[White Ink Printing on DTG Printers] A solution to clogging
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[White Ink Printing on DTG Printers] A solution to clogging
Hi All,
I just wanted to share our experiences with our Kiosk II machines. After reading the article from Belquette about the closed ink system, we decided to give it a shot. Why closed ink delevery?
We were already using the bulk ink system from EquipmentZone which solved many issues, but also raised some.
On our first machine, we added Belquettes new system, which cost us nothing. The system is sealed bags with adapters to connect to your tubing which they helped us select the proper size and sent them for free. The change over was extremely simple.
As Belquette described, we noticed crisper prints. We were also amazed at how efficient the system is, it will use every last drop of ink in the bag before it needs to be changed. We were also able to leave the machine for 2-3 days without printing, come back .. hold ink fill for 5-8 seconds then do 1 head clean and get perfect nozzle checks. Nozzle checks are 98% perfect everytime. No more fighting with the printer to get a good pattern.
After 2 months of running great, we changed over our second Kiosk to the closed system and had the same results. We are proud to say that we have not lost a print head in over 7 months, we print well over 100 dark shirts a day, the white ink lays down amazing, puddling and everything.
My advice to anyone struggling with issues to give the closed bags a shot.
I will post pics of the printer setup within the next few days.
After 2 months of running great, we changed over our second Kiosk to the closed system and had the same results. We are proud to say that we have not lost a print head in over 7 months, we print well over 100 dark shirts a day, the white ink lays down amazing, puddling and everything.
My advice to anyone struggling with issues to give the closed bags a shot.
I will post pics of the printer setup within the next few days.
Adam,
So I take it that neither of your machines had the WIMS system on them? if they did does Belquette's system integrate with the WIMS system? or if they did did you have to remove it to install the Belquette's system....
One other question, well maybe two what was the cost to convert the second machine, and how does the cost of ink compare to what you were using?
Hi TIA,
neither of our machines had the WIMS system. At the time we looked into it, we were told that the cost of the system was $800-1k.
There was no cost to convert our second machine to the close bag system, Belquette provided us with all the connectors from the bags to our existing tubing for free.
It's hard to put an exact figure on ink savings since we go through so much of it, but as an idea, we were holding ink fill for a good 15 seconds in the morning, doing 1-2 head cleans, 1 -2 test prints followed up by an additional head clean before we would get near perfect nozzle checks.
With the closed bags, we are getting near perfect nozzle checks on the first head clean in the morning with no test prints required. Plus, we never spill ink refilling the bottles. We never throw out bottles with a bit of ink left in them as the bags are far more efficient.
Prior to the bags, we would have to do 1-2 head cleans per hour to re-prime the print head, now we can do 20-30 full front prints with white ink without even worrying about it.
I can't say enough about this company, they've helped us so much with our machines and are not even the manufacturers.
There was no cost to convert our second machine to the close bag system, Belquette provided us with all the connectors from the bags to our existing tubing for free.
It's hard to put an exact figure on ink savings since we go through so much of it,
Adam,
Thanks.....but I guess what I was really asking about cost was lets say 500ml of Belquette's ink vs (and I'm guessin' here) the Dupont ink you were using.....I thought I read before that Belquette's ink is Dupont ink just de-gassed and bagged. I like the concept and am interested in anything that will reduce white ink cost. Also are you using bagged CMYK or still the bulk system for it?
Hi Jon,
Correct, we (BelQuette) use DuPont brand inks & they are degassed & micro filtered before they are bagged. I'll send you a PM with the cost per liter, since we (the manufacture) are not allowed to post prices in the open forum.
If you, or anyone else has any questions please feel free to contact us.
Fondly,
Renee
__________________
Flexi-Jet & mod Support & Sales (877) 202-0886 www.belquette.com
Hi Jon,
Correct, we (BelQuette) use DuPont brand inks & they are degassed & micro filtered before they are bagged. I'll send you a PM with the cost per liter, since we (the manufacture) are not allowed to post prices in the open forum.
If you, or anyone else has any questions please feel free to contact us.
Hi Jon,
sorry about that. Yes, Belquette inks are dupont, the same inks we were buying through various sources including EquipmentZone, Mesa and directdigitalsupplies <-(Another great company). If I remember correctly, Belquette, EZ and DirectDigital all had the lowest ink pricing around.
The sealed bags were a bonus since the ink didn't cost us any more than we were getting it elsewhere.
Hi Guys,
at first we were using the shelf that came with the EquipmentZone bulk ink system, but then just purchased a Lab Jack so we can raise and lower the height of the bags by using a knob.
I'll take a few pictures of it when I get to the shop.
Thanks for the review! I would love to see pictures of the setup...... I am very curious to see how effective the bag vs. closed cartridge systems are, and how they compare with one another. Thanks again.
We started using the white bag ink on our T-Jet2 about a month ago. I posted our experience in a similar thread on the T-jet forum. So far its working great.
Kip
A solution to clogging 
what was the cost to convert the second machine, and how does the cost of ink compare to what you were using? 
