Although I was not able to get out of the booth as much as I would have enjoyed, I did have the opportunity to stroll the show floor several times and chat with several individuals whom I have known in this industry for some time - as well as several new ones! I was not able to see as many of the new direct to garment printers as I would have liked, but that was to be expected. These days, there are so many new printers out, it is almost impossible to know what is happening with all of them. I was perfectly content just checking up on the main staple printers, and talking to the regulars in the industry. ANAJET
Since there was an Anajet printer in the booth I was in, I will start with that one. One of my favorite things about this printer is its simple design and interface. Unlike many other Epson based printers, it seems purpose built in the sense that it has its own custom shell to it, and not the stock Epson body. The control face on the front of the machine is easy to read, and relatively intuitive to operate. Although we were not running the normal Anajet RIP, we got fantastic results on both lights and darks (I almost feel as though the darks were coming out the best). The RIP we were using was the MultiRIP by I-Proof systems - the same company who designs the RIPs for a lot of the printers in this industry. In my opinion, it is simply the only RIP to go with for any small format
DTG printer, and it should be used by absolutely everyone. With greater control over colors and final output, it allows the user the ability to truly control the potential of their printer (up to the physical limitations of the print engine, of course). Using this RIP, we had no problems with the Anajet throughout the week that were not directly related to our own incompetence. Of course, I say that jokingly ? we knew what we were doing, but I had never seen an Anajet in person before, so it was a little new to me to be using it. The only thing I did not like about this machine is the slight inconsistency when trying to print double pass prints - it just didn't seem to line up perfectly on ~ some ~ prints. However, with the right settings, we got great results in just one pass so this was not really a big concern.
KORNIT
I spent a great deal of time in the Kornit area, of course (big surprise, right?). I really like that the company is thinking progressively, and is implementing a lot of new technology and fixes into the new generation of printers. I was not in love with the new 933 printer combo?.. But I didn't hate it. I would up speaking to several of the design techs about the way the machine was supposed to work, as well as perceived deficiencies. As it turns out, they actually gave me some very nice answers. I am looking forward to finding out which ones actually come to fruition. The big concern with this unit is whether or not it will be useful to combine the digital and traditional methods of garment decorating, considering the speed discrepancies. However, it seems that Kornit has some things up their sleeves that may very well make this a moot point.
Between streamlining the software / hardware interactions to make better use of the printhead technology, and by increasing the software?s ability to control the speed the printheads actually lay down ink, it is very possible that we will see a huge jump in production speeds very soon. I know for one thing that the frequency at which they are running the 933 printheads at is MUCH higher than what I am able to run my 932 at during this time. I run my printheads at 10,000mhz, which is less than half of their given capacity. However, the software powering the machine at this time cannot handle much greater than that. If I remember correctly, the 933 is already running at around 18,000mhz, AND they are the larger 256 nozzle printheads (as opposed to my current 128 nozzle heads). So, like I said, be on the lookout for exciting new things to come?..
Of course, as most people already know, the new 932NDS has the same printheads as the 931 these days. This means the CMYK layers take half the time to produce. The white layers are not sped up any, because they take out the (4) 128 nozzle heads for the white, and replace them with only (2) 256 nozzles. Therefore, the same amount of nozzles overall, but fewer actual printheads. The machines also have been optimized, more like the 933 (although the printheads are still not running as high as the 933 is currently), so the actual hardware is more coordinated and faster. I timed a couple shirts in a row, including loading / unloading on the 932NDS, and I figure a speedy operator can handle about 30 dark garments per hour. CMYK only are going to be considerably speedier. Once I finally get all the upgrades into place, I look forward to looking for more areas where I might be able to speed up the printer, and balance out the speed / quality of the prints.
The final thing that I really liked about what Kornit is doing, is the new way they are processing artwork for the RIP. I do not fully understand what is happening, but it has something to do with the order the CMYK dots are laid down on the shirt to create the colors. Standard RIPs use a stochastic processing technique, which works well. However, the way they explained it to me, their new processing technique actually works BETTER, especially for solid areas of color. I have confirmed this with the samples I have in my shop with the new white ink. As I found out, the new white ink is NOT brighter than the old white ink. In reality, it is different (they told me how, but I do not remember what Sarel told me about why and how), but not brighter. Therefore, the explanation as to why the new samples look so much better than anything I have ever seen off the Kornit is the new processing technique for the artwork. I want to talk to Fred over at I-Proof, and see what he has to say about it. I know he would understand it a lot better than I do.
GUEST APPEARANCE
After meeting with the Kornit folks, I decided to make an appearance at the Kornit cocktail party they were throwing that night. It was at a very nice hotel, in a very nice meeting room, with a very nice buffet, amongst a lot of very nice people. Bob McCormick (ContractDTG - East) and myself showed up and took a seat at a large empty table. Within a few minutes, the table was nearly full of business professionals, and we were engaged in a very nice dialogue regarding the quality of current
DTG technology, and the various options available to consumers. A lovely lady next to me began chatting with me about all sorts of things, and all was well. Suddenly the gentleman who was with her (who had only recently sat down beside her) stood up, extended his hand and said "you don't know who I am, do you?" Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks - I was actually sitting there talking to Scott Fresner of the USSPI! I was completely surprised, but we actually had a great time. We spoke for several minutes, and then he invited me outside for some cigars. Outside, we talked printing, sports and everything else for quite some time. There were a few other folks outside with us as well, and we chatted with various techs, execs and normal joes. All in all, it was quite pleasant to finally get face to face time with the man whom I have such a long time history with. Afterwards, he and several others went out to a night club / bar type location, and invited me to go. Sadly, I made it all the way to the club and was IN the parking lot, but my friends (who were also my ride) were getting very tired and wanted to head out. I thought about calling another pal of mine who was out there, because I KNEW he would be up for a late night. But I was told he was out with the Roland folks, so I just let it go and went home. I was irritated to find out the next day, that HE had gone to the same bar and was INSIDE while I was deliberating in the parking lot! Arg. Such is life.
BELQUETTE i180
I spent some time with the Belquette team, including Mark, Brett, Renee, Steve, Michele, Dan, Gloria and Jerid. Peter Choi and his son, Justin, even stopped by a few times while I was there. I got a good look at the i1800 and I must say, I am very curious. The concept is new and interesting, and with the two Epson 1800 units being so close together, it solves a huge problem I have with the
DTG Eclipse - it can start printing the second layer WHILE the first layer is still printing. This, of course, will help to speed up the printing process considerably. I also like the way the printers are mounted, although I am concerned with stability. Since this was just a prototype, I am more than willing to wait for it to be finalized before I make a final judgment call.
One really cool thing is how you can pick up and easily rotate the platens 90 degrees at a time for different print sizes and angles. That was well thought out. I am NOT a fan of the receipt tape running around the machine, but I could live with it as long as every other aspect of the machine was solid. Belquette certainly knows what they are doing regarding the digital printing technology, so I have high hopes for this machine. Additionally, Fred P. from I-Proof has had nothing but positive things to say about it (the concept and construction), and if Fred thinks it will be a solid unit then I can pretty much get on board with that. After all, Fred has behind the scenes access, and does not have any political motivation for hyping a machine that he has no investment in. Overall, this thing has potential, and I can?t wait to see it in 6 months or so!
BELQUETTE IMAGINAIL
Alright I will admit it.. I let the fine folks at Belquette paint my nail with their crazy nail printing machine while I was there. But in my defense - I got a skull on my thumbnail, not a pony or any such nonsense. I was absolutely blown away by this machine. By far, it was the coolest thing I saw at the show. I have heard about the machine for so long, but had never seen it in action before! I always wondered how the machine knew to print ONLY on the fingernails, but then it all made sense. You paint your nails with some photosensitive polish and an IRC before you insert your hand in the machine. On the screen, you see all black except where the nails are with the PS Polish, which are glowing brightly. With one button click, the image of your choice is automatically dispersed to all of the nails that are visible! One more click, and away it goes! It is also very fast. I am in the process of tracking down a used one to buy and give to my fiancee, so she can get a little side business started with all of her friends and such. Again, very cool machine!
ARAKIS Screenprinting and Digital Garment Printing University JOE DIGITAL
Well, I was in the Joe Digital booth all week with a bunch of really great guys, so I might as well talk about that for a few minutes. Mark Bagley (DAGuide), Tom Hembree (TomTV), Matt Gusse (Advanced Color Solutions) and Glen (Laser Targeting Systems) composed the JD team for the week. We had a random assortment of products, including a neat little doming system that had a low low startup cost (well under $2,000 for the entire system), an economic vinyl plotter from Roland (around $1,600, and we STILL have it if anybody wants to contact one of us and pick it up!), MultiRIP (the cool, multi-platform RIP software that can run dual inksets in a single printer), the Anajet, Glen's Laser Targets, and my personal favorite... The Roland EGX-350 engraver.
We were showing people alternative uses for a lot of these items at the show - for instance, using doming to make cool garment decorations, not just domed stickers and such. As well, we were using the engraver to create rhinestone templates that make pre-fabricated motifs a thing of the past. Finally, by using the I-Proof RIP on the Anajet (unlike its current configuration) we were showing people how to get the best possible results from the printer, so that Anajet was even impressed by the quality we were getting on darks. I would recommend that anybody who owns and Anajet get a hold of this RIP as soon as possible. I am pretty sure you can talk to Mark (DAGuide), and he will point you in the right direction.
HOWL AT THE MOON
... what happens at Howl at the Moon, STAYS at Howl at the Moon ...
Report from the SGIA - Orlando Show 
