# Best dtg printer for small clothing brand



## Makulit974 (Aug 3, 2012)

Hi everyone

Been reading a lot of the posts and the information can be overwhelming. There are a lot of posts dating from 2007 that I found interesting but I presume there are now outdated.

I am starting a souvenir tshirt brand to fill a gap in my region. We are starting with one outlet but the demand being much higher than the offer, the plan is to have more in the region.
Some of my designs are perfect for silkscreen but others have too much details to work with that type of printing. I outsource my SP 
and my printer can offer bulk printing for the more detailed designs but the MOQ is rather high. 

I found on this forum about the DTG printing and I like the idea of freedom it could offer my business. I could easily try some of my designs before going for bigger runs. 

Could you recommend a dtg printer for my business?
- Print on all colours (dark included)
- Print on Cotton, Polyester and 60% Poly-40% Cotton
- Cost effective for max. 10 prints per day

My budget is around 6000 USD new or used.

Another question, anyone knows anything about this printer? 
Kmajet Direct to Garment Printer,DTG Printer - KMAJET (Shanghai) Technology Co.,Ltd

Thank you in advance


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## 102557 (Mar 6, 2010)

Patrick,

Based on your budget which is tight, your looking at a used or entry level, or diydtg purchase.. Keep in mind you will need other items aswell, heatpress,ink-consumables, pretreat equiptment.. you will also have a learning curve so expect to set aside budget for this aswell shirts testing.. If you need the white ink option there is used equipt that can be found on ebay,digismith and the likes! I would suggest doing your home work in regard to the epson base printer model as some of the early dtgs based on a epson 2200 are hard if not impossible to find parts for repair, used equipt will also generally need to be refurbished, this could include print heads (approx 500 us) inklines,dampers etc.. there is one new entry level u.s model avail currently with the white ink option (same as diydtg with plastic covers).. Your last option is find a diy dtg epson based printer there are 3-4 guys that build these to order aswell (some better than others) with price ranging from 3-5000. the entry level/diydtgs are manual load usually- but the nice part is there usually all epson components based on in production printers and no proprietary parts which means you can easily find and replace parts cheaply something to consider based on your budget.. you can always place a "service wanted"(diydtg) in the classifieds here.. best of luck..


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## uglovdkg (Jan 3, 2012)

Have you found anyone that uses the kmajet. Im been doing some research and it sounds good and cost effective but cant find anyone in the us that has used it


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## allstarr (Mar 20, 2009)

We have also looked at the website for kmajet. Anyone???


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## DpotsOnD (Mar 9, 2013)

The reality in this type of equipment is going to be what will fill your needs and some below:

A) what size format do I want to be able to do?
B) how many will I print per shift?
C) what kind of support and training will I receive?
D) what are its capabilities of what it can print?
E) how soon would I be able to get constant printing for the unit?
F) what kind of other software will I need other than the one that the unit comes with?

All of these are some basic questions you need to ask yourself and find answers to them while looking for one. Don't just go find the most economical one, this you may find is a mistake. Happy hunting.


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## Stitch-Up (May 26, 2007)

I would advise subbing your work out, build your business and then invest wisely.


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## uglovdkg (Jan 3, 2012)

I was able to get some samples from kmajet and I was impressed. Anajet samples looked better bet neoflex samples were the best


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## scotney86 (Mar 15, 2011)

Stitch-Up said:


> I would advise subbing your work out, build your business and then invest wisely.


^^^^^ Very wise words, 

1. Sub-contract it out initially. 
2. Get some money in the bank, 
3. Do some research on the printers 
4. Purchase your own


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## JoeMags (Mar 29, 2013)

I agree with Stitch-up. I was in a similar situation, before DTG were on the market. I used a screen sub in Montreal, I'm from NY. Other reasons put me in search for a solution to rising import fees, customs fees, Nafta problems, the eroding exchange rate, all after 911. I had no idea DTG existed at the time, but what I found at the NJ print/embroiderey show blew me away. As soon as I saw the Brother GT541, I knew my problems were solved, and a whole new list of opportunities opend up at the same time. Although, my line never included darks, because when I first started up the cost of my prints with a 6 color simulated for darks was prohibitive, the lack of dark printing didn't bother me too much. What I got out of the DTG was a more efficient and flexible business for my own line, and I was able to take on some custom work in addition. Some things made possible are a great level of flexibility and creativity; meeting minimums with a screenprinter can be reduce the amount of trial and error designs, who needs 100 shirts of something that doesn't seel all that well. It also, reduce my inventory levels, I only print what I need for any given time. And since I run a website based business, I can upload designs I may never have printed until tehy are print on demand ordered. Those are just some of the benefits, I have come across, but I would say I agree, build up your customer base, then make the right investment.


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## lez (Dec 11, 2014)

Did you end up getting this? I am looking into the uv leather printer. Please advise. Very nervous! [email protected]


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