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.
At the risk of sounding awfully naive, is anyone aware of what is in the heavy-duty cleaning fluids sold or recommended by various DTG printer manufacturers?
I am a firm believer in using lots of the stuff daily to keep our print head and capping station super clean. This philosophy has served us well so far. The fluid we use seems to be very effective.
However, it isn't exactly cheap! I was wondering if it's possible to make our own, if the ingredients are readily available. We're using Dupont inks, which necessitate the need to be watchful in keeping the printer components clean.
There is this stuff - DTG Inks - DTG Clog Protection Solution But this does not go through the print head. It only goes into the capping station. It is too thick to go through the print head I believe.
I know other people have used a special type of Windex or even Simple Green. If you do a search on Windex, you should find a post that tells you the correct one to get as the other type has some stuff that is bad for your printer. I believe Sunnydayz or Mistelwoods was the one that posted it, but I could be wrong.
I've chatted with a couple of people on the phone about this topic as well, and they recommended a dilute solution of Simple Green, in light of the fact that Windex has changed its formula to include wax. Zhenjie suggests an ammonia/water solution, which would be closer to the original Windex and is likely ok too.
I'm going to grab a small bottle of Simple Green when I get the chance, and try something like a 50-50 mix with distilled water, (or perhaps even weaker than that ... suggestions anyone??)
I've chatted with a couple of people on the phone about this topic as well, and they recommended a dilute solution of Simple Green, in light of the fact that Windex has changed its formula to include wax. Zhenjie suggests an ammonia/water solution, which would be closer to the original Windex and is likely ok too.
I'm going to grab a small bottle of Simple Green when I get the chance, and try something like a 50-50 mix with distilled water, (or perhaps even weaker than that ... suggestions anyone??)
Thanks to all for contributing their thoughts.
To clean capping Ok but head no. A good cleaning flush is not only cleaning the head but also applied a protective film which increase the lifespan of the head.
If You use a small EPSON a USD100 is not so important that a Dupont Textile plotter with head at USD 3000 each
To produce a very good flush You need several components and chemical apparatus like mixer, very precise weight,etc and components are sold by 200kg drum ,so if You buy 10 liters flush/month it's better to follow.
Do not forgot that is hazardous to produce chemical products home and with no chemical notion
thanks for the info primjet, but not all of us have $3K printheads, my current whole dtg cost me £75 so im very interested in a homebrew cleaning solution. I have also just bought some simple green, sounds like what i have been looking for, thanks for the tip
thanks for the info primjet, but not all of us have $3K printheads, my current whole dtg cost me £75 so im very interested in a homebrew cleaning solution. I have also just bought some simple green, sounds like what i have been looking for, thanks for the tip
OK but avoid ammoniac in piezo head, better use in place urea
funny you should say that but i have been playing about with Thiourea dioxide on a side shoot project, its the same as urea isnt it ? around how many gramms per litre would you recommend ?
funny you should say that but i have been playing about with Thiourea dioxide on a side shoot project, its the same as urea isnt it ? around how many gramms per litre would you recommend ?
Oh no, Thiourea dioxide is a dangerous product. Urea is almost harmless.
funny you should say that but i have been playing about with Thiourea dioxide on a side shoot project, its the same as urea isnt it ? around how many gramms per litre would you recommend ?
Not a lot about 2 to 3% is enough but ask for good urea, fully transparent like water and no strong smell
alright excuse my ignorance but isnt plain old urea just pee? are you by chance extracting any from me at the moment or are you seriously suggesting i pee in some distilled water and stick it through my printer ?
**alright i was going to edit this (instant posters regret) but i have to ask lol**
Last edited by sodrisc; July 25th, 2008 at 11:48 AM.
alright excuse my ignorance but isnt plain old urea just pee? are you by chance extracting any from me at the moment or are you seriously suggesting i pee in some distilled water and stick it through my printer ?
**alright i was going to edit this (instant posters regret) but i have to ask lol**
i realised my error soon after posting and checking wiki, it was just your comment about clear and cloudy, smelly, i wasnt sure if you meant the commercial stuff or the difference between a early morning or just drunk lots of water pee, thansk for clearing that up
i have been using simple green for the last week to clean the head/capping station etc.... it works very well, im using 20ml of undiluted simple green per 500ml of distilled water, any more than that tends to froth to much for my liking while cleaning.
Heavy-Duty Cleaning Fluid for DTG 
