Did anyone see the after market attachment called The Swinger at the Long Beach show that allows you to print white ink on dark garments with the Brother? Any opinions?
I thought it was pretty amazing and it worked quickly and flawlessly when I watched it being demonstrated.
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
Yes some more info would be awesome, because a search for "The swinger" in google might not be the safest query. Although technically a separate machine that does a white underbase seems a very strange aproach, how do you register that underbase wih the brother print? special platten? do you have to cure the underbase first? what white ink is it using? ...questions.....questions.....
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
It worked really well at the show. It's an after market attachment that is a simple silk screen that flips over the shirt as the shirt is positioned in the out position on the template.
First you screen the white and discharge combination on the shirt. Then you print wet on wet just like a white and CMYK printer does. Then you heat set as usual either in a press or conveyor and the discharge does it work with the white base over it.. The reuslt is a very, very soft hand print. No pretreatment is required. The whole process is much faster than any Epson head white on black printer that is on the market now. The white ink cost is pennies.
As for registration, first he printed a sample from the Brother and then repositioned the screen properly (micro registration screens would be an improvement) and depending upon the design and your screen choking, etc the registration is not difficult at all.
It works so well that if he doesn't have a patent on it he's going to get ripped off big time.
The guy who developed it was using the Drirect2Shirt booth to demo. He calls it The Swinger. I have a promotion piece and here's the contact info:
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
Definitely not for one-offs, but with a little creativity, and a magic screen system from Express Screen, I could see an order for a half dozen shirts or more being no problem.
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
Here is some info I wrote up about the Swinger, when Robert first brought it by my shop to look at:
--------- reprint from previous writeup --------------
21 January, 2009
Swinger DTD – Official Press Release
Reliability, speed and simplicity; these have been some of the key selling points for the Brother GT-541, since its release several years ago. Hundreds, if not thousands of machines later, the GT-541 is still going strong. Though overall, feedback about the machine is overwhelmingly positive, there is one glaringly obvious shortcoming, which inevitably comes up in every conversation; the lack of white ink for dark garment printing. While Brother has responded in kind with the new GT-782, its high price tag and potentially obscene consumables costs might keep it out of reach of the average print shop. Checking in at an estimated $50-55,000, the GT-782 will fill a definitive gap in the technology for those fortunate enough to be able to afford one. Even Brother promotes the new printer as being recommended for “larger production shops”, which excludes a large portion of machine owners and mom-and-pop shops.
Up until recently, many Brother GT-541 owners have been forced to outsource their dark garment printing, or else turn away orders. Left with few alternatives, machine owners often tire of trying to convince a potential client that they want a white shirt, not a black one. An Anaheim, Ca. based company, called Blackbyrd Design, recognized this issue as a serious one, and decided to take action. Working with top-notch screen printers, as well as special engineers and GT-541 owners, the company has developed a system for printing on dark garments, using existing GT-541 technology! Utilizing a K-I-S-S philosophy, Blackbyrd founder Robert Lopez decided to approach the problem from a pseudo-traditional angle. By combining manual screen printing techniques to apply a waterbase white ink, with the Brother GT-541’s innate ability to print beautiful CMYK prints on light backgrounds, Lopez was able to achieve results that were previously considered impossible for a GT-541 printer. This new system has been appropriately dubbed the Swinger Direct to Garment Decorator, and attaches with minimal fuss to the standard GT-541 stand (although its universal design allows for it to be attached to many different styles of tables). The screen assembly is used to lower the screen down with perfect registration, and then lifts up to allow the platen to move into the machine for CMYK printing. With the addition of optional laser accessories, you can minimize setup time and guarantee repeatability.
Although the Swinger DTD kit is perfect for medium-long runs, the necessity of screen preparation makes short-runs and one-offs less practical. However, this seems like a small price to pay for the ability to print on dark garments using a standard GT-541 (especially when compared to the new price tag for the 782). Additionally, the Swinger DTD provides the user with the ability to add specialty inks, such as glitter, puff, foil and more, directly on top of a printed design! Simply switch from the white underbase ink, to a specialty ink of choice, and start printing. The company is currently working on a simple solution for “fast screening”, the process of manufacturing a completed screen stencil with minimal or no chemicals, and without the need for a specialized dark room.
The Swinger DTD allows for unlimited potential for new and existing GT-541 owners. With a competitive price point of just under a thousand dollars, this device promises to deliver what few have been able to deliver in the past: simple and affordable dark garment printing, without the need for an expensive up-front investment or unrealistically high ink prices. Due to the obvious absence of digitally printed white ink, consumables costs are reduced from several dollars per print, to several cents per print. With the one-swipe manual underbase, you also cut your print time down dramatically, compared to full DTG printing, on darks!
Although the Swinger is not intended to be a complete and total dark garment solution, it will enable hundreds and thousands of GT-541 users to experience the joy and satisfaction of saying “YES” to full color, dark garment orders. The Swinger DTD will be on display at the ISS trade show in Long Beach, in booth # 250, and is available immediately from Blackbyrd Design or from one of their many distributors. Check it out for yourself, and see if this might be the answer you’ve been looking for!
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
I have several flyers on my hard drive; I will convert them to image files when I get to the shop in an hour or two, and post them here for you guys to see.
Even today, I got excited at the possibility of adding a single spot color to any DTG image, for those jobs where "4 color process red" just doesn't cut it (or blue, or orange). I also plan on experimenting with all sorts of different specialty inks, as soon as I can get my hands on one of these for any length of time. I will keep you all posted!
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parkwood
Justin--Do you think Express Screen's Micro adjusting system would be an improvement
I need to spend a little more time with the apparatus before I can make a call like that, but I can definitely agree that any sort of micro-registration system would be a significant improvement. Anything that helps reduce the chance of human error, and / or improves efficiency, is always an improvement in my book!
I spent quite some time at Express Screen's booth, trying to get the guy to give me some literature, but he was too busy with his demo to give me anything tangible to walk away with (seems like an odd practice, to me). However, I was incredibly impressed with the simplicity and ease at which he was able to make his screens, and at the level of detail they were able to achieve. I first noticed the Express Screen setup, a couple of years ago at a show. I was impressed at that time, but I heard some negative reviews from several people, so I never looked at it again. However, after watching the demo for awhile (he didn't skip a step; I got to see the process several times, right down to pulling ink across the shirt and curing), I came to the conclusion that it would be IDEAL for this sort of application. In fact, I have become convinced that, whether the designers knew it at the time or not, the Express Screen system was BORN for digital printing enhancement; it was just born a few years before the DTG technology was ready for it! Given the ease of use of the system, the speed and the reduced costs, I could easily see Brother owners printing short runs (6 or more) of dark garments without even batting an eye, and without any sort of exposure room, emulsions or screen rinsing.
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
The setup I saw at Long Beach probably was faster than the 782. That is, I think two shirts could be printed faster with this 541 system than two shirts on the big machine. And that's not taking pre treatment time into the equation. If you consider the time and handling necessary for pre treatment on the 781, I would think the Swinger system has it beat very easily.
I'm not sure what the white ink costs are on other machines but I suspect they are well over $1.00 per shirt on average. Compare this to 5-6 cents per shirt for white/discharge silk screen inks.
Certainly the Swinger isn't an efficient approach to produce one offs but I think that might be its only short coming.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see this technology used on future DTG machines.
What I saw was the real thing, it worked very well and the results were excellent.
Last edited by Parkwood; January 31st, 2009 at 09:00 PM.
Re: Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541
The white under base screen is made like any normal screen is exposed. Justin explained the Xpress screen method which would be a modification to the existing method simply by using their carbon-original, exposing system.
Just think of a normal screen flipped over the shirt on the platen, applying the white/discharge ink with a squeegee , lifting the screen, push the green button and print your colors. Take the shirt out and heat set it. That's it.
It's an extremely low tech solution that appears, at first glance, to be pretty hassle free.
Printing White Ink On Black With The Brother 541 
