I've had my Kiosk for nearly a year, but it's slow and the demand is there, so I got an HM1 a couple of weeks ago.
They are chalk and cheese. The HM1 is much more 'industrial', even down to the ink tubing which is about 50% larger than the Kiosk. It also makes it very hard to work on. Changing a damper takes ages and is not straight forward. As an aside, the HM1 dampers are twice as much as Kiosk dampers, printheads are three times as much as Kiosks.
Another frustration is the lack of ink taps on the HM1. You now have to charge / clean all the ink lines at once, which will prove very expensive in the long run - not at all user friendly or cost effective. Which leads onto the ink chips. If the HM1 is progress, why do we have to buy ink chips every 400ml of ink on the HM1, but didn't have to on the Kiosk? Sucks.
On the plus side, the loading system is better, and faster, and obviously the print speed is faster, but not as fast as you'd think on dark shirts.
In a 'non scientific' test I printed the same image (about 10x12") onto a dark shirt. kiosk took 3mins 41s, HM1 took 3m01s. However, printing an image onto a white shirt, 2 hits at 720x720dpi, the Kiosk took 4m14s, the HM1 took 1m54s. A good difference, but anybody that tells you the HM1 is 3 x quicker is lying.
The auto height adjust is a massive improvement, but flawed. The default setting is too low - you have to click it up one notch above this setting (OK, that won't make sense unless you have one). Still much better than a clumsy wheel, and it'll save your $800 printhead.
The WIMS system looks the same as the (aftermarket) Kiosk version, but seems to do a head clean much more often. It drinks ink, and you can't shut the lines off individually, or change to cleaning solution like you can with the Kiosk.
As for print quality - I think the Kiosk is better. I may re-assess this once I have used the unit a few more weeks, but straight out of the box it's not as good as the Kiosk.
I was also considering upgrading to the Kiosk, but after a bit of testing on the HM1 I really believe there was no major advantage going to HM1 over the Kiosk. As you said though, very good for light garments but the dark shirts were pretty equal in terms of time and print quality. I actually prefer the white underbase layed by the Kiosk over the HM1. A tech at the distributor told me that the 2200 print head has the ability to lay down more white in one go.
If I were to upgrade now due to an increase in production I think I would go the Eclipse or Tjet Blazer with Autotreat combo.
Alastair,
You pay $800 for printheads for the HM1? I believe from the texas distributor they are only $400. that is a big difference.
We're in the UK - prices are comparable for everything else, but the heads are £375 - which is about $800 (give or take). Seems a bit high though - you can buy a complete 2400 for $1000.
a little bit more expensive in athens. so our dtg distributor here is not that greedy as i thought when i had purchased my hm1. only in usa ink is cheap, why that?
As for print quality - I think the Kiosk is better. I may re-assess this once I have used the unit a few more weeks, but straight out of the box it's not as good as the Kiosk.
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$800 for a printhead? wow thats a hefty markup they have there in the UK. I think it would be cheaper if you stocked up from the USA or purchased direct from an Epson dealer?
On the plus side, the loading system is better, and faster, and obviously the print speed is faster, but not as fast as you'd think on dark shirts.
In a 'non scientific' test I printed the same image (about 10x12") onto a dark shirt. kiosk took 3mins 41s, HM1 took 3m01s. However, printing an image onto a white shirt, 2 hits at 720x720dpi, the Kiosk took 4m14s, the HM1 took 1m54s. A good difference, but anybody that tells you the HM1 is 3 x quicker is lying.
4m14s seems very long for the white shirt on the Kiosk. Does it need 2 passes? The HM1 is quicker because it was 1 pass?
I'm deciding between Kiosk and HM1 now and YesLtd are the european distributers. I do not know which is the better machine now!
4m14s seems very long for the white shirt on the Kiosk. Does it need 2 passes? The HM1 is quicker because it was 1 pass?
I'm deciding between Kiosk and HM1 now and YesLtd are the european distributers. I do not know which is the better machine now!
If speed is an issue, get an HM1. If cost is an issue, get a Kiosk. The HM1 costs a LOT more to run.
Wow - thanx for super quick reply. Not both !! I can dream.. I heard HM1 prints are better than kiosk.. but HM1 is 2100euros more than Kiosk, and more to run.. which for print quality?
HM1 vs Kiosk - results 
