[vlcnmstr]

narrowing down the search based on machines available right now, though probably won't buy till january so we shall see what more comes out) buuuut...

anyone running these for comparison? yes, one is whites only the other does both, but for ease of use it seems the new additions to the k3 (or viper if money allows) of wims and one pass fast printing with white ink shouldn't be the hassle it was a few years back.

i am firstly thinking of starting part time from home and as business grows, transition to full time -- not the kind of person to just trash a good job "hoping" the new one will immediately out earn it. Too, the niche market I am going after may be sporadic till it catches on and the economy gears back up a bit.

As a result, till it scales up the machine may need to sit a week while other work is being done. These two seem to be the best bet at sidestepping most issues with "sitting", accepting that the regular maintenance will still be done.

Opinions? recommendations? other options?
thanks
djl so cal.

 

[Titchimp]

We are in a similar boat, part time at the moment. Because of this we have not gone DTG yet, if we were going ot get a part time machine it would be the Brother as i have heard many times they can be left for a few days without issue.

 

[spiderx1]

I think white will be a problem until the formula is changed. There are two new white inks out now. Resolute and Tprint both claim less clogging problems. However other issues may exist, jury is still out. With a good ink delivery system and proper maintenance u can go a couple days without using. If you can just run a head cleaning everyday it will help. Programs like printer jockey that can flush individual channels help. Some machines have firmware that clean every so many hours. However u may find more ink in the waste tank than u want. Better to print a give away shirt. Limiting yourself to white shirts makes life a lot more simple but very limiting in the market I do about 75% of my business in dark shirts. Consider a machine that is white capable but can be run in a dual cmyk mode. Then u can start out with light shirts and if u want can switch to white ink later.

 

[TahoeTomahawk]

If you are going to only use a machine a few times a month, then I would be looking for the machine that is easiest to flush out. IMO the ink and the solutions out there would not allow the machine to sit idle that long and then be ready to use after just a head clean or two.

 

[TahoeTomahawk]

We are in a similar boat, part time at the moment. Because of this we have not gone DTG yet, if we were going ot get a part time machine it would be the Brother as i have heard many times they can be left for a few days without issue.

An epson based machine without white ink like a Kiosk or MOD1 with dual CMYK can be left far longer than if it had white ink.

With white ink and using the Belquette bags, we can let the machines sit for 3-4 days no problem, anything longer you get separation which requires a little work, but no clogging.

 

[TahoeTomahawk]

I think white will be a problem until the formula is changed. There are two new white inks out now. Resolute and Tprint both claim less clogging problems.

From what I've heard, there are several inks out there including white that are being submitted to DTG machine distributors all the time and they all claim to have less clogging.

I think the jury is still out on how true that is. I'd also like to see the wash test and comparison for the resolute ink to be completed. Its been several weeks now with no activity on that thread.

 

[vlcnmstr]

I guess I like the idea of the k3 circulating white inks to prevent settling and clogging and the one pass white printing for speed and production. the reports of so few apparent problems with the brother sounds great, but is it really just "white ink envy" and wanting the best and most, or is it "ok" to get a white shirt only printer and still have a valid growing business?

 

[TahoeTomahawk]

I would like to see reports from more Brother owners with white ink to see if it truly is less problematic than Dupont inks.

Also most of the problems reported are machines that were running white ink. Its far less common to have issues with CMYK channels on Epson based machines.

After 4 years experience with White ink, I feel that the settling is not a big deal at all, it's the clogging that is the problem.
The Belquette Closed Ink system has eliminated clogging for us, but settling still occurs if we leave it to sit for 4 or 5 days. But all we need to do is shake the bags a bit and do a test print and we are good to go.

I like the simplicity of the bags over the WIMS, as some of the owners I have talked to and some of the posts on this forum show that not only do people still have problems with clogging, but now you have to worry about a Pump, Filters and additional hardware problems that can occur. Also it looks like most of the WIMS users seem to have to leave their machine on to keep the circulation going.

 

[IYFGraphics]

I guess I like the idea of the k3 circulating white inks to prevent settling and clogging and the one pass white printing for speed and production. the reports of so few apparent problems with the brother sounds great, but is it really just "white ink envy" and wanting the best and most, or is it "ok" to get a white shirt only printer and still have a valid growing business?

The problem with the WIMS is that air is still introduced into the ink, the circulation keeps it from settling and clogging, but as stated before the amount of hardware to keep it going seems excessive to me when bagged/degassed ink would work probably better with piratically no overhead.

JMHO