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Made my own DTG Printer for $150

[DIY DTG] 
1M views 3K replies 673 participants last post by  trackvw 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have been watching all the different forums on making a DTG printer and finally decided to post my discovery here.
I have made a DTG printer using an epson c88 $89.00 printer. I have maybe 150.00 in the equipment and supplies including the bulk ink system.

No, I cannot print white ink but I think this is a start for an affordable DTG printer.

Anyone who would like to help me improve the setup I made, I will be glad to help as long as everyone has an open mind and understands I'm NOT making these to sell, just to help so everyone can have an affordable DTG solution, and the agreement is that your discoveries can also be shared with me and everyone and not to be sold.

I will be posting a video on a website soon so everyone can see it is for real.
I will accept any feedback or suggestions being negative or positive.

Just wanted to see what kind of response I get before giving more info on the subject.
Thanks,
T

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3iOuKzhUlQ[/media]

Added by Rodney on July 20, 2009:

Adding these quick links to answers to common questions asked in this very long thread :)

Q: Where is the first set of plans?

A: Here's the PDF link

Q: Where's the second set of plans?

A: Here's the PDF link

Q: Has anybody actually successfully made their own DTG printer that prints using these plans?

A: Yes :)

Q: Where can I find more resources for building my own DTG?

A: Read here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/diy-dtg/t63379.html

A: Post your question in the diydtg section here at t-shirtforums.

 
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#54 ·
A bit more info here. The "magic" of the commercial direct to garment printers (that are made from re-purposed Epson printers) is in there registration system and ability to print larger droplets at higher resolution - another challenge is the Epson ink cartridge chip issues. The earliest direct to garment printers that we dealt in had 5 proprietary boards in them that controlled the re-registration of the garment as well as the bed feed mechanism. I would expect that these items would be the most difficult to "hack".

Going forward - the challenge that many will face (both commercial hackers and the home hacker) will be the changes Epson is implementing in its ink delivery system - basically making re-settable bulk ink chips unworkable. I would build this on a print engine that is not yet listed as discontinued by Epson and that has a large inventory of replacement parts in the system.
 
#57 ·
Very impressive T...good for you....Not being technically inclined I always wondered what was done to modify the printer to make the bed move....I am assuming that you tapped into the mechanism that originally pushed the paper through to make the moving bed platform....what is interesting is that an earlier video on this thread showed a homemade flatbed printer where the printhead moved over a stationary bed... Homemade flatbed printer | If its funny and online then you'll find it here!.
.I guess the question would be which method would be preferable
 
#61 ·
T
Your ink shipped today and I also sent you some cleaning solution and I strongly recommend flushing those Epson inks out of your printer before adding the DTGInks. They make a Bulk ink system for the C88/Sublimation so maybe you could locate one of those to add to your system
"YODan"
 
#62 · (Edited)
WOW, it seems that this topic is becoming one of the hottest latelly...
As a developer, I do feel compeled to warn everyone to be realistic as to what this is and what can be expected from it at least in the short-term. If you buy a set of plans for $100 then spend $200 building it, and it either doesn't work because you didn't build it correctly (imagine that) or doesn't yield the results you expected... don't go screaming about it. To quote a certain well-known figure in the industry "it is what it is and it does what it does". ;)


[edit]After reading my post, I found that it can come off kinda negative. I certainly don't mean to sound discouraging or negative to wards the endeavor. Quite the contrary... I think it's cool and will be watching intently. [end edit];

-- Fred
 
#63 ·
Thanks Dan....I have an extra bulk system to try for your inks. I will be calling you sometime this week to discuss my next idea and I think you could help with the ink part....but for now I do appreciate your contribution and I will compensate you some how for the help you are providing.

Fred you put it very well....I can draw up these plans to a T (pardon the punn) but not everyone can build it and get it to work correctly or work at all. I understand your point and I hope other will as well, it wasn't easy and took alot of @!#$@! words until the first shirt was printed, but I feel great about my accomplishment and not spending alot of money. But you are right "it is what it is and does what it does".

Granted it is a $89.00 printer and It may not print as good as a $15,000 model but it could be the first step to make a printer that will yield good results for the least amount of money, And make some cool shirts for my kids!

I do feel if It is massed produced as a printer you could purchase at the local office store, reguardless of the results not being perfect, it would be on most Mom & Dad's Christmas List.
 
#66 ·
I do feel if It is massed produced as a printer you could purchase at the local office store, reguardless of the results not being perfect, it would be on most Mom & Dad's Christmas List.
Absolutely. Very similar to a comment I made on the phone earlier today to a colleague. This may not be the "print 1000 shirts a month" type device, but as an "occasional use" type device it would be good. Just a few shirts a year. Company BBQ shirts, holiday-picture shirts for the family, etc. etc.

-- Fred
 
#64 ·
Reminds me of the TJet...it runs on an Epson. We have one and it doesn't work here in the Utah mountains...has alot to do with the bulk ink system...either the ink runs all over the place or no ink at all...other people here have had alot of problems. Now make one with cartridges!!! Its still neat, you are an inventor, keep at it!
 
#70 ·
I like the fact that someone has the ingenuity to create this. But we ( as businesses) should look at this in a good way and bad way.
How many out there think that if a printer like this, at a relatively LOW cost would be mass produced? most definitely. Dont you think that would effect the local business, as more homes would have printers like this and less and less people would come to "our" shops and buy the 24-48 pieces for the family events, birthday parties, etc?
I think what kind of sets the DTG market to a professional avenue is the cost.
(printers, ink, etc)

Now if I could only find one that works??? lol
 
#75 ·
How many out there think that if a printer like this, at a relatively LOW cost would be mass produced? most definitely. Dont you think that would effect the local business, as more homes would have printers like this and less and less people would come to "our" shops and buy the 24-48 pieces for the family events, birthday parties, etc?
This is so true. Being in the retail/manufacturing end of things, I can honestly say, if you underprice anything, you make it too affordable for people. If something like this was on the market for $300 - $500, it would literally put so many screen printing shops out of business. How many orders have you received that were in the $300 - $500 range? Most people, if they have access to something this inexpensive and they don't have to learn the ropes of screen printing, would spend the money the first time around to buy a machine and then do all theirs from here on out.

Pricing being around $15K for smaller units, does not put people out of business. It makes it more difficult for the average company to buy a machine, but it also gives those same companies a goal to reach if they are going for a machine like this.

Also, seeing the problems that exist with current DTG printers, I highly suspect, a small unit like this would have even more issues overall. Mark mentioned some of the things that these kind of machines need in an engineering sense and without all the "extras" needed to make these work, I'm sure there would be more downtime than the average DTG printer.

It is cool to see and I've thought about doing something similar from time to time. Then I come to my senses and figure I'll leave it for the big boys. ;)
 
#76 ·
makemygraphix said:
I'm NOT making these to sell, just to help so everyone can have an affordable DTG solution, and the agreement is that your discoveries can also be shared with me and everyone and not to be sold.
Does that mean you won't be selling the plans?

Just sharing them here with everyone so they can try them out and share tips on improving the process?
 
#78 ·
The print is actually a little light in person. I took the video at a low quality so it would be easy to upload.

I feel that the print will turn out pretty good when the dtg inks get here.

I will be contatcing a few guys on the RIP software and I think that will help too.

Please remember that it will take some time and refining -mak the printer usable on a daily basis for the average home user. I feel that the screen printing shops may lose some small jobs, but not go out of business.....I'm in the screen printing business also and I see it as an alternative to the qty of 10- T-shirt orders to become more profitable and easier to produce without spending $10,000 on a printer. Not everyone can design their own T-s and have the computer knowledge to produce them.

I will keep everyone posted on the progress.
 
#79 ·
T, Great Job. I Noticed a few of the people who sell machines have more to say than just telling you to keep going. Until James Dobson came along amature astronomy was out of the relm of all but the rich. He found a way to make large scopes for a small price and they are now found everywhere. You working on this could be like his contribution, a low cost way to do the same thing as the big boys. Just like Edison with the light bulb he just kept going and now we could not do without them.

This is the best thing I've seen in along time and it did not stop in the middle of the shirt.

Will be intresting if you get a larger format printer.
 
#83 ·
Oh yeah, and look at this month's Impressions magazine:

Online mass customization, this changes everything.

Anyone and everyone can now have their own tshirt business and only design the shirts. This is just one more way of insuring this can happen. You think this industry has competition now, think of what would happen if people who never thought about starting a business can afford to now.

It's not doom and gloom, but it's reality.
 
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