# thinking of leasing a DTG printer any suggestion?



## mlsalters77 (Nov 7, 2008)

hello all,

any one have any direction for a artist on the hunt for a DTG printer able to do oversized/allover printing on colored shirts? All so, alot of my designs have white which means i need to be able to print white ink but i have heard there are some issues with the white ink thing?

any body...anybody...?


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Pay someone else to do it... much cheaper and easier for you in the long run...


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

White ink cost way to much to deal with, end of story..
Sub out to someone with Kornit


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

Sean,
Not everyone would agree with your statements about white ink. Agreed that white ink is much more difficult to manage than colors, but, it is not impossible. We have many customers who use white ink on a regular basis and make money with it. The main issue with white ink is not so much the process, but more the way it is positioned to the ultimate consumer. If you base you pricing on dark shirts and then offer a discount on light shirts it makes it easier to charge the right price for white ink prints.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

I know my point of view isn't viewed same by a few, but you gotta agree on me that more people in a whole complain about white ink at the end of the day.
You can't tell me with a straight face that white ink is right on spot, because it still has alot of issues based that its fairly new still.

I just think its hard telling a client that a dark shirt cost twice as much as a light one, when client will just tell me, "oh I can screenprint that" for alot less"
I base these on a contract DTG point of view, as the person stated, seems like they will do a bunch and it is hard for a person to grasp the real cost of white ink until they do it themselves.

I ill though give you gratitude that your machine and Kornit handle white ink the bases of cost and innovations the best but its really a point of view perspective on my behalf that the technology of white ink ain't perfect as of yet.


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## stix (Feb 3, 2008)

If your an artist think how many shirts you can actually sell to recoup your cost. Many salesman will tell you to go out and get the business, however you know your strengths and weaknesses!! If your doing a shirt here or there. Why would you spend 15k + on any machine? I would sub it out or buy a used machine on the cheap. There are many people that was in your position and made the wrong decision. Look around and see all the used machine selling for half of what people paid for 12 months ago.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Well said Chris, funny thing is, alot of those people who are selling are artist as well, because they changed there businesses idea on what they wanna do.
You need to remember your lease is gonna cost you atleast 350 a month plus insurance plus electricity, time, consumables ect. 
If you got a design that you are already a ton of, than go for it but don't jump into the ocean if you don't know how to swim. 

Buying a used machine may have its ups and downs because you never know if something breaks down out of blue, head needing to be changed, proper training ect.


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

Stix,
No argument there, I don't want the customer who is only going to print 100 shirts a month - he is going to have a very long ROI and higher atrophy issues. Be wary of salesmen who sugarcoat issues like this. Except for me !


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Don, trust me, if all salesmen were like you, they wouldn't have the reputation they do!

I still owe you big time for that list of suggested spare parts for my Kiosk... Saved me 3 times already since I was able to complete jobs I otherwise wouldn't have.... And they were parts I broke myself, not because of anything with the machine.


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## stix (Feb 3, 2008)

Don,

Right.. Because if they only printed 100 shirts a month they wouldn't buy ink from you. (Tongue in cheek)


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## mlsalters77 (Nov 7, 2008)

thanks everybody,

I am an artist and i have a crap load of designs. I thought that it could be an idea because i could not only have the freedom to do my shirts but have a second income by doing printing for others. I think everyone would agree that you have a better chance at succeeding when your business is one that other business need. especially in this economy. i intended on leasing because I would guess the machine would have some form of servicing warranty and as a person new to the art of printing I would gather its better to have a dependable machine. i dont know, its a lot to consider but i just hate the idea of being at the mercy of print companies i really would like to be in control of as much of my product as i can. but what machine to get? and where to lease from? and which machines are better for all over printing??? these are the questions that plague my existence.lol


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Personally, I would not buy a machine unless you already had the business for it. If you have your own designs, why not just go to someone like CafePress.com and create a store instantly and start advertising. Sure you won't make the money you could by printing them yourself, but at least you are building up a customer base first. Once you see you have a loyal following and successful store, branch off and purchase your own machine to do it. I was always told "slow and steady wins the race" and when I tried to hurry, I usually lost out on something. Now I take my time and build wisely.


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

> Right.. Because if they only printed 100 shirts a month they wouldn't buy ink from you. (Tongue in cheek)


Not true - they gotta do head cleanings!


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

We leased our first DTG (brand) machine through swf mesa. The lease option was a good decision for us as it allowed us to use our $$ for other startup costs such as stocking inventory, supplies, marketing, etc.

BTW, We print very few white shirts, most of our prints are on colored or black shirts. Dupont makes a great product we go through about a gallon of white ink per month.


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

mlsalters77 said:


> thanks everybody,
> 
> I am an artist and i have a crap load of designs. I thought that it could be an idea because i could not only have the freedom to do my shirts but have a second income by doing printing for others.


This was our intention as well, but I can tell you from experience that the time you will investing in learning how to operate the machine efficiently and maintain it to print on dark colored shirts, manage your customers and business will leave you very little time to work on your own ideas. 

We have pretty much had to decide which way we are going, either be a T-shirt seller or be a t-shirt printer.


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## Teeser (May 14, 2008)

We are independent artists as well and are dtg printing on demand and selling online for ourselves and a few artist friends. We have a refurbished T-jet Jumbo 2. Its a good business model for us. We can throw a ton of designs out there, we only have a couple thousand invested in blank tees and hoodies, and the printing is so much better than 4 color process plastisol transfers.

We're doing 16 X 20 prints but aren't convinced about oversized prints across the sleeves and back/front on darks due to the time involved - multiple passes to press pretreat and trying to open seams and flatten wrinkle and bulges so you don't hit the printhead, print time with white, multiple pressings to cure the print (6, 9, 12 min per shirt depending). You're looking at 3 maybe 4 shirts an hour.


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## oldfarmer542 (May 1, 2009)

I think you should lease a machine as don said if you maintaine your machine and keep it cleaned with cleaning solution, do your head cleanings you should be ok. The white is managable you got to be smarter than the ink. CLEAN,. CLEAN, CLEAN thats the name of the game with inkjet printers. Always have a extra head on hand as well.


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## Teeser (May 14, 2008)

Teeser said:


> we only have a couple thousand invested in blank tees and hoodies


...and the equipment of course but I'd rather have the machine than carry the inventory.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I leased my machine and do print white ink. Its been a good investment for me and my business. I think that is the important part, is having the business to support it. You will hear people say that the white is not perfect, but I myself have no problems printing the white ink. It all depends on the machine, the operator, and how well the machine you buy handles the white ink. It is a learning process, but it can be very rewarding if you learn it correctly. 

My prints come out amazing, and I love the feel of the prints. I like the fact that I can print 1 or 20, and no matter what each one cost the same to print. I can print high detail with a ton of colors. You just have to make sure that you have a price that you can make a profit on. Where I live in California, its not a problem charging a decent price for my printing. I really think demographics is going to have an impact on that as well. Where I live people are used to paying a decent price for a great product, but some other states it might be more difficult. 

My customers understand the work that goes into my garments, the pretreating and printing process, and what its benefits are compared to other printing methods. That is what is also important, is making sure you have the right customers for the product. If you are printing for people who want a ton of shirts as cheap as they can get them, then you will not do well. If you are printing for clients that have speciallty products, with high detail and high amount of colors such as artists or photographers, then you are going to be able to charge a higher rate. 

You will not be able to compare with screen printers on price, for large volume, low color designs. You will be able to do better then screenprinters on small run, high color and high detail jobs. It just really depends on your client base. These are all things to take into consideration when looking at getting a dtg.


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## mlsalters77 (Nov 7, 2008)

TahoeTomahawk said:


> We leased our first DTG (brand) machine through swf mesa. The lease option was a good decision for us as it allowed us to use our $$ for other startup costs such as stocking inventory, supplies, marketing, etc.
> 
> BTW, We print very few white shirts, most of our prints are on colored or black shirts. Dupont makes a great product we go through about a gallon of white ink per month.


thanks, i am in touch with swf because of this post so thanks a lot everybody. for the alloverprinting is this a different printer or some type of attachment that is placed on the printer itself?


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## mlsalters77 (Nov 7, 2008)

Teeser said:


> We have a refurbished T-jet Jumbo 2.


I have been shopping around on line for the T-jet jumbo 2 and found this lay out. besides the printer, do i need all of this crap listed or what. man, thats a bimmer! I will definitely have to find this machine for lease or used!

Price​*TJETLF2(Jumbo)**Fast T-JET LF-2000 Jumbo (Includes White Upgrade)**$44,995.00*WHITEUPGRADELFOptional T-Jet Jumbo White Kit - This is for older models that are upgrading$4,275.00*TJSPRAYER**T-Jet Power Sprayer**$**75.95*TJLFSTDBEDStandard Carrier Bed, 11 1/2" x 13" platens, 6 up on the base$850.00TJLFYOUTHBEDYouth Carrier Bed, 10" x 12" platens, 8 up on the base$750.00TJLFOSBEDOversized Carrier Bed, 16" x 18" platens, 2 up on the base$650.00TJLFFLATBEDFlat Carrier Bed With Metal Base$995.00TJETLFCAPCap Attachment - two cap holders$695.00TJLF1720Oversized Standard 17" x 20" Shirt Holder- Jumbo Only$165.00TJLFBULKFast TJet LF Jumbo Bulk Ink System$840.00TJETLFDHEADReplacement Printing Head$595.00TJETLF1WAdditional 1 Year Extended Warranty For Fast T-Jet Jumbo$3,300.00TJETLF2WAdditional 2 Year Extended Warranty For Fast T-Jet Jumbo$5,995.00
*Top or back to Screen Printing Equipment or Fast TJET*


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

You can find refurbished Jumbo 2 printers.

Harry - Equipment Zone


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## dizzle22 (Oct 30, 2011)

Hi If you don't mind I'm interested in talking with you further on this matter.


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## Xot777 (May 2, 2014)

What is a good DTG printer to start with? Lease or Buy?


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## 4C Print Shop (Sep 8, 2010)

This question has been answered many times on this forum.


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