Discuss the various aspects of direct to garment printing. DTG printers include Brother, T-Jet, Flexi-Jet, DTG Kiosk, Kornit, Mimaki, Tex-Jet and others! Discuss and learn about this up and coming printing technology.
I'm quite new to printing tee's but I wan't to get my hands on a DTG printer. My budget is absolutely maximum 5,500 usd. I've been looking at various chinese DTG's but I honestly don't know what to expect from them. I want it to be able to print on black tee's aswell as lighter colors. Quality is important to me but I am a student and funds are limited at the moment. I wanna start a clothing company focusing on tee's because I know I have alot of good ideas. I feel a bit lost here guys so I'm looking for some guidance, just point me in the right direction
Re: A good DTG, max 5,500 usd. Reasonable? Possible?
Just been thru the same thing, I was seeing used go on e-bay, for around 4000-5000, TJet 2, stay away from tjet3, DTG Kiosk 1 or 2(with out white). But in general these have been sitting for a while. Means overall that cost 1000-2000 to boot. Some will say have ink and supplies, using old ink can cause many problems with head clogs and poor printing. White ink will always be a problem for all, until they design a better ink. If you use white ink and let it sit for 3-4 days without cleaning you can expect to have problems including replacing print head. If you read the post here you will see time and time again the problems with white ink.
If you use it everyday and clean the head everyday less of a problem. Like I said I am just starting out as well but I have shopped for months and I could find a DTG for 3500, but I was alway looking at another 2000 to get it running. Also RIP software, a must, many say they have it but ask if any activations are left, probably not. Then you get to buy one for about 300 bucks. Got the software you just cannot use it. Good Luck
Re: A good DTG, max 5,500 usd. Reasonable? Possible?
Go with Chinese DTG and watch your money go down the train. You need to invest in quality equipment and $5500 USD won't get you that, especially in Europe.
Re: A good DTG, max 5,500 usd. Reasonable? Possible?
Thanks for the replies guys.. I keep seeing ppl knock down on chinese dtg's. Right now I am doing manual screen printing which is cool but waay to time consuming considering I go to school full time and have a part time job
So if I'm going to find a dtg for said price, where should I look and what should I specifically look for (models etc). I've heard about the white ink clogging before too, that seems to be a problem for some of these machines.
Re: A good DTG, max 5,500 usd. Reasonable? Possible?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amazing Leo
Thanks for the replies guys.. I keep seeing ppl knock down on chinese dtg's. Right now I am doing manual screen printing which is cool but waay to time consuming considering I go to school full time and have a part time job
So if I'm going to find a dtg for said price, where should I look and what should I specifically look for (models etc). I've heard about the white ink clogging before too, that seems to be a problem for some of these machines.
//Mikael
Mikael,
The best advice anyone can give you is to save your money until you have enough to buy a refurb DTG from a dealer that has a warranty and support, buying a cheap or used DTG is just pouring money down the drain. If you have customer jobs for DTG printing as suggested sub them out until you can afford to buy a printer, DTG isn't plug and play and the cost of the ink along with the required daily maintenance makes it costly to own without even printing a shirt.
This is a discussion about A good DTG, max 5,500 usd. Reasonable? Possible? that was posted in the Direct to Garment (DTG) Inkjet Printing section of the forums.
A good DTG, max 5,500 usd. Reasonable? Possible? 
