Ok I have received 2 samples from the Kiosk HM-1 machine using white inks on a black shirt. the first one failed after 2 washes here are the pics from this thread VersaCamm Or DTG
So I received another sample from them SWFeast and it flaked apart after one wash cold water delicate cycle and I did not even put it in the dryer. So then I decided to call DTG mesa which covers the west coast (not my area) to see what they say, and they stated that they used all DUPONT inks where as SWF east was using another type of inks and that they had better results with the Dupont.
Ok my question is will SWF east set up my HM-1 with Dupont inks including the proper profiling etc. The west coast distributor seemed to think if the inks were switched they may not cover it under warranty.
What inks are other people using on there Kiosk? I really would like to buy this machine but I want one sample that will hold up after a couple of washes.
this question interests me also. They get you coming and going with the costs of ink. Ink per shirt may not cost much, but with head cleans and so on. It just totally eats up most of the profit.
We purchased a DTG from SWF east and it does not have any problem with the white flaking. Sometimes we have to do the wash test due to our own boo boo's (accidently get a smeer of ink and then we just spray it with windex and coat it with stain wizard and wash it) So far all have been ok. We wash in cold since we have crappy water and iron really likes warm water and then we dry in medium heat since we figure most customers don't pay attention to what they are suppose to do anyways. Before we bought it we had gotten 5 samples at a show and took them home and washed them and dried them with no problems. I just wonder if the samples you received had bad pre-treat. The success of printing white is enough pretreat. Also if you don't print white every day you will have problems. Our dampers always get plugged and we have to do a back wash to conserve ink and then wash out the lines and dampers. But we really try to push the non white ink shirts since it is such a pain in the but and besides printing without white your profit margin is much higher. You need to learn to play with colors. Example you want to print on a hot pink can cooler but you want the font a blue... well then you tell the computer you are printing cyan on the cooler and it turns out quite nice. Printing on yellow and you need the images brown then just add more red to it and it prints a nice brown. It all goes back to the mixing of colors we learned in kindergarten but more advanced... By the way we are printing with Dupont Textile 2 inks. We just ordered a new supply. Just a thought to the process is when you buy the machine we got a good deal at a show and a lot of free stuff make sure you order more ink there to get a better deal. Usually Colman and company are also at those shows.
Dan, This does seem to be a problem with samples( especially from shows). While this does make the distributors look bad, you've got to realize that they are not the real experts. It would be in their best interest to do so, but as you read all these posts, you find that sales people are usually good at making excusses . The technology, amaizingly.... is pretty sound, it's the technique that people struggle with. True, if you compare spot color screenprinting to Dir2 Garment it has a way to go for bulletproof satutated colors. But if you were to put a 4 color process screenprint next to a inkjet Direct, you will notice things are quite close in ability, and gamut. I have dark garments that I printed with white ink that look as good after 15 -20 washes... no flaking, no cracking nice and bright that I printed on my Anajet. You cannot even say this about some screenprinting! I know if you have the proper inkset, a machine that keeps as much air away from the ink, and proper substrate and treatment, you can get excellent results. Amongst the "test" garments I did when I first got my machine, I have some with not enough pre-treatment, too much pre-treatment. I keep these to remind me what not to do. It took me several weeks and lots and lots of ink to find where I needed to be with settings, treatment, curing to figure out what works for me. Maybe the distributors need to wash their shirts before they send them out.....
Thanks for all the help everyone! I spoke with them (DTG) and they are sending me another sample that I believe Don from SWFeast is doing himself. I was told that the guy who sent me the other samples was fairly new. So if all is good on this next sample I am just going to buy it. Also on a side note I just purchased one of the epson 4800 with the sawgrass inks (dye sub and chromablast) which should be fun to mess around with but I cant wait to get the DTG
I was planning to lease the Kiosk. Can you please be sure to email me or post the results of your second samples? This posting came as a blow... I hope you did indeed get a bad sample. I am going to request one myself, as well.
Ok I received the 3rd sample today and it looked great no signs of pretreatment I was impressed and the salesman stated that Don did it. Here is the sample prior to washing.
Now after one wash cycle (cold water, ultra low dry setting) I pulled it out and it looked great no flaking/peeling. Now here is where the problem started wash cycle number 2 same settings. I removed the sample and look at the pics below.
Also another question is could it also be the quality of the shirts they are using?? they seem pretty light weight they are anvil unsure of which kind. Now I have spoken to other users and they state that they have not had any of these issues.
the flaking and pitting you may be seeing will occur from time to time now matter what you do. getting that pretreatment down in the fibers etc. is just so important.
is that horizonal banding i see in that print as well?
Yes it does have a slight horizontal banding which seems to be more noticeable in the pictures maybe due to the high res picture.
If there is anyone here with an HM-1 please let me know I would like to purchase a sample.
The washability demonstrated above is as good as you are going to get when just using a sprayer (wagner) for the pretreatment with no other steps
....you must use the water/pretreatment/sponging method to achieve optimal results with no flaking or excessive fading....I use less then 6.1 oz weight on black shirts because the underbase sinks into the fibers better....however I still use 6.1 for white shirts....I have black shirts printed with my T-Jet and have washed and worn them for over a year and the shirt has faded more then the print...
ps.......digital printing white on dark shirts is strictly for 1-off retail and low run wholesale....this includes the Kornit....unless we are printing real small prints....The current configuration requiring pretreatment and underbase...make it time and cost prohibitive for large runs (500+) compared to screen printing...
thanks for the reply! This will just be used for 1 off designs mostly tourist related things since we are on the beach East coast and they will be retailed. Using the pretreatment method you stated what is the time frame you are looking at for the pretreatment process and can it be done prior ie. a few days in advance. Also as far as colored shirts go I am guessing we will be doing more red, blue yellow pink shirts then black but I am assuming they will all need to be pretreated and have to use the white inks to make the design stand out correct? Now do have another question how are the DTG machines for very detailed designs?
DTG Kiosk HM-1 INKS? 
Re: DTG Kiosk HM-1 INKS? 
. The technology, amaizingly.... is pretty sound, it's the technique that people struggle with. True, if you compare spot color screenprinting to Dir2 Garment it has a way to go for bulletproof satutated colors. But if you were to put a 4 color process screenprint next to a inkjet Direct, you will notice things are quite close in ability, and gamut. I have dark garments that I printed with white ink that look as good after 15 -20 washes... no flaking, no cracking nice and bright that I printed on my Anajet. You cannot even say this about some screenprinting! I know if you have the proper inkset, a machine that keeps as much air away from the ink, and proper substrate and treatment, you can get excellent results. Amongst the "test" garments I did when I first got my machine, I have some with not enough pre-treatment, too much pre-treatment. I keep these to remind me what not to do. It took me several weeks and lots and lots of ink to find where I needed to be with settings, treatment, curing to figure out what works for me. Maybe the distributors need to wash their shirts before they send them out.....
