starting some dtg research

[Fleetee]

I am doing some DTG research on the side. Any videos, blogs, articles, or anything at all that you guys can recommend to someone as new as me? What made you make your decision on which DTG printer to purchase, what are the important things I should REALLY be considering.
Pretty much, what would you have told yourself when you first started looking into DTG with the knowledge you have now?

[GraphicDisorder]

Don't just look at machine costs, which is what a lot of people focus on and that is a mistake.

You have to consider:
Machine Costs
Ink Costs
Maintenance Costs/Time involved to complete.
Actual print quality
Print speed
Availability of support

[mk162]

Look at the hidden costs....like maintenance.  I think M&R has the best maintenance system and their inks are about the cheapest.

I wouldn't go with the Epson, I think it's slightly above consumer grade.  I also wouldn't buy the previous gen Brother, the GT-3 series.  The white ink maintenance will about kill you.

I've heard good things about the new Brother GTX, but I haven't seen one.

If I was buying one now, I would probably go M&R.  But I would also check out the Brother.  The Anajet has come a long way as well.

I would avoid any sort of modified Epson printer.

[GraphicDisorder]

I agree. Absolutely stay way from epson based machines. Heard a zillion stories.

[mimosatexas]

We got one of the new Epson 2100 in the shop about a month ago and so far so good. Wouldn't have been my first choice, but it's what we ended up with and it's working well. I would definitely stay away from any of the Epson mods though. We were using two of those before this upgrade and had constant issues. Ink is cheaper than brother, but still not "bulk" rates.  At our volume though (hundreds of prints a day) we needed cheap redundancy and the epson fit the bill for now (we will likely be getting 3 to 5 more once we are sure it works for our needs). I have to admit we were definitely scared away from the m&r being discontinued even though i know they will continue to support it for a while...

[mk162]

We got one of the new Epson 2100 in the shop about a month ago and so far so good. Wouldn't have been my first choice, but it's what we ended up with and it's working well. I would definitely stay away from any of the Epson mods though. We were using two of those before this upgrade and had constant issues. Ink is cheaper than brother, but still not "bulk" rates.  At our volume though (hundreds of prints a day) we needed cheap redundancy and the epson fit the bill for now (we will likely be getting 3 to 5 more once we are sure it works for our needs). I have to admit we were definitely scared away from the m&r being discontinued even though i know they will continue to support it for a while...

Where did you hear it was being discontinued?  Rich said it wasn't and that even if it was being discontinued they would support it for at least 7 years.

[ericheartsu]

We got one of the new Epson 2100 in the shop about a month ago and so far so good. Wouldn't have been my first choice, but it's what we ended up with and it's working well. I would definitely stay away from any of the Epson mods though. We were using two of those before this upgrade and had constant issues. Ink is cheaper than brother, but still not "bulk" rates.  At our volume though (hundreds of prints a day) we needed cheap redundancy and the epson fit the bill for now (we will likely be getting 3 to 5 more once we are sure it works for our needs). I have to admit we were definitely scared away from the m&r being discontinued even though i know they will continue to support it for a while...

What shop are you working at now?

[Sbrem]

Has anyone had any experience with Omniprint? Their promo materials speak of very low maintenance, though they are a modified Epson...

Steve

[mimosatexas]

Eric: Bumperactive. They bought me to bring screenprinting in house. We have grown like crazy. When I looked yesterday our saber already has almost 350k impressions since install in may...

Mk162: there was a thread about discontinuing the m link a month or so ago and it has been brought up a few other times. I just re-read the thread and rich didnt confirm or deny that it was being discontinued. For the price though we could buy two or 3 of the Epson, and the redundancy of multiple machines was appealing.

[mimosatexas]

Another thing I should mention: pretreating. We have us3d the Wagner gun and the viper for a while, but upgraded to the newest shulze. That thing is a game changer and worth the cost if you're doing volume. Very well designed machine and consistent controllable results. Solved a lot of nagging little issues with that part of the process.

[cbjamel]

Report back on ink cost, curious. Says 4x4 and a big back.

Shane

[ericheartsu]

Eric: Bumperactive. They bought me to bring screenprinting in house. We have grown like crazy. When I looked yesterday our saber already has almost 350k impressions since install in may...

Mk162: there was a thread about discontinuing the m link a month or so ago and it has been brought up a few other times. I just re-read the thread and rich didnt confirm or deny that it was being discontinued. For the price though we could buy two or 3 of the Epson, and the redundancy of multiple machines was appealing.

that's awesome. Kyle rules.

[Steve Harpold]

Hey,

If you are looking at volume DTG here is a link of the process we created. The software and pretreat is available separately. Let me know how else I can help! The process is set up and running at the SGIA show for a closer look!

https://vimeo.com/237962184

[mk162]

Hey,

If you are looking at volume DTG here is a link of the process we created. The software and pretreat is available separately. Let me know how else I can help! The process is set up and running at the SGIA show for a closer look!

https://vimeo.com/237962184

Does Vimeo buffer like mad for everyone else?  I've tried 5 times to watch it and I get 11 seconds in.

[mimosatexas]

Eric: Bumperactive. They bought me to bring screenprinting in house. We have grown like crazy. When I looked yesterday our saber already has almost 350k impressions since install in may...

Mk162: there was a thread about discontinuing the m link a month or so ago and it has been brought up a few other times. I just re-read the thread and rich didnt confirm or deny that it was being discontinued. For the price though we could buy two or 3 of the Epson, and the redundancy of multiple machines was appealing.

that's awesome. Kyle rules.

It's been a good fit overall. Growth has been INSANE this last year. Big things coming in the next year as well. I've frankly been too busy to ask a lot of questions I have, but should have time in a month or so. Ill be posting a lot of higher level and more obscure topics soon!