Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison
Doing a lot of it here. Had some trouble getting a heat press with certain members here repainting them and trying to block people from buying directly. Had some trouble finding a reliable supplier, ended up going overseas for it all. Way better than any domestic shop I tried. Now that’s it’s running it’s great. My market doesn’t have 30k piece jobs but when someone wants a multi-colour print front and back on 50 pieces we’re making money with no headaches. Just pressed 200 on Friday. Not me though. Someone who was trained on it in like 15min. That’s another factor. It’s very simple to operate.
If I was a new guy looking to get into the industry, there's zero chance I'd buy screen printing equipment. Talking to my CCI rep today, it seems many shops are down sizing their fleets of automatics and adding in DTF set ups. Honestly, as technology and print speeds advance, I will be looking to make the switch too, sooner rather than later. Imagine zero screens to make, coat, clean, seps, expensive inks, large expensive presses, 6 employees to operate it all. I remember the DTG movement back at the screenprinters.net days, saying DTG will over rule but I really see this DTF stuff actually taking hold. I understand the look and feel can be rather comparable to a SP as well.....On one hand it's amazing we won't need any of that equipment anymore, but on the other, all those years of knowledge will be almost useless..give it a few years and I think we'll see a giant shift, but that's just me - Thoughts?
Are we talking DTF (direct to film) or DTG (direct to garment)...??
Quote from: Ron Pierson on February 17, 2024, 04:20:11 PMAre we talking DTF (direct to film) or DTG (direct to garment)...??DTF, We can make it not so shiny, but no matter what it always feels like a sticker.pj
Quote from: blue moon on February 17, 2024, 04:27:12 PMQuote from: Ron Pierson on February 17, 2024, 04:20:11 PMAre we talking DTF (direct to film) or DTG (direct to garment)...??DTF, We can make it not so shiny, but no matter what it always feels like a sticker.pjOur mutual CCI rep told me about it yesterday. He said it felt wonderful, I'm dying to know myself... I have samples from every DTF printer dealer I can find so see what the magic ink /powder combo is, maybe I can find out. I know our Mutoh/STS dtf printer feels like a sweat patch/sticker. It's not good, at all...
There are some shops like Pierre's, Rick Roth's, and Jacob's that can make DTG feel and seem just like screen printing. But I have not seen one DTF print that I would be okay with on a ringspun cotton shirt. Not a single one. It's an enormous sticker. Trying putting that on a Metal band tee shirt. It's not gonna happen.