Hey Guys! My name is Greg and I purchased a Kiosk DTG printer after going to the Atlantic City show in Jersey last weekend. To tell you the truth, yes I'm nervous about it. I've heard great stuff, so-so stuff and nightmares about the Direct to Garment printers. Not to single any one of them out, but just as a whole in general. I think this is really in it's beginnings. Always new advances year after year. It's like the VCR effect. In the 80's VCR's were $500 bucks. Now you can go to Walmart and get one fo $75 bucks. That's if you can even find one! DVD has taken care of that! I think Direct to Garment is exciting but at the same time a new ground to learn from mistakes. Unfortunatly the mistakes by people who already had/have these machines are the ones we are learning from. At least I am. I've been in printing since I was 22, now 10 years later I've struck out on my own. I hope I've made a good choice in trying this new technology. I have tons more still to learn. I will keep all who may be interested in the machine itself. Maybe there's someone out there that can learn from my mistakes! Lord knows I have a ton to offer! AHAHHAH Thanks for reading...... Greg
Welcome and great to see another guy jump off the end of the pier like many of us! You will experience plenty of ups and downs but hang in there and you will be ok. the biggest problem and learning curve is with the white ink printing. there is an art work learning curve, pretreatment consistency curve, heat pressing curve etc, etc, etc. Many people that are better than me have tried long and hard but have given up until there is a better solution. Just pace yourself and do what it takes to be profitable. If you need any help feel free to contact me at any time.
Thanks so much guys! I haven't had the printer delivered yet. Next week they said. Which is cool because it gives me some time to get my space ready. SWF offers a 1/2 day or whole day training in Jersey. I'm gonna go. A friend of mine is tagging along too. Which is great for me! Havin the support and an extra set of eyes and ears with me is what I need. I'm sure I'll have questions, and I thank all of you for helping me along. This is the most expensive piece of equipment that I've purchased. That alone is what makes me nervous. We're a VERY small shop. Growing all the time but still crawling. Again, thanks for all the support. And please bear with me, for I know the questions will be building soon. Respectfully, Greg
Hi Greg,
did you get the regular Kiosk Model or the new HM1?
We were nervous about making the investment also, and have quite a time with this machine. Overall, it's a very good machine however as other have pointed out, DTG is constantly changing so you'll be learning new techniqes each week.
Some pointers for you are:
- Make sure you follow the maintenance guide to avoid problems with printing.
- Use the Rip Pro software, it's better at matching color's and you'll waste less test shirts.
- Try to make the investment to buy your ink in bulk (500ml or 1 litre bottles), it will save you $$ in the long run on the ink, but also on shipping charges. We spent several hundred dollars on rush ink orders because it's too hard to stock the proper amounts in small quantities.
-Encourage your customers to send you high-resolution files, if they aren't change them to 300 dpi yourself.
Hi There Adam. I purchased the regular Kiosk machine. It's not here as of yet. I'm excited to get it. Thanks for the info you passed on. I actually printed it out what you said to keep on me for reference. The first problem I have, which really isn't a problem with the machine as it is with my system. I have a MAC a G4. This runs from a PC, at least the rip software. So I'm trying to find a way to link/network my MAC to it. Like I said, that's me, not the machine. I do many small runs, quantities of 130 pieces and less. So this is ideal for us. I keep you posted on how I'm doing with it. I'm taking the training coarse in Jersey, me and a friend. Thanks for posting on my behalf. Like I said in my prior posts, I KNOW I'll have questions and need advice. Thanks so much for reading my posts and replying. I appreciate that! Respects Greg
I'm new to this forum and new to t-shirt printing also. We've just ordered our HM-1 and I wonder if they are on the same boat? The one with our name on it will be coming to the West Coast.
I'm new to this forum and new to t-shirt printing also. We've just ordered our HM-1 and I wonder if they are on the same boat? The one with our name on it will be coming to the West Coast.
Pat
The HM-1 is a nice model, it has all of the options the regular Kiosk needs.
Let me know when you get it, I'm interested to see how it performs.
The HM-1 is a nice model, it has all of the options the regular Kiosk needs.
Let me know when you get it, I'm interested to see how it performs.
We picked up our HM1 last week. Training won't be until the end of the month. Drat. I have a question about the manuals. The only thing that came with mine is the CD labeled "Kiosk HM 1 Maintenance Program, the RipPro software and the Cd with the PDF Quick start up guide. The quick start guide says that the natural windows driver needs to be installed and says refer to your Users Manual which I can't find. I also heard we were supposed to get a training DVD.
So, for you out there who are in the know... am I missing something? I'm calling service tomorrow but it would be nice to know what to ask for.
The reason why you have to have the native driver installed is because the RipPro Software needs it to communicate with the printer. If you have the native driver installed first, the RipPro software will set up all the ports automatically. Otherwise, you are going to need to do this. Just much easier.
As for the HM1, it is not available on the east coast - so it might be tough for us east-siders to help you out. I would call Tech Support and see if they will also get you into the support forum. The training will definitely be the most help. Best wishes.
The reason why you have to have the native driver installed is because the RipPro Software needs it to communicate with the printer. If you have the native driver installed first, the RipPro software will set up all the ports automatically. Otherwise, you are going to need to do this. Just much easier.
Yeah, I understand that, but where does the "Native" driver come from? On the first page of the "Easy Start Up Guide" it just says it must be installed (maybe I need to read more) and to refer to the Users Manual, which I don't think I got. I will call tech support today.
THe driver should install itself when you plug it into your computer, if not add a printer as you would for any other printer - the driver you want to use is the Epson 2400. If you do not have a copy of this driver you can download it from the Epson website
Ok Guys, This is Greg again. I went to the training class in Jersey on the 13th of April for my DTG. I'm glad I did! I learned many things that I SHOULD NOT do with this machine. If I wouldn't of went for the training, knowing me, I would have done ALL that I shouldn't have been doing. To make a long story shorter. I sent out samples to customers using the "Transfer" method, and they liked what they seen. I thought that this press could kind of copy that look as far as detail in the design. I'm not there yet. I know that this is probably comparing apples to oranges. I'm very nervous at what my customers would think. I know that the quality that I have or lack of I should say. Is probably the users mistake. (me) At least I hope so..... Anyone have any suggestions. I know that this is really a vauge question over all. The shirts are light. Sand colored. Smaller scale image only 5 high 10 wide. Oh well, back to the shop I go....... Thanks so much!
Purchased a DTG Kiosk at AC Show last weekend 
Re: Purchased a Kiosk at AC Show last weekend 
I recently purchased a T-Jet, having a great time printing shirts.
