I'm new, but I am assuming Anajet basically has the (1) FT-125 and the just released (2) Sprint. Has anyone used the Sprint yet? I would definitely pay the extra money if the Sprint were that much easier to maintain (as advertised) compared to the FT-125.
Some of that 30% is due to less head cleanings. The printhead has a teflon coating so that the inks stick less, thereby the nozzles clog less, and so on. I'm not sure if it actually prints faster or not.
FP-125 users can buy the new printhead for about $450. It supposedly retails for $900.
I'm very happy with my 125, but probably will upgrade.
Some of that 30% is due to less head cleanings. The printhead has a teflon coating so that the inks stick less, thereby the nozzles clog less, and so on. I'm not sure if it actually prints faster or not.
FP-125 users can buy the new printhead for about $450. It supposedly retails for $900.
I'm very happy with my 125, but probably will upgrade.
Thanks bro. hopefully the sprint will drive prices down on 2nd hand 125's. I'm hoping to find one for around 8-10K? Is that being realistic? or am I reaching?
Thanks bro. hopefully the sprint will drive prices down on 2nd hand 125's. I'm hoping to find one for around 8-10K? Is that being realistic? or am I reaching?
Honestly, I haven't searched that market. I paid a little over $16k for my Anajet (white ink) and a heat press. I've turned a profit every month since I've had it.
If Anajet is selling the Sprint for about the same, and you have a client base, then I'd go new. If you're starting from scratch with no current client base, then you may not want to spend that much.
I would be wary about buying off of eBay and others unless they can assure you that they will pack it securely. If something jiggles loose, it could be a nightmare trying to figure out why it won't work.
You could spend $10k and hope it works, or $16 and know it will work. Either way, do your business plan first to know that you'll have some income coming your way.
Honestly, I haven't searched that market. I paid a little over $16k for my Anajet (white ink) and a heat press. I've turned a profit every month since I've had it.
If Anajet is selling the Sprint for about the same, and you have a client base, then I'd go new. If you're starting from scratch with no current client base, then you may not want to spend that much.
I would be wary about buying off of eBay and others unless they can assure you that they will pack it securely. If something jiggles loose, it could be a nightmare trying to figure out why it won't work.
You could spend $10k and hope it works, or $16 and know it will work. Either way, do your business plan first to know that you'll have some income coming your way.
Thanks for the advice. Yea, I dont plan on buying anything without checking it out with my own eyes and determining whether or not Anajet will be suitable for me. I live ine LA, so I plan on visiting them in Costa Mesa for a firsthand look.
When I was at the Indy NBM / Printwear tradeshow, an attendee told me the same thing and was told directly from an Anajet sales rep that you only do maintenance once every two weeks. They stated that having the teflon head was one of the reasons why. Here is my main problem with these statements... the Teflon heads have been out for a while in 4880 based dtg printers and the maintenance has not significantly reduced. I know of someone that has replaced the the 1800 print head (not teflon coated) with a 1900 print head (teflon coated) and has the same level of maintenance.
The bottom line... as long as it is an Epson printer, you are going to have to do some maintenance to your printer. You are going to have to clean the encoder strip, wiper blade and capping station regularly. The success and reliability of any Epson-based dtg printer is more of a human (i.e. operator) and environment (i.e. humidity, temperature, no dust,...) than it is about the hardware. If it was that easy to run these Epson-based dtg printers, there would be one in every WalMart, Target,... type stores and the prices for a shirt would be significantly less. For now, be thankful that there is still some art and skill to running these printers. Just embrace the daily maintenance and start making money.
I own an Anajet Sprint and do not have to do daily maintenance at all. I don't print onto dark shirts (no white ink) so that may be an issue. What the tech explained to me about the difference between the Sprint and the previous Anajet model, was that the Sprint ink delivery system design had been improved to virtually eliminate the ink getting in contact with the air until put down.
He also made mention that until the Sprint model that if the printer would be idle for more than 3 days or so that filling the ink lines with cleaning solution was recomended, but with the Sprint there should be no problem with leaving the machine idle for 2-3 weeks. I don't intend to test that, but if they have truly eliminated all contact with the air then it sounds reasonable.
I am also in the investigation stage of which product to purchase. I have educated myself about the Anajet but I am also looking into a DTG Viper. I have been told that they (DTG Viper)have a larger platten and can do either 4, 2 or 1 shirt at the same time. Their ink costs are lower, and that they require less maintenance. Does anyone have any knowledge about that machine or any reasons why one is better than the other? Thanks
I have never like the feel of DTG brand printed garments and the lower price for ink really is misleading. The cost per print for me (Anajet 125)is about the same if not a little lower than the Viper. The viper does have a larger print area, but what you may believe that would give you a leg up can actually be a hinderance, because the client will want you to print the larger size and the compromize on price will be on your end. The cost of printing 16x25 on dark garments would be astronomical! As far as printing multiple garments at one time, you can only heat press/cure them one at a time, so I'm not sure how that would play out.
The folks at Anajet did not tell me that maintenance should only happen every two weeks, nor did I post that. If you are truly curious (and not just taking a cheap shot at the folks at Anajet) then why don't you call Anajet yourself and talk to them about it?
As I posted, the mention was that if I intended to leave the machine idle (like taking a vacation) then the machine could be left idle for that long without worry, as opposed to purging the ink and storing the machine with cleaning fluid in the line as they would recommend with their previous model.
This was important to me as you never know when I might just pop over to Paris for a month
Hold on there biggun. I'm not trying to take a cheap shot at anajet, I'm a HUGE fan, I own an FP125 and know a few of the people quite well. I was trying to run down what sounded like someone else trying to spread half-truths.
.....can do either 4, 2 or 1 shirt at the same time.
You can have that many shirts on the machine, but you still have one head doing the work...one layer at a time. Other than already having the shirt on the platten, you are not saving any production speed. I would like to see how the WIMS pans out, but I wouldn't say it's proven technology as of yet. Closed ink systems (Cartriges) are proven.... be it more expensive. Tbaker brings up a valid point on size of image. When I price by image size, 9 out of 10 people choose to go smaller.
Anajet Sprint or FT-125? 
