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Freejet 330tx DTG Printer feedback

40K views 51 replies 29 participants last post by  S2019 
#1 · (Edited)
So, today I talked with the OmniPrint folks and I am sending them one of my designs that I printed at the NBM show on most of the other dtg printers so they can print on a black tshirt and send back to me for comparison. Somehow I missed them at the show.

- So I found out they use Teflon coated lines to their Printhead so the ink does not stick and clog like other ones do.

- They use a bulk ink systems (cost less and no waste).

- They use a wet capping station for the head (Epson head) which stores the head in the cleaning solution when not in use.

- They have no problem with clogs even after 30 days of no use. They seem to have the lowest ink cost and ink usage of most all the dtg printers since there is no head washing or purging.

- One other thing, according to Omniprint the printer will work in an environment such as your garage since they do not have the same issues with White ink as other printers. Not sure I trust that since their documentation says 10 - 25 celsius or 50 - 77 degrees fahrenheit, with 50-80 precent humidity.

So I am struggling with why more folks are not buying this printer over many of the other more costly printers.

If there are any OmniPrint 330tx owners out there tells us about your experience with the printer, cost, quality, maintenance, service failures, etc.

Thank you,
Kyle Gordon
 

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#2 ·
I went to the show in Nashville, and checked out all of the different DTG printers. Been wanting one for a long time but waiting til the bugs were worked out. Talked to the guys in the Omni booth, and I liked what I saw. They gave me an incredible deal, so I jumped. Took a couple weeks to get it, had my training last Thurs via skype. Lasted the whole day and super helpful. I wish I had more time to play with it, but I still have a business to run. I'm struggling a bit to get the perfect print. There is a learning curve with it, especially how to do the perfect coat of pre-treat but I'm working on it. When I send an e-mail or call they are on top of it. I'll try some new things in the morning. I'm pretty excited about it!
Would love to hear more from Freejet 330tx users. I have a lot to learn.
Thanks, Mary
 
#3 ·
I owned an Anajet Sprint for about 2 years, as a matter of fact I still own it if u would like to buy it! CHEAP!!!!! After 3 heads and thousands of dollars it became an anchor. I was considering getting back in the DTG game about 1 1/2 years ago, and I was close to buying an Epson, I'm glad I didn't. Between the problems with the print heads and the crazy amount of ink that's wasted on purges I ended up buying the freejet and I'm glad I did. i can leave it for a week and do 2 head cleans and it's perfect. They have great customer service and stand by their products. It amazes me they are not the hottest DTG printer in the industry, but I think it's because of it's marketing or lack of. If u have any questions PM me and we can talk.

Paul
 
#4 ·
Hold on...Let me make something clear. Ominprint doesn't add a teflon coating to their heads. They use an Epson head, as many many other mfgs, that has a teflon coating on it from Epson. The 3880, 4880, 1800, R3000, P600, P800 and more ALL utilize a teflon coated head which is why they are the most popular print engines used for modifying into a DTG printer.

Please note this is not to be a disparaging post against Omni Print. They are great people and I have nothing negative to say about Paul or anyone else associated with them. I just want to be sure people aren't confused. Several years ago there was a mfg who claimed to do their own teflon coating or that the heads were somehow unique for them...needless to say that was a line of BS.
 
#5 ·
I have had the FreeJet 330tx since February. I have a finished basement in my shop so its always about 60 degrees and 60 to 70 % humidity. I can say this: I've gone 8 to 12 weeks between uses and not had the ink clog. It just sits with the head in the wet cap station - also - I hesitate sending an email or calling the Omni staff if I'm busy and don't have time to talk - as they usually are on the phone with me in 3 minutes - very helpful and almost get pissed if they find out I struggled with an issue without calling them right away. Also - the ink is much cheaper as its not in a cartridge. The prints are breathtaking - especially on black shirts (must use good quality like Cotton Heritage though. The main learning curve is the pretreating - get a viper pre-treat machine - thats a solve of 85% of the problems - the only other issue is setting of pretreat volumns on different styles and colors of shirts - still figuring that out - but as far as the printer??? It stays covered when not in use and as I don't want any of my competitors figuring out what i've got - seriously - the prints are the best i've seen - ease of use is key its easy as using your desktop. Other printers you can't even go on vacation without having someone boot it up and run a print - not mine - if i'm busy with reg printing it sits idle - no worries.
 
#6 ·
That is a difficult design for ANY dtg printer. Bright solids demand a perfect white UB, plus your CMYK must be perfect also,because banding will be quite noticeable in this design.
Good choise. Most bring I bet, photographic images .
Anyway what I got from the original post is that the INK lines are Teflon coated.

Sent from my Tab2A7-10F using T-Shirt Forums
 
#7 ·
I have been reading these forums for a long time, but haven't posted much. Got a couple PM's about the Freejet 330TX so I thought it would be easier to addres it here. I bought it in Feb from OmniPrint in Costa Mesa, Ca. Really didn't do a whole lot of printing at first. Business & life was busy. Being a newbie to DTG I was pretty frustrated with the results at first. Had a lot to learn about pre-treating and making my prints look great. Turned out most of my problems were operator error. The guys at Omniprint were super helpful, and quick to get back to me. Once I got it all dialed in, I am quite impressed with this machine. I am not able to make comparisons because this is my first dtg, but I saw them all working at the show and did a lot of research. With the cost of ink by buying in bulk instead of cartridges, printer not self cleaning all of the timeand wasting ink, and being able to walk away for an extended period of time were all big selling points for me. I have gone 2 weeks or more without using it, power is completely turned off, done a head clean and the 2 regular cleans and I was good to go. This process uses very little ink. Jose at Omni gave me a contact number for an incredible woman in Connecticut named Terri. She has owned a couple different DTG printers, and said the 330 is by far the best. She averages about 500 prints a week. I am so fortunate... she has become my go to gal when I have questions. To answer the big question... yes I would recommend this printer.
Mary
 
#9 ·
I just purchased / received our 330TX and am happy with the service and abilities of the machine. Having said that, I have a learning curve in terms of pre-treatment. I noticed you also purchased the Pearl PTM...which I did as well. I am still experimenting but was curious if you have developed a "cheat sheet" of sorts regarding density levels of the sprayer for dark poly, light poly, and cottons? If you don't mind sharing it would be really helpful! Thanks and good luck to all
 
#13 ·
I use the Wagner sprayer to pre treat and it does well for me. My printer guru Terri bought a pre treater machine , a viper I'm pretty sure... and says she much prefers her sprayer. She does 500 -1000 prints a month! Way more than myself. I have no previous experience for comparison...but the sprayer works great once I figured it all out. There is a learning curve, but once it's dialed in you're good to go! Got super frustrated at first, called Paul at Omni and he got me back in the game with confidence.
Good luck and have fun with it!
Mary
 
#15 ·
We are interested in purchasing a Freejet 330tx plus. But before purchasing I would like to know more information from people using the machine and not from someone who works at Omni. Any information would be greatly appreciated currently we have an Anajet mpi10 and we are fed up. Had the machine for about 3 plus years. Before spending another larger sum we want to know if anyone has had any issues with Freejet 330tx Plus.

Thanks in advance!
 
#21 ·
We bought this exact model about two months ago. As far as the prints, the capability of the machine, and the ease of use go... well, it's one hell of a printer. Super easy to keep running, if you maintain it following their instructions you shouldn't have any issues as far as I know. That being said, I'm not sure two months is a great gauge for machine longevity. There are some scary things about using it. A head strike will cost you $3500 dollars, and is not covered by warranty at all. We haven't had one, but they scared the hell out of us while talking about them in the training course... we focus hard when using it to avoid having this happen. The consumables are kind of expensive, but that's relative when you're talking DTG. We use the Wagner sprayer that came with the machine but we're planning on getting a pre-treatment machine in a couple weeks. We do fine with the Wagner, we just want to cut down any excess we are wasting. plus there is no way to gauge how much pre-treat you are actually using, which I hate because I'm all about exact cost. I know a full color print that is 11x14 costs around $1.80 in ink. but I don't know how expensive pretreating each garment is. I know a gallon of the stuff is 100 dollars, I can do the math on it if I really want, I'd just rather have a machine quantify it all for me to remove any variables (like over-spray/waste).

All of this to say that we really like ours. We were torn between the 330 plus and the Epson F2100. I'd honestly say that I liked both equally. The selling factor for us was the customer service Omniprint has. I'm contacting them about something three times a week it seems, I just use their messenger on their website, and they are quick to reply and very very very very helpful. Hope this helps in some way! :)
 
#22 ·
We are using a density of 45 for black shirts are coming out with good white coverage. I am having a problem with cracking after 15 or so washes, so I am trying to troubleshoot this cracking issue. Let me know if anyone is having or has had this problem and what they are doing about it. Thanks.
 
#26 ·
Hi Everyone!

I have been researching DTG for the past 3 months and the Freejet 330TX Plus is one of my top contenders. I've watched every video and read every article DTG has to offer and I'm still uncertain. I know this thread was started a couple of years ago, but it would be great if I could get an update on the longevity of the machine from some of the thread originators.

I've had a brand for about a year, but I'm really interested in becoming a custom print shop/fulfillment house and this is really going to take my operation to the next level. However, I'm in Atlanta, so I do have concerns about becoming a mechanic and fixing the machine myself. Also, right now I do mostly cotton (Bella Canvas), but I also don't want to limit myself and miss out on the athleisure (polyester) trend.

ANY update/advice on this machine would be awesome!

Just a quick P.S. (I'm sold on buying a pretreater and a hover, so no concerns there).
 
#27 ·
Hey...I was researching the Freejet and Epson F2100. I received samples from both. Some were their own designs and some were designs I supplied. I preferred the Epson F2100 prints. Also, been hearing great reviews from other businesses that use the F2100. Again it was my preference but I hear the Freejet 330TX is a great DTG printer as well. I hear you’re better off getting the TX over the TX Plus (too many issues with the plus).

I purchased the F2100 2 weeks ago and so far I’m happy with it. I personally didn’t have a great customer service experience with Omniprint but again that was my experience. Good luck and continue doing your research.
 
#28 ·
I am trying to be a Freejet 330TX owner.

My old DTG died. I had seen the Freejet 330TX at a show and had been impressed. I had orders I needed to fill and asked the rep how long the machines took to deliver. I was told two weeks. I could hold off the customers with orders in house for that long. I pulled the trigger.

The following day I got a call from a different person at Omniprint to "go over my order". He confirmed the machine and the platens I had purchased. Then the surprise...4 weeks for delivery. I was stunned.

I called the sales rep and he assured me that 4 weeks was the latest and that it would probably be sooner. He couldn't promise sooner, but he could promise 4 weeks.

Well it is almost 4 weeks and I dropped the rep an email wanting to know if there was any word on when my printer would ship. I got a call from the same young man that had given me bad news before. This time he is telling me that my printer is delayed and it will be ANOTHER 4 weeks for delivery.

I am waiting for a call back from a supervisor. At this point I don't know whether to cancel my order and look elsewhere or stick it out. I could be in serious financial problems without a printer for ANOTHER 4 weeks. I will update when I hear something.
 
#37 ·
This is our 5th DTG. The others were from DTG brand from Mesa Distributors.

Out first two were smaller machines where the head moved over a stationary shirt (HM1 Kiosk). The first was a lemon. The replacement was a workhorse. It lasted about 5 years of heavy use. Not quick, but reliable (after the lemon).

We decided to get a second machine and purchase a refurbished DTG Viper. On this machine the shirts (on a pallet) moved underneath a stationary head. This allowed for a very large print area that could accommodate 4 smaller or two larger prints at once. It had a white ink system that circulated white ink to avoid clogging. Really didn't make a big difference. We called it Diablo...it was unpredictable and prone to issues. It died after about 4 and a half years.

When the Kiosk died, we replace it with a new DTG Summit. While it printed in the same fashion as the Viper, it was more reliable. It's demise came when the carriage started slipping on the belt. Attempts to repair it damaged the carriage. Attempts to repair that led to general failure. Estimates of $3K to $4K to have it repaired led us to retire the 6 year old machine.

Now we have the FreeJet 330TX. We have had it since the end of June and have been seriously putting it through it's paces. We have printed in excess of 500 full color on dark prints (with white underlay) and well over 1000 dark prints on lights so far.

This one prints like our original Kiosi, with a stationary shirt and moving print head. Much more accurate prints!

The best part of the machine is the RIP software. It has MANY options and allows you to really fine tune the print for a particular fabric or color.

The wet capping station works as promised. It keeps the head moist while not in use, leading to VERY consistent prints. Whites are very white. Colors are vibrant. Maybe too vibrant...

Depending on the fabric, the standard setting of the RIP software tends to put down too much ink. Fortunately the RIP software allows to you incrementally dial ink levels back. We had issues with ink bleeding, especially in lighter weight 100% cotton and blends, but the great software allows you to fix it.

There is a bit of a drawn out shut down procedure that you have to do at the end of the day, it takes about 5 minutes, but there are times that I have to dash at the end of the day and stopping to do it is a pain, but the resulting prints are worth it.

Learning which buttons on the printer do what is not intuitive. They should re-label the buttons to better reflect their actual function. Strange error lights flashing over things that aren't errors is disconcerting. The printer's owners manual is 66 pages long, but the manual for the RIP software is a hefty 315 pages. If I were starting from scratch there would definitely be a learning curve. Omniprint's training was thorough for general operation, but glossed over some of the cooler things this printer can do.

Overall we are very happy so far. Full color prints on black are about 40% faster than on the Viper or Summit. Regular prints are about 20% faster. Quality is great. I would recommend it.
 
#40 ·
I just read all of these posts of this topic and wonder why a $150.00 Epson 7210 for $150.00 with sublimation cartridges of another $60.00 to not only print shirts but also hard substrates. with a white toner printer.
Isn,t the DTG printers ink jet printers also?
 
#41 ·
Your question is equivalent to "why buy an F150 when a bicycle can get you there as well?"

Having used sublimation, I am well aware of the limitations and quality. The process from start to finish is not compatible with mid-quantity production. There are limitations on types and colors of fabrics. The general quality of the items produced is not that great.

Don't get me wrong, DTG has it's limitations as well, but 25 to 30 pieces an hour for dark ink on light colored garments isn't bad. There is much less mess and hassle than with screen printing.

I have many customers who have multicolor imprints that would not be cost effective to produce with screen printing. I am, right now, printing a full color print on black shirts. The client is buying 10. I have been working with them for years, so they are paying $12 per shirt. This could not be produced economically via screen print and not at all with sublimation. The shirt costs $2, the ink is $.75 per shirt, the pretreat is about $.50 for a gross cost of $3.25 per shirt. It will take me about an hour and a half to produce. That is $88 gross profit. Not bad.

We live in an area without a lot of large businesses. Most companies only have two or three employees, so there isn't a lot of demand for high quantity runs. When we do need to do large quantities, we often order screen print transfers. It works for us, but I can see how it wouldn't be great for everyone.

I guess I am saying that you need to know the needs of your area and how best you can meet them. I worked in this industry in South Florida for 20 years and it was MUCH different than here in New Mexico. We had an average order of over $800 there and it is about $250 here. If your business model has you doing very small quantities, inexpensive ink jet sublimation may work for you. DTG works for us.
 
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