# what DTG requires the LEAST maintanence?



## dottavig (May 2, 2011)

so im new to this and still in the research phase for what DTG printer im interested in getting (leaning towards anajet and guidence in either direction is a plus!) One question that i have and couldn't find is what DTG requires the most minimal maintanence. I see that many people talk about constant use being a must for the machines to work great. I'm more then likely going to start off slow a few shirts a weeks and work into a few hundred a month, im afraid that my slow start will affect the reliability of my machine.

Its because of this i want to know your opinions of the easiest machines to take care of and the machines that are kindest towards occasional users. Thanks much!


----------



## Uncle John (Mar 11, 2007)

Gino, we have an Anajet, but to help with your question. If you drove a Taxi you have to clean it change the oil in it. Same with any DTG, Maintenance is the key whether you print one shirt or a hundred. Read the threads on DTG to learn more.


----------



## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

> *what DTG requires the LEAST maintanence?*





the one you don't own. 

if you don't want to do maintenance and you don't use it a lot this machine is not for you.


----------



## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

For us the question wasn't how *much* it was how *difficult* was it to perform the maintenance. Having already owned 2 DTG Kiosks, maintenance can be a real pain.

Here are some pictures of our old Kiosk, and then our MOD1. Maintenance is like night and day.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t78753-2.html#post705501

And here is a response to a post about the MOD user experience and why I chose it over the Anajet and other brands.
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/belquette/t121824.html

Do not skimp on maintenance, but I do believe it should be easier for the users.


----------



## zoom_monster (Sep 20, 2006)

dottavig said:


> so im new to this and still in the research phase for what DTG printer im interested in getting (leaning towards anajet and guidence in either direction is a plus!) One question that i have and couldn't find is what DTG requires the most minimal maintanence. I see that many people talk about constant use being a must for the machines to work great. I'm more then likely going to start off slow a few shirts a weeks and work into a few hundred a month, im afraid that my slow start will affect the reliability of my machine.
> 
> Its because of this i want to know your opinions of the easiest machines to take care of and the machines that are kindest towards occasional users. Thanks much!


Gino, If you choose not to use white ink your maintenance will go way down, but any machine with a closed loop system(sealed) is better than one with bottles. Also the more advanced machines like the sprint give you easier access to the areas that you have to "maintain". I have the older Anajet an my experience is that the less you use it for printing, the more you have to do to keep it maintained. It's a big investment, so you should also make a commitment to give it a certain amount of TLC, and to use it on a regular basis


----------



## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

Gino-
If you are just starting out, I strongly suggest you do not purchase a new DTG printer. I would save any capital in marketing and learning the business, rather then spend on parts and learning curves. 

The two best choices would be :

-Refurbished Bagged Printer >http://www.t-shirtforums.com/dtg-brand/t122078.html

Those that are popular DTG Kiosk 2 or T-Jet2 .. check the classifieds. 

- Outsource to a fulfillment DTG company until you develop a customer base. 

The 2 printers are older but have been proven to work with the bagged system, extend longevity of the printer and overall a great starter printer. Please do research on the bagged ink systems > there are currently 2 on the market and I use Belquette and have had great results same as Adam has. (Its the same ink system as the post of the Mod-1) Buying a used refurbished printer from a private party would save you money and also could result in extra training because you are buying from an end user who can answer questions with real life experiences. Plus, isn't gonna tell you unrealistic number to expect. 

Also, maintenance is minimal in the since it no longer takes the 2 hours it used to take with the bottled ink to get ready in the morning even though we followed instructions for shut down. 

Pretreating..another process that isn't minimal because depending on how well you pick it up this will make or break your colored tshirts using white ink. Another advantage of purchasing from an end user who can properly teach you how to pretreat with one on one training.Now, if you don't have a customer base and insist on getting a printer purchase a used one cash so you don't have to worry about a lease payment and worry about wasting money on learning to use your printer. 

Even taking the best of both worlds purchase a printer used and find another DTG fulfillment company with your set-up to get your bigger orders handled and you can build a partnership to get your business growing. 
This way you can take the small orders and continue learning your printer instead of rushing to learn you can take your time and get it done right. 

Hope this helps


----------



## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

I pretty much agree with all the previous statement. I cannot over importantance of bagged ink especially in the white ink. Also the Mod 1 has some features that help in maintenance. Also consider that 2200 based machine parts are soon going to be in short supply and or getting more expensive as supplies dwendle.


----------



## IAC (Mar 14, 2010)

not true. Maintance is part of the machine like anything else. PM me and I can recomand one. Simple maintance is preferred but constant running/ printing is the key. Where are u from? Digital is the way to go. yes its hard now but its definatley the way to go. we consistantly had competition(screen printer) trying to figure out our machine and software and few had admitted that they had to shut down their business because they could not keep up with single order demands because it was too expansive for them to do. and large orders were hard to come by as customers cut back on these as the economy declined.


----------



## dottavig (May 2, 2011)

i absolutely would love to get a printer used but im afraid that the prior user didnt take care of it. I know just how much you need to take care of these things from all the research ive been doing and im concerned that the prior user may not have done this and is giving me a printer that could crap out on me at any given moment. I know im gonna need a white ink printer for sure, and the 2 i was really looking at were the anajet spirit and the mod 1. 

kinda torn between the 2, i like the mod 1 in that it can be easy to clean. I heard the anajet can be difficult at times to clean but its also the cart ink as compared to the bottle. tough choices here. 

In response to getting an older printer, i havent found many positive posts on the kiosk, always seems to be discussing problems with them. I know what the going rate is for a new mod 1 and anajet, whats a kiosk cost new and the rough cost of used? i think that could possibly affect my interest in a harder to use printer


----------



## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

dottavig said:


> In response to getting an older printer, i havent found many positive posts on the kiosk, always seems to be discussing problems with them. I know what the going rate is for a new mod 1 and anajet, whats a kiosk cost new and the rough cost of used? i think that could possibly affect my interest in a harder to use printer


They no longer sell Kiosk 2 > if you read the positive posts with those that have bagged their ink you will see the difference in peoples opinion of the Kiosk.

Depending on what was done with the K2 (bagged, bulk ink, parts included) the price can very.. just check on the classifieds. I understanding your concern about buying used. But take in the factors of how many shirts you will need to.. how many you are selling now?


----------



## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Mod 1 with bagged ink. Mod 1 is made by Belquette they also are the ones that started the bagged ink revolution. So it would be bagged vs carts. Really the same. A closed system.


----------



## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Although I think bagged inks & cartridge inks are close to the same thing (depending on how they are bagged - degassed, vacuum filled, just bagged), I also think there is a difference as to how they are mounted on the printers. When you stand a cartridge vertically upright with a dtg printer, it requires more pressure to get the ink to the print head compared to laying the cartridge or bag flat. Although this is not as big as an issue with the standard Epson OEM inks (because they don't have the heavy particles that are found in dtg inks), it is more of an issue with dtg inks and printers that use a non-pressurized ink delivery system.

Just my opinion.

Mark


----------



## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

DAGuide said:


> Although I think bagged inks & cartridge inks are close to the same thing (depending on how they are bagged - degassed, vacuum filled, just bagged), I also think there is a difference as to how they are mounted on the printers. When you stand a cartridge vertically upright with a dtg printer, it requires more pressure to get the ink to the print head compared to laying the cartridge or bag flat. Although this is not as big as an issue with the standard Epson OEM inks (because they don't have the heavy particles that are found in dtg inks), it is more of an issue with dtg inks and printers that use a non-pressurized ink delivery system.
> 
> Just my opinion.
> 
> Mark


Your opinion is duly noted and I believe it to be true as well.... Apparently so does Brother since they lay their cartridges flat.


----------



## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Thanks Mark. I agree when it comes down to the finer points of pressure on the ink system 
The more flat the bag or less vertical change in ink as the ink is used the less the change in printed results. The "head" pressure changes less. So by preference bags first carts(as in anajet style or 4880 not the ones that fit in carriage, then bottles last. So often over looked is the effect of evaporation on ink and printing problems. The closed system minimizes this issue. This is especially important to the casual user not printing everyday 
IMHO.


----------



## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

This video shows the daily maintenance for the Mod1. I don't show it, but you can also clean around the printhead during this process.

The additional cleaning would be more weekly and monthly, oil the rail (sewing machine oil), clean encoder strip, etc.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdhaJGOu4Io[/media]


----------



## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

IAC said:


> not true. Maintance is part of the machine like anything else. PM me and I can recomand one. Simple maintance is preferred but constant running/ printing is the key.


From our experience this is not true either. In fact, it sounds very much like what the DTG techs will tell you as to why your bottle ink clogs your machine. We ran our machines on average 10 hours a day, 95% of our orders required white ink. Some of our print heads lasted 4 months, sometimes as little as 3 weeks. The white base steadily gets worse over time as the nozzles begin to constrict like an old drain pipe.. sometimes looking like your 1440 pass is a 720 pass. Sometimes needed 2 or 3 passes to get an acceptable base as your print head becomes worn.

Belquette Bags eliminated the clogging and starvation. We sill have our print head from June 09', and the white ink still puddles up like the head is new.


----------



## zoom_monster (Sep 20, 2006)

dottavig said:


> i absolutely would love to get a printer used but im afraid that the prior user didnt take care of it. I know just how much you need to take care of these things from all the research ive been doing and im concerned that the prior user may not have done this and is giving me a printer that could crap out on me at any given moment. I know im gonna need a white ink printer for sure, and the 2 i was really looking at were the anajet spirit and the mod 1.
> 
> kinda torn between the 2, i like the mod 1 in that it can be easy to clean. I heard the anajet can be difficult at times to clean but its also the cart ink as compared to the bottle. tough choices here.
> 
> In response to getting an older printer, i havent found many positive posts on the kiosk, always seems to be discussing problems with them. I know what the going rate is for a new mod 1 and anajet, whats a kiosk cost new and the rough cost of used? i think that could possibly affect my interest in a harder to use printer


Any time you purchase new you are paying extra for a couple of things: Tech service and piece of mind. If you have experience, understand the machine and subtleties of operation, you can save money and cut your ROI. If you buy used, you will most likely need to budget more money to pay for replacing the normal expendable parts (head, ink system, capping area) and replace them yourself, or pay someone to replace. If you are not familiar with all this, it's hard to know if you are getting the best price and you may get "taken". My personal feeling is that if you've never used these machines or been in the business, you are better off paying for the piece of mind and service. When you are ready for that second machine and know how to service them, you can take advantage of the "used" discount. I do agree that there are some great deals out there for people "in the know". If you purchase based on price rather than service, you are less likely to have that relationship that everyone here strives for when we originally purchased our new machines. I do understand that some people here did not get that "service". That is why you do your all your homework before you push the "button". When it comes down to it, the more modern machines are very similar, the difference to you as a user is going to be the training, support and service that you get along with you investment. My Anajet is still humming after 4 years. I know I paid a little more for my machine and consumables, but I knew that little bit "extra" paid for something that is given back to me every day.


----------

