__________________ Big Daddy Screenprinting -Affordable contract Heat Press Services & Low Volume Screen Printing up to 4 spot colors with no setup or screen fees
John is correct...your question is too broad...Roland makes a lot of items that are used in garment decoraction and/or vinyl decoration and there are many dtg machines running from $15k to over $100K...with vinyl you can do a lot including heat press vinyl but you may be limited to number of colors and you certainly cannot do photo or anything with gradients while that type operation can be done with dtg..
I would add that the dtg machine sure require more use and attention than a vinyl cutter
Sorry I didn't give ya'll enough info. Here is what I am looking at. I want Full Color output on white and dark garments. I love the idea of the DTG's, however, it seems they require a LOT of mantainance, and color applications seem to be expensive or time consumming on big runs (100+ tee's). With the Roland Soljet Print/Cut, I have very little maintainance and Can do Signs Too.
I still have to heat press the tee but there is NO shirt prep...
Sorry I didn't give ya'll enough info. Here is what I am looking at. I want Full Color output on white and dark garments. I love the idea of the DTG's, however, it seems they require a LOT of mantainance, and color applications seem to be expensive or time consumming on big runs (100+ tee's). With the Roland Soljet Print/Cut, I have very little maintainance and Can do Signs Too.
I still have to heat press the tee but there is NO shirt prep...
What Are your thoughts on this?
Well we own a Roland VP-540....and had a T-Jet....I say HAD....I hate those things....we strictly use our Roland now....much better print and durability than DTG....in my opinion DTG is just skipping the papaer in the sublimating process...I'm sure my opinion may be unpopular...but with the print and cut we can do gang runs and save costs....we may print 5 different desings in one gang run and when our workers are printing on the screen press they are weeding the sheets...bonus is with the Roland is we can store the extra printed designs for future add ons then just pull and press...I'll never own another DTG AGAIN !!!!
__________________ The Shirt Shak-TSS Grafx-TSS Sporting Goods...Gettin it done since 2001
Well we own a Roland VP-540....and had a T-Jet....I say HAD....I hate those things....we strictly use our Roland now....much better print and durability than DTG....in my opinion DTG is just skipping the papaer in the sublimating process...I'm sure my opinion may be unpopular...but with the print and cut we can do gang runs and save costs....we may print 5 different desings in one gang run and when our workers are printing on the screen press they are weeding the sheets...bonus is with the Roland is we can store the extra printed designs for future add ons then just pull and press...I'll never own another DTG AGAIN !!!!
Thanks, Ronnie, I LOVE the DTG idea, but I can't seem to get around the idea of all the prep work for color garment prints + it is much more expensive to run large runs. I think that I would rather have the option for signs.
Tell me what's the upkeep on your Roland? How dose that prints hold up in the wash? Any negatives I should be aware of?
I like the fact that you can color match, etc. Print/Cut. I also do full vehicle wraps, signs, etc...
We just got both. If I had to sell one- it would definitely be the dtg machine. I haven't had any real production with either yet, so take my opinion with a grain, but from what I've seen and experienced the Roland vs dtg is a no brainer.
I don't own a Print / Cut like the SP540 (maybe Santa will be nice to me next year....LOL) but it sure produces awesome looking prints.
My only "concern" would be that with larger coverage prints, the feel of the print using the SP540, or similar, would be stiffer (similar to an opaque heat transfer). I think they have thinner materials now but it will still not be as soft as say a DTG machine. So, that would be one advantage of the DTG but I would have to say, for the money, the Print / Cut would be more versatile for sure.
I'm not a believer in large runs with a DTG anyway...too inconsistent and slow. I have a T JET 2 but haven't used it now for about 3 months. I plan on getting it back up and running for one-offs...especially for colored / dark shirts where I'm still not impressed with the dark transfer papers out there. But, i will use the lighter transfer paper (JPSS etc.) vs. the DTG for photos on light shirts.
__________________ Big Daddy Screenprinting -Affordable contract Heat Press Services & Low Volume Screen Printing up to 4 spot colors with no setup or screen fees
We have both in our shop as well and embroidery to boot. All three services get regular use. Just turned out 20 embroidered bags yesterday along with 35 vinyl pressed bags and we start a 300 dtg printed shirt order after Christmas on the 26th.
Each process excels in a particular area and while there is overlap, you'd have a hard time convincing my customers that vinyl beats dtg beats embroidery when they know what they want. Sometimes a simple 2 line text bag could be done with any of the 3 but if the customer wants a prestige type bag, they often choose embroidery. Some are extremely cost focused and often dtg or vinyl get the nod. Vinyl gets picked for all of the nylon and polyester materials by default over dtg but complex fonts or gradients for light colored canvas bags instantly go to dtg.
It really depends on your market and your desired business plan. If you know you are only going to sell polyester and nylon, a Versacamm is probably without question a much better pick than a DTG that cannot print on those substrates. If your market is all about 100% cotton and will pay a premium for white ink prints or prefer light colored shirts, a DTG is going to shine quite brightly.
We used to use plasticsol transfers for white ink but have switched to weeding designs made by the Versacamm. We charge a small upcharge for the extra labor but the cost is much less and can be thousands of colors vs a plastisol transfer with limited shelf life and limited colors and limited inventory.
We have both in our shop as well and embroidery to boot. All three services get regular use. Just turned out 20 embroidered bags yesterday along with 35 vinyl pressed bags and we start a 300 dtg printed shirt order after Christmas on the 26th.
Each process excels in a particular area and while there is overlap, you'd have a hard time convincing my customers that vinyl beats dtg beats embroidery when they know what they want. Sometimes a simple 2 line text bag could be done with any of the 3 but if the customer wants a prestige type bag, they often choose embroidery. Some are extremely cost focused and often dtg or vinyl get the nod. Vinyl gets picked for all of the nylon and polyester materials by default over dtg but complex fonts or gradients for light colored canvas bags instantly go to dtg.
It really depends on your market and your desired business plan. If you know you are only going to sell polyester and nylon, a Versacamm is probably without question a much better pick than a DTG that cannot print on those substrates. If your market is all about 100% cotton and will pay a premium for white ink prints or prefer light colored shirts, a DTG is going to shine quite brightly.
We used to use plasticsol transfers for white ink but have switched to weeding designs made by the Versacamm. We charge a small upcharge for the extra labor but the cost is much less and can be thousands of colors vs a plastisol transfer with limited shelf life and limited colors and limited inventory.
Thanks dude, now this is not the Versacamm, I'm talking about the Roland Soljet Pro 3 xc, it is a six-color High Speed Eco-Solvent Printer/Cutter. It has a white option to print on clear vinyl (Iprob. will not opt for because it takes up 2-ink ports).
BUT, the question I would love for you to answer for me is... If you HAD to pick the Roland or any DTG that prints on dark garments, which would you pick.....?
Vic - The solijet pro is a massive machine for just garments! I have seen it in action and have not seen a good print on clear transfer material using the white inks. It would take a lot of testing and trying to figure out the right combination. From what I have heard, the white ink has similar problems to white ink in DTG printers. It is still new to the market and so far I have not heard of anyone in the garment industry using it for that purpose. Let us know if you have seen anything different.
Josh - Have you tested the white on clear solutions?
Thanks dude, now this is not the Versacamm, I'm talking about the Roland Soljet Pro 3 xc, it is a six-color High Speed Eco-Solvent Printer/Cutter. It has a white option to print on clear vinyl (Iprob. will not opt for because it takes up 2-ink ports).
BUT, the question I would love for you to answer for me is... If you HAD to pick the Roland or any DTG that prints on dark garments, which would you pick.....?
Well that's really tough.
I bought the Roland Versacamm first and it started bringing in business from day one. I also spent a lot of time canvassing my clients/potential clients with samples drumming up interest before my purchase so that probably had a huge effect on my first month. When it came to small designs, bags and synthetics my customers accepted vinyl easily and were very happy. As the question turned to larger designs and casual wear, I found that my company was being passed over due to the heavier feel of vinyl. We had already been using plastisol transfers for a lot of work but the transfers just cost too much to stock and ship since we do 99% custom work and the minimum order to get cost effective was basically around the 50 piece mark. That led us to buying a DTG to get a softer hand on t-shirts.
Regarding specifically dark garments? I'd probably go with the Versacamm as even though I have a pretreatment machine and can get a great output with my DTG for white ink, the time it takes run 2 prints through to get a white ink base and final image makes production take too long.
At this point, knowing more about both machines, I can say they each do a different job in my shop and I don't think I could easily do without one or the other. All that being said, I would also point out that I'm always looking for a "better, upgraded, easier, more cost efficent" DTG printer to replace my current unit. I only hunt for better substrates when it comes to the Versacamm.
Last edited by raise; December 24th, 2008 at 09:49 AM.
Reason: Added dark garment comment
Roland vs. DTG 
Re: Roland vs. DTG 
Re: Roland vs. DTG 
Re: Roland vs. DTG 
