[BJF09]

I'm still getting to grips trying to get the best vibrant prints out of the GTX. You know brother send you those example t-shirts which have been printed on the GTX to show you what the printer is capable of..Well i'm not getting those kind of brilliant results. I assume they've optimised the printing on their samples to death, used the perfect t-shirt, perfect pre treat, perfect colour settings, perfect everything.

What settings in the graphics lab is anyone tending to use? I realise the settings will vary from job to job / artwork but overall what are people tending to use?

- Highlight
- Mask
- Saturation
- Brightness
- Contrast

Also is anyone noticing the GTX uses a shed load of white ink?

 

[JeridHill]

I don't have a GTX but I do know you can print in one or two passes. If you are printing in one pass, you will never get the vibrancy that you can in two. One pass means you would have to limit the amount of white ink being printed so when the color ink follows, the white ink is dry enough to print. Two passes gives you the ability to print the white and then most likely print the color pass immediately after (but it will depend on how much white ink you are putting down).

I would try it in two passes to see if the difference is what you are looking for.

 

[BJF09]

There are two options whjch seem to reference what you mean:

- Colour Multiple Pass Printing
- Uni-directional printing

I have to say Brother or someone should make a detailed video on Youtube that fully shows what each setting in GTX graphics lab does and how it effects the prints & end results. Instead everyone is left fondling around in the dark trying out settings.

For such an expensive machine I think Brother could do alot more to help the end user with videos.

The explanation for Uni-Directional printing in the GTX graphics lab when you select it is this can you believe...

Uni Directional Printing - 'Makes the print uni-directional'

Thanks for clearing that one up Brother.

 

[gatorGRAFIX]

For those that do not know,

Uni-Directional printing is when the head prints only on one pass from side A to side B (left to right or right to left, can't remember) but not the other way around (B to A). This gives you better detail and slightly better quality but at a speed cost (minimal on most DTGs) effectively printing on "every other stroke".

Bi-Directional printing is when your head prints on each pass, left to right and then right to left. One after the other.

 

[BJF09]

Thank you Geno for taking the time to explain these terms.

The confusion now is that there are two options which seem to do similar things in the GTX graphics labs.

- Colour Multiple Pass Printing
- Uni-directional printing

Am i right in saying both these things roughly do the same thing or what is the difference between them? Brother has included both as options to select so there must be a difference.

Sorry to harp on about this but I like to have clear explanations in my mind on what things do. Probably someone is going to say 'just blimin try all the settings and empty your ink so you have to buy more from Brother'

 

[gatorGRAFIX]

I do not have a GTX but I am going to assume that the "Colour Multiple Pass Printing" feature is similar to Epson's Garment Creator "Double Strike" feature.

This means that your DTG will print the same print twice, one right over the top of the other. This is usually done on white tees that do not get pretreated (no white ink at all in the print). Some printers lke to print this way and some don't. I do because it costs less (than pretreating), prints faster and gives your colors a deep richness and this allows your garment will hold up way better in the wash this way too (over just one pass).

Update - maybe I stand corrected. This is from a Brother 341 Instruction manual...I would guess this would apply to the GTX as well. Just a guess.

Color Multiple Pass Printing- Make this menu ON when you see some thin white lines (clearance between the printed lines) with all Print HeadNozzles are firing properly. Multiple Pass Printing is to move the Platen Feed by half for more precise printing so that the print time is doubled but the "regular" clearance will not be seen easily. Color Multiple Pass Printing is ON automatically when more-than-one-layer White Ink is printed.

 

[BJF09]

Exactly, it's as clear as mud.

Imagine waking up on a space shuttle full of switches and controls which Brother had labelled and then you grab the manual...

'Engine HDR' - This is the engine HDR

'Fuel ST3' - This is the fuel ST3.

Gulp...

 

[gatorGRAFIX]

yeah, I didn't understand it either. If I hear something I'll post back for you...

 

[BJF09]

I'm sure there are a good few GTX owners out there who have been trawling these forums for help. Come on share your thoughts and honest opinions and tips with the community. We're all on this mad journey with DTG struggling for good results together. Perhaps many of you are sat in asylums.

 

[NZACO]

I don't have a GTX but I do know you can print in one or two passes. If you are printing in one pass, you will never get the vibrancy that you can in two. One pass means you would have to limit the amount of white ink being printed so when the color ink follows, the white ink is dry enough to print. Two passes gives you the ability to print the white and then most likely print the color pass immediately after (but it will depend on how much white ink you are putting down).

I would try it in two passes to see if the difference is what you are looking for.

In Graphics Lab use White /Color Pause to separate printing the white and CMYK inks.

 

[BJF09]

That settings is already on is not the issue.

Plus white colour pause only actually works on small designs. If you print a normal size design the machine does not pause.

Come on everyone chuck in the hat what settings you use...

 

[BJF09]

To be frank, In the cold light of day at this stage I feel I’m not printing results anywhere near the quality of the t shirt samples Brother sent me so I’ve reverted back to transfer printing where the final product I give my customer is of a higher print standard than DTG. I can’t afford for my customers to receive inferior prints due to the DTG process. It should be the reverse. DTG prints are hit and miss. Some products don’t look too bad others prints all of a sudden are just not good enough and too embarrassing to send to customers.

The brother samples I was sent were soft to touch, no pre treatment marks and nearing high street quality. I feel misled at this stage. I didn’t know to achieve this quality I would have such a battle on my hands walking a tight rope. DTG should stand for 'Die Trying Guys'

On a side note at the end of the day today the white ink seemed to completely fail printing a very thin grey so I’m working late again tonight to try to work out what has gone wrong with that now...

Pre treating alone for me it just becomes a real headache when you have different items such as Hoodies and Polos especially front and back prints. A lot of our customers like hoodies with a front design and a name on the back. If you calculate the time to pre treat front and back then dry then load on the DTG machine it adds up compared to transfer...

Does anyone here use a dryer machine? Another 5k plus vat to add to the ongoing costs.

Whoopee.

 

[gatorGRAFIX]

That settings is already on is not the issue.

Plus white colour pause only actually works on small designs. If you print a normal size design the machine does not pause.

This was implemented because when printing a small area the white was not "gelled" enough for the color pass to print on it in full detail cleanly.

 

[BJF09]

Yes, but even when this option is selected for big / large designs the printer does not pause. It only pauses for small designs not large designs.

I'm presuming for some reason you assume no pausing is needed for large designs as the ink can dry. You may well be right but to take the option away is strange.

Much in the world of DTG and life in general is strange. How about that for today's wisdom. The next plato.

 

[BJF09]

Who agrees that drying the pre treat on all those garments sucks?

It's pretty time consuming. You end up in a steam room / sauna. It's sticky, the nice cotten t-shirt ends up getting a residue of goo then hammered under the press and pressure. You end up going through a ton of parchment paper. The parchment paper will keep rolling up under the mist. To top this all off if the process dosn't drive you to insanity. You end up thinking all the vapour which fills the room will probably be what ends up giving me lung cancer in the long term...

Who here is on my wave length...hahahah

 

[ejnrby]

You end up going through a ton of parchment paper. The parchment paper will keep rolling up under the mist.

I don't know if you're using rolls of parchment, but Uline sells sheets for $85ish for 1000. Ships in a flat box, so you don't have to worry about rolling as much. I've also found that it lasts longer than some other brands. Part number S-19146

 

[BJF09]

Anyway, that's all from me. Good luck everyone. Peace and love x

 

[gatorGRAFIX]

I ditched the parchment paper 3 years ago for Teflon sheets that I bought from Stahl's. Use them over and over and they work great.

It gives your t-shirt a slight sheen like a screen printed garment which I find awesome too.

I use a dry marker eraser in between presses to remove any slight residue that might remain from the previous shirt.

 

[BJF09]

What are peoples opinions of using a draw dryer / tunnel apposed to a heat press. Apparently, it has it's benefits and drawbacks to the finished print.

 

[gatorGRAFIX]

Tunnel driers are great and the DTG industry is starting to latch onto to them too. There are a bunch of "DTG Mini Dryers" showing up on the market now.

I am a screen printer (25+ years) and I use my tunnel dryer to cure big orders for pretreatment and printing from time to time. You really need a dryer that has downforce air capabilities like the ones used for water based screen printing. Electric or Gas, doesn't matter.