients about their epson based printers I do not feel they are on the same tier of Kornit or Brother on so many levels. The pricetag, as much as I hate to say it, is something that tends to shy people away from making the investment and makes outsourcing more convenient. 

There are MANY users on this forum that choose to not mention their dificulties and that goes for the printer that gets the least bad press here to. I respect the gentlemen approach they take. That being said i still believe NO PRINTER is perfect.


----------



## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

I guess I meant what makes you out of the reach of your competitors in terms of price and quality?


----------



## WholesalePrint (Sep 23, 2008)

I thought I already answered it. But to put it simply many people don't want to or can't justify spending more for some reason for 2 machines that technically do the same. Its kind like owning a Diesel 2500HD to do the same job instead on a Nissan Titan. You must own them to tell the difference. Printzilla might be one who may agree or not as he has owned VARIOUS machines and has a wealth of experience.

I do not want to sound condescending to other machine owners. I am just answering honest as possible.


----------



## ROYAL SAVAGE (Feb 18, 2009)

*Are you happy DTG printing?*
Yes- I believe it was the wisest long term decision I've made in the business

*Is your DTG business growing, about the same, or down this year?*
Up and manageable

*Do you feel that investing in DTG was worth it?*
Yes because it gave us another product to offer that generated more than peanuts in profit the way screen printing does.

*What do you dislike about DTG printing?*
Speed - the amount of volume orders greater than 288 is high because turnaround has become yesterday in this business. So faster technology not more machines would help.

*What is your number one item on your DTG technology wish list?*

Print speed and faster cure times.


*I plan on adding more gear at some point?*
Yes

*Would you buy a different brand of machine?*

No. I like what we have and it's tough as nails so if you run it hard it runs hard.


*Why? ( Speed, Ink Costs, Print Quality, Pre-Treat Issues, Service, etc.)*
The ink is _relatively_ cheap and the print quality is consistenly good. We've invested in training our employees and customers about the technology that we use.


----------



## 102557 (Mar 6, 2010)

*Are you happy DTG printing? ... as a low volume startup i would have to say no!! I love the technolgy but feel it has a ways to go yet..*

*Is your DTG business growing, about the same, or down this year?... Just starting*

*Do you feel that investing in DTG was worth it?..*

*we started with a shared older commercial machine (epson based) splitting cost of repair with the owner.. we eventually built our own using several different epson formats because i was afraid of investing in the technology after experiencing some hicups with the older commercial machine.. I would have to say based on our experience the epson format is a great cmyk printer but not so with the current white ink technology... currently we have invested more than gained with dtg when adding white ink to the printer with both a closed and open ink system... so im on the fence with this question!!*

*What do you dislike about DTG printing? white ink cost,pretreat process for darks, and the maint needed when printing white ink.. and the many clogged printheads when printing at low volume (epson based)..*

*looking forward to improvments with washability aswell, hopefully this will get somewhere near screen print washability in the future..*


*What is your number one item on your DTG technology wish list? a non clog white ink solution for epson based printers/printheads..no pretreat, reduced consumable cost..*

*I plan on adding more gear at some point?*

*we are going the screen print route until our volume is enough to justify the price of a commercial dtg/consumable cost, at this point we will wait to see where the dtg technology and cost are as the technology progresses.. *

*Would you buy a different brand of machine? Yes.. with enough volume to support it and well tested proven machine..without a doubt, but i have yet to see a machine of this nature.. my opinion is that white ink printing is the greatest obstacle/cost with these machines and has seemed problematic for other print venues aswell before dtg(sign makers etc) these folks had a head start and dont have a good solution for this as of yet either... im not overly optimistic that a trouble free white ink printer will be achieved by an inkjet printer.. I personally will never except a 20,000/300,000 dollar printer cost that clogs white ink easily (this is not a solution or well engineered product IMHO)*

*It may be a bit off topic but i have more faith in the emerging digital airbrush technology Art Robo - Universal direct printing mashine - Digital Airbrush to achieve a better option for dtgs than inkjet.. i think this could be achieved at a much lower consumable cost along with better durability and less maint... watching this closely..*

*YouTube - ‪Custom Flag with Lambo Doors - Digitally Airbrushed‬‏*


*YouTube - ‪Digital Printing of Chevy Corvette C6 Hoodliner‬‏*

*Why? ( Speed, Ink Costs, Print Quality, Pre-Treat Issues, Service, etc.)*
*all the above *


----------



## lupus (Jun 5, 2011)

It is great reading other people's experiences with DTG printing. Being new to the forum it is a real eye opener seeing the true face of the technology rather than advertising or sales hype.

If possible, could responders to this thread post the printer they own as well to allow the readers to get am idea or frame of reference as to what machine is being discussed

Thanks


----------



## ROYAL SAVAGE (Feb 18, 2009)

lupus said:


> It is great reading other people's experiences with DTG printing. Being new to the forum it is a real eye opener seeing the true face of the technology rather than advertising or sales hype.
> 
> If possible, could responders to this thread post the printer they own as well to allow the readers to get am idea or frame of reference as to what machine is being discussed
> 
> Thanks


That's the benefit of the forum!


----------



## ywane (Jun 18, 2011)

still hope anticlog white ink for this industries


----------



## Stitch-Up (May 26, 2007)

*Are you happy DTG printing?*
Yes. For full colour textile printing and short runs, it's great.

*Is your DTG business growing, about the same, or down this year?*
Growing. Because we're not yet 'full-time' garment decorators, we're very busy. We've stopped marketting our service until we're in a position to take on more business.

*Do you feel that investing in DTG was worth it?*
Yes. It does what we expected, making a return is down to us. The business is there.

*What do you dislike about DTG printing?*
Ink costs & waste. I don't enjoy the pre-treat process but we were aware it was just part of the process.

*What is your number one item on your DTG technology wish list?*
Maintenance free.

*I plan on adding more gear at some point?*
Most definately - a Speed Treater.

*Would you buy a different brand of machine?*
No. 15 months into ownership of our NeoFlex we're delighted and confident we made the right choice. Seeing the continued success of the NeoFlex confirms this.

*Why? ( Speed, Ink Costs, Print Quality, Pre-Treat Issues, Service, etc.)
*Image quality is simply amazing. Being able to queue up 3 platens increases workflow to a point where there's no hanging around.*
*


----------



## DTG Printer (Sep 18, 2011)

Hey Stitch-Up
That sounds pretty positive. I think we all agree on this one:

*What do you dislike about DTG printing?*
Ink costs & waste. I don't enjoy the pre-treat process but we were aware it was just part of the process.


----------

