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tony9897 · August 25th, 2006

hi
i am in the market and am about to buy a tjet, but the kornit looks nicer and the proof shirt i had made is of better color through the greens and browns. what's the difference in machines?

help?

tra517 · August 27th, 2006

hi tony. I can't help you because I am new to this as well but I would like to hear others experiences with this as well as I never in a million years realized how many options you have when considering selling t-shirts.

also.. if you don't mind if I hijack your thread as well to post some info and questions too :-)

I am an artist and I am starting just a very small t-shirt company to put my art on to tees. I was looking for screenprinters and was hearing over and over again... your art is too expensive for screenprinting as it has too many colors. Some encouraged me to take the art down to black and white, but then I was at the dilema of having to use photoshop to break the art down into layers, which for many of the works I wanted for tees it was just impossible as the art was not created digitally.

anyhoooo that got me to looking for heat press transfer machines, then I found the T-Jet2 that appears to take a lot of the work out as it prints directly to the clothing. (this is what you have seen then too). I have not gotten my sample yet from the tjet.

can you tell me where to find information on the kornit?

also.. are there other machines besides tjet, kornit that print directly to the clothing? anyone using them and your opinions on them? thanks!

shell

martinwoods · August 27th, 2006

The Kornit I believe is around $200,000 and the Tjet is much less maybe $15,000. I have heard a lot of bad things about the tjet. I own a brother but they cannot print darks, I believe the flexi can (not sure) but that is the way I would go if wanting to do darks, not the tjet. Just my opionion but I have not heard many good things about the tjet
Check out the flexi forum and ask if they can do darks, if not then the brother is a good machine and I would go with that

Have a great day

Tgraphics · August 29th, 2006

Hi,
I saw a demonstation of TJet and was unimpressed I thought it was very expensive and the quality of print uninspiring. The company in the UK that was selling it have now taken on the agency for DTG http://www.yesltd.co.uk/html/dtg_kiosk.html
Hope this helps
As for screenprinting your designs (I'm a great lover of screenprinting and think you can't beat it for quality and reproduction)

JeridHill · August 29th, 2006

Hey Tony, here is a breakdown of what I know of these machines.

The T-Jet is a good machine. The problem is it's outdated. It's based on the Epson 2200, whereas other machines in comparible pricing are based on faster machines. The 2200 isn't real fast, but it is a good machine.
Price: $14,995 with white printing capabilities and $10,995 without white.

DTG Kiosk, it's the same thing as the T-Jet, as a matter of fact, the same company makes this machine that was making the T-Jet. It does have a couple of extra features built in that make it a little better than the T-Jet, but not that much of a difference.
Price: $10,995 no white inks that I know of. I believe they took the approach of not offering white ink until it's perfected.

The Flexi-Jet is based on the Epson 4800 and it is a great machine. It has, to date, as many bells and whistles on this machine than probably all the others combined. The longer model is design for faster production. The printer itself moves over the substrate giving you more control of what it is you want to print on, like wood, glass or tiles (most items need a precoat of an inkjet receptive liquid). The MAJOR problem with the Flexi-Jet to date is, production. There is no real valid timeline to order a machine and actually get one. I've heard from 2 weeks to 8 weeks and the dealings I had with them, it's definitely the latter. It is a great machine, unfortunately, production is critical. You want what you pay for and the delays only cause frustrations.
Price: $14,995 and $18,995 (with a 2 up platen design)

Brother is a great machine. It's fast, it's accurate and very simple to use. I don't have many problems with this machine, but what I do take issues with is very important in my book. When white ink does get perfected, this machine will never print on a dark garment. It's only a 4 color system, so Brother will have to introduce an entirely new machine to do that. I've heard they are working on one, but it estimates from 1 1/2 years to 2 down the road, depending on who you talk to. I think the price range is higher than what I would want to pay. $20,000 - $24,000 (I can never get a straight answer) is a higher price and never being able to print on a dark garment at that price is just too much. (The cost per ink is higher than others as well.) There are many people who bought the Brother and would disagree with me on this one, but again this is my opinion and probably the opinion of many others. The last thing about the Brother that bothers me is if you want to move your machine, you MUST contact a Brother technician and have them move it for you because it will void your warranty. Not good in my book.

I've heard good and bad when dealing with the Mimaki. They use a discharge ink that creates vapors that you don't want to breathe. I believe they either are or have done away with the discharge inks, but I'm not sure. It's another printer that isn't real fast. It is a solid built machine. The discharge inks do not create a real bright white and that is the major thing I hear about it.
Price: I believe it's around $25,000

I think the Kornit is in a class of it's own. I believe it is considered the fastest machine on the market today and it does print whites on darks. Two machine issues, size and cost. It's very big and heavy and I believe the cost is $180,000. They are now offering a new machine that will be revealed at the SGIA show that is targeted to mid to large businesses. So again, the price most likely will be way too high for the average user.

We will be introducing a machine at the SGIA show as well (based on the Epson 4800). This machine will produce more shirts per hour than any of the above mentioned machines (except for the Kornit) and at a price that is less than most of them.

martinwoods · August 29th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by DTG Printing


	We will be introducing a machine at the SGIA show as well (based on the Epson 4800). This machine will produce more shirts per hour than any of the above mentioned machines (except for the Kornit) and at a price that is less than most of them.

What booth will you be in?
Does this machine print white?
I think I've seen you over on paptech, is that correct, or is someone else also introducing a new machine as well

Have a great evening

Fluid · August 29th, 2006

great info jerid

JeridHill · August 29th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinwoods


	What booth will you be in? Does this machine print white? I think I've seen you over on paptech, is that correct, or is someone else also introducing a new machine as well Have a great evening

I'm not sure what paptech is. I do know more than one company is introducing a new printer to the market. The main issue is coming out with the easiest to use, excellent quality and speed and of course, price.

As for white inks, yes, our machine does.

I'll have to find out what booth we'll be in since it's the manufacturers who have the booth.

JeridHill · August 29th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fluid


	great info jerid

Hey Richard, thanks for the comment. I may be a little biased

but I am at least honest in my biasness (is that a word?)

One I forgot to mention was Sawgrass.

Their machine is $17,000 but from what I've seen and heard, their inks are not the greatest, even though they claim they are better than others on the market. Their's is a belt driven system and I know the motor they used to drive the system was the original Epson paper motor. They had many complications with it and did change it to a better motor. So that's pretty much that last I heard of theirs. It is based on the 4000.

timdardis.com · October 4th, 2006

I am new to this forum but have been active on others.. I am interested in learing more about the machine you say WAS introduced last week at SGIA. Can you tell me the name?

Also.. is there a provision for a private message on this forum?
Thanks
Tim
[email address]

Solmu · October 4th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by timdardis.com


	Also.. is there a provision for a private message on this forum?

Yup, click on someone's user name and one of the options will be to send the user a private message. And there's a link to the private message area under the search box off to the left.

timdardis.com · October 4th, 2006

duh, I guess I just need to search the tools a bit! sorry to be so dense!THANKS!! I appreciate your help...
Tim

TahoeTomahawk · October 4th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by DTG Printing


	I'm not sure what paptech is. I do know more than one company is introducing a new printer to the market. The main issue is coming out with the easiest to use, excellent quality and speed and of course, price. As for white inks, yes, our machine does. I'll have to find out what booth we'll be in since it's the manufacturers who have the booth.

Does your white ink still need the pre-treatement?

Are you using similar inks as the T-Jet and DTG Kiosk printers? I don't know if they are actually different though the T-Jet calls them FastInk and DTG calls them DTG TEX / TEX 2 inks.

FabrixDigital · October 17th, 2006

Kornit is pretty expensive - we have the Brother and it is great - incidentally, Zazzle has both Kornit and Brother machines. Now that Brother machine has refilled cartridges available - great savings in ink ... we've been using this ink for three months and no problems.

Rodney · October 17th, 2006

Quote:


	Zazzle has both Kornit and Brother machines.

Do they have this information published anywhere? Last I heard, they were pretty tight lipped about which machines they were using.

Does the Brother machine print on dark garments?

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