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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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#129 ·

This is called TSHIRTPAINTER.
url is T-shirt

They make serveral printers. Nail printers, flower printers, cake printers, candle printers. Qdunique.Net QDunique,Speaking nails; nails printer; nail art machine; nails art device; nails art; nails decorator; nails art kits; nails printing; image nail; nails printer; nails fashioner; beauty nail;

Pretty wild stuff. No clue how well any of them work.

Mark
 
#131 · (Edited by Moderator)
Lets see, no brand name and cheap price? I don't think so. He even did a sloppy photoshop job of whiting out the logo on the machine. I wonder if he's selling any. $5K is still a boat load of money for a pile of Chinese junk...If it doesn't work.

Not sure if you call it cheap or not. Heres the email they sent me when I inquired about it.

Thank you for your kindly letter.

Here is more information for your reference.

1. The price:
UN-TS-M01 350 USD
UN-TS-M02 1500 USD
2. For one samples, the freight is 520 USD to USA by DHL which is door to door service.
3. the ink is special group ink. The price is 0.1 USD for 1 ml.
4. Regarding the size of printing, it is just like A4 paper.
5. about maintenance
a .guarantee time is one year
b. during one year, if you meet some troubles, our technicians can serve you online or send you some free replacing parts.
c. In case you can not solve the troubles yourself by changing parts, and we confirm it is really problems of product itself, we can change one new machine for you. You take the charge of returning painter to us, and we charge of the freight from us to you.
d. if your order is big enough, we can consider to send you few machines as urgent replacing machines. You only need to pay some deposit for these machines.

If we can be of any help, please feel free to contact me. Many customers’ inquiry is always meet with our careful attention..

Looking forward to your early reply.

Best regards,

Mandy





 
#135 ·
How about this for a LARGE format printer?

Hektor:

Imagine this on an XY gantry with 4 airbrushes spaying CMYK colors. The airbrushes can be servo controlled to vary the spray intensity based on the color intensity. Or you could pulse the airbrush trigger with a solenoid, kind of like a fuel injector. The higher the pulse rate, the more paint. You could spay each color in a pass. My homemade CNC router had repeatability of .001 so this machine should be able to achieve the same.

Even simpler yet. Print 4 separations. Place the separation on a light table with an optical eye that follows the gantry on an arm. When the eye hits black the airbrush is triggered. A setup like that should print process color in the same way you would screen print it. You could also just read a bitmap file line by line and look for dark pixels. From there you can scale the original up or down.

When I had my router, I attached an airbrush to it and connected the router control servo to a solenoid on the airbrush. It worked great for painting single colors. The principle was the same as the machine in this link, but the printed image was much better.

 
#138 ·
ok people...It seems I have caused some confusion in the forum from some of the posts I have made, AND really struck a nerve with a DTG company/distributor who has pretty much threaten me on my intentions of this project. So here I go....

I will now try and clarify a few things BEFORE I go ANYFURTHER OR just GO-AWAY (like some would like me to).

1) I did state that "I'm NOT making these to sell, just to help, so everyone can have an affordable DTG solution" To clarify - I should have said: "I'm not going to make and produce the diydtg in a complete ready to purchase format and sell it to everyone for the $150 I spent to create it. My intent is not to mass produce a commercial DTG printer you can buy at walmart to compete with you big guys and make you loose your $10,000 profit on every sale, but only the kit-car like plans for the local computer geek or backyard mechanic".

2) I did state "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 agrees to share the info". I have done that with the ones who have helped make the diydtg better. THEY know who they are and I will compensate everyone who has played a part in making the diydtg better in someway, if I can afford to.

3) I did post that "Now to cover some costs, I have decided to sell my plans to help me pay for the chinese printer and really see it for myself". To clarify - I should have said - "I would like to raise enough money through donations (and the discovery of the diydtg) to receive the chinese printer, see how it works and use that as a tool to improve the $150 diydtg - so it can become a great home project."

I have been told - I have violated rules of this forum saying I am selling my plans,
because the forum doesn't allow "sales" posts, self promotional post or advertising post in the forum threads and I haven't seen any.

I understand that this isn't my site and there are rules made here I should go by, for becoming a member - "just like everyone else has" - and it wouldn't be fair since ALL other members have to follow the no self promotion/no sales/no advertising rule.

I have been to many other forums and did not decide to post my discovery on the other sites - just here for a reason but.....
I do appoligize for trying to:
1) self promote my discovery
2) "sell" the plans
3) get free advertising through this site, so others (who didn't know this site even existed) can join just to see the many posts about the diydtg.


So....I guess maybe....I should have kept it to myself afterall.

Have a Nice Day!
T
 
#141 ·
ok people...It seems I have caused some confusion in the forum from some of the posts I have made, AND really struck a nerve with a DTG company/distributor who has pretty much threaten me on my intentions of this project. So here I go....
The fact that the DTG manufacturers have their panties in a bunch just tells me that they feel threatened. That's a good thing. That means they recognize that you could be on to something. You're not doing anything wrong legally or ethically and you're not breaking any forum rules, so I say keep doing what you're doing and don't pay the DTG manufacturers/distributors any mind. It's in their best interest to see that you don't succeed.
 
#139 ·
I respect the forum rules, and I am glad to see you do as well. I will donate server space if you wanna post somewhere else about this, or offer your plans for donations etc.... I also personally own several different types of DTG's so if you are interested in my help, just send me a PM.
 
#140 ·
Justin Walker
However, look at all the Flexi owners who will never ever call support or deal with the distributors - they provide their OWN support. Where did the extra $12,000 that THOSE people spent go?
I could not have put it any better!
Where did the extra $12,000 indeed!
It sure wasn’t spent on warranty/support!:mad:

JeridHill
I doubt this would work for this market. Who would color profile it? Using whose inks, using what printers, etc. etc. There are too many variables that would make it unproductive.

And let me tell you, $1000 for a RIP with color profiling, etc, is extremely inexpensive. I use Production House and that software is $5K with a slimmer version being $3K.
I’ll bet the “cost” is closer to $10,000! That being said, if it was written in UNIX. It could then be compiled for PC, Linux or (GASP!) Macintosh!
The profile is only for the ink, right? One for Dupont, and then whatever else comes along.:)

What this thing needs is an inexpensive, simple, no-frills driver that gets the job done. Forget white ink, at least initially.
I see this as a hobby/prototype machine.
Like the home built 3D scanners and printers that have been the rage the last couple years.
Now if Belquette would build a 3D printer, I’d be all over it!:cool:

Belquette
A CHINESE PRINTER !!!!!!
My thoughts exactly! I can’t imagine the cost of shipping, with all the lead and all!::eek:

makemygraphix
Figures!
There seems to be quite a few immature, self centered, insecure people in this industry who think they are on “top” of everything!
I’m tired of hearing about the little guy being pushed around!
These people know they are not treating customers right, that's why they are so afraid people will begin to vote with their $$$.
As we should!
As I’ve stated in other posts, you should never be threatened!
I’m truly sorry this happened to you, T.
Unfortunately, it will continue to happen as long as no one speaks out or names, names.
Remember people, silence is complicity.

If there is anyway I may assist you, feel free to PM me.

Don
 
#143 · (Edited)
ok people...It seems I have caused some confusion in the forum from some of the posts I have made, AND really struck a nerve with a DTG company/distributor who has pretty much threaten me on my intentions of this project.
I hope you or any one else do not think BelQuette did or would threaten any intentions you may have. I'm all for inventing and promoting creativity.

To clarify: My intentions were only to point out some reality in the engineering and scope of a project of this magitude since many may underestimate what’s really involved.

Mark
Belquette Inc
 
#146 ·
To clarify: My intentions were only to point out some reality in the engineering and scope of a project of this magitude since many may underestimate what’s really involved.

Mark
Belquette Inc
I agree completely Mark. I think this is a great idea, I am 100% for it.

However, having been involved in the process of bringing machines to market, as well as owning several different DTG's , I can assure the rest of the readers there is more to it than most would think. Just look at Michelle's example of bringing tomato to market. That does not mean that it cannot be done. I am certain it can be done.
 
#147 ·
I wonder how this got from an inexpensive "home-made" printer, with plans for the average user to tinker with and improve, to buying a Chinese DTG?

Stick to your first idea; it's a good one and you will have lots of folks rooting you on! Buy a Chinese one, try to copy it and you've lost your focus... IMHO

Just thinking out loud.

Eric :cool:
 
#150 ·
No, Ford does not buy a Mazda and put their logo on it. They go into an agreement with Mazda and have them manufactured together and some are sold under the Ford brand and some are sold under the Mazda brand. Same with Sears. And you can be sure they pay for it too. The manufacturing company is involved and compensated for it, and therefore the Re-branding company has the permission of the real manufacturer. That's not what we are talking about here.
 
#151 ·
I am hoping T realizes that in all likelihood the vast majority of us who are watching this thread are doing so because what he did was so cool. All this other stuff is irrelevant IMHO. I don't think this first version is any threat to the major companies. It is interesting though that the chinese printers have been referenced because they are potential threats I think in the near future. In any case I am still in reseach mode and would love to see prices come down through more competition. T I hope you follow through with releasing your plans and I for one would have no problem making a donation through paypal or whatever for the knowledge that you have learned.
 
#157 ·
Ok here is an update...I am still alive and well :) and still a member of this site along with a couple others out there.
I have been very busy lately with my "real" job and have worked every moment I could on the diydtg to perfect the setup.
I am not going to give up on the diydtg because of a few negative comments and emails. I love the constructive criticism - It has realy pushed me more to make this project even better. Plus the positive ones have outweighed them 10 to 1.

I honestly don't have a release date for the plans(sorry)...They are Not complete to my satisfaction. (I have learned to watch what I say.)

On the bright side....I have found a DIYDTG Ink that works with this set up.

Thanks again for guys who have helped (I can't say that enough times) and everyone keep watching...It will happen :)
T
 
#159 · (Edited)
makemygraphix: keep up the endeavour, action speaks louder than words ! i think you done great so far ! anxiously waiting for your effort to unfold !


chinese machines: there are tons of it around this side of the world ( im based in Hong Kong ), prices are very affordable, way below what u can expect! Hwr, most, if not all , can only print white to light color tees, cant print dark garment! That's why i own a kornit.


does Epson gets any cut ? i doubt it as i know of some epson dealers here ( HK )sell epson printers to some European DTG manufacturers, instead of them directly importing from Epson USA nor Epson Japan. Does Epson know? They do but they just keepin an eye on it without doing much !
 
#160 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have known and work with T for 10 or so years and this project does not suprise me, and given the size of the t-shirt busniess this will only make it a more flexable operation. It feel it could lower the cost of prodution of larger shop by paying for itself in a short time frame. How many shirts would you have to maKe to break even with a large printer, also is it cost effective to fire up one for 3 or 4 shirts.
 
#161 ·
some people make diy graphic toasters. but serious, it uses a wheel system to roll over the print area. i got myself a c88 for 25 euro to mess with. i'm thinking to make the printhead move over the shirt instead of the shirt move thru the printer. mainly because it should get a smaller footprint.

 
#162 ·
#165 ·
Wow look how long this thread is. No question we are all in awe of the creative ability some people possess..I have no doubt that this accomplishment is not too different then the original French engineer who was first to modify an inkjet printer to print on garments in 1993...One reason that there is so much interest in what T has done is that I think alot of people dream of an easy way to get the "bling"...to win the lottery or become an overnight success...Yes some of us get lucky...Unfortunately the reality is that you have to learn the game and pay for your ticket in life....Just dont wait till the game is over...do it now!
 
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