I'm possibly considering a a $50K Kornit Breeze for my Small Clothing Line.

The Kornit just feels like the obvious and best DTG option for ease of use, Reliability, Best Ink Cost and Best quality of the print...

We just saw this machine at the print show and it had the absolute worst quality print of them all. The machine sprays on the pre-treat then wipes the shirt down but the fibers do not stay down. The print ends up with a very grainy appearance to it. Because of the filibration the white is not very white and the small wording is hard to read.
I can't imagine how it would do with very fine detail if it is struggling with small text.

The only good thing about the machine is that it's fast .. but what good is fast if you have to sacrifice print quality?

You could lease 2-3 other DTG machines which have better quality to make up for the speed.

 

We just saw this machine at the print show and it had the absolute worst quality print of them all. The machine sprays on the pre-treat then wipes the shirt down but the fibers do not stay down. The print ends up with a very grainy appearance to it. Because of the filibration the white is not very white and the small wording is hard to read.

Yeah. "What's up with that!" The Kornit Prints are grainy, and inferior! From past shows, the Kornit samples were absolutely great!

This worries me, about my initial conclusion that the Kornit was king...

After going to the Bro booth and getting the same samples done, there was a distinct "spot on" quality of the Brother that the Kornit did NOT match. I keep telling everyone who I show the samples that the Kornit can be tweaked and made way better with 2 hits of white matching the more opaque white on the Brother. ...But the Brother 782 prints are ready for selling right now! (As a giclee printer, I would add a lil' detail in the highlights though...)

I do like saving a $1 per print, and the automatic pretreat, but quality is paramount...

This is why I am convinced that the best choice is going the route of trying each machine from a printer before I spend the $2,000 per month for the lease and the inks. Don't forget I am not a "screen printer" and that I need the machine for producing the best shirts for my "line".

 

I saw the Kornit Breeze 921 in New Orleans. I heard about it and was very excited, but, it wasn't working. At all! I guess it was just there for show. I then talked to the rep. that was standing by the Kornit Thunder 932, which is a one shirt printer. It was OK...but for that price I could get 3 of small epson printer.

I however, spent a long time talking to the guy operating the Kornit Storm 931-8. Very Nice dude, he said that the machine was the best he had ever operated and the only one he would buy. He probably gets a kickback. He shook his head “no” on the 932.

The 931 is very impressive. But, It puts down so much pre-treater and prints directly onto the wet shirt. I don’t see them being able to get a truly bright white on that wet of a surface. I even joked with the dude running the 931, saying the pre-treater smells like vinegar. He gave me a scientific term for the make-up of the pre-treater “vinegar” and I suggested it would probably taste good with carrots.

I am in love with the fact that it pre-treats. But wow the price tag, ink cost and pre-treater, my fear I will not be able to make my money back on the 931. My orders are 50 - 2000 tees. I really want to embrace the new DTG technology.

The Breeze seems to fill the gap. but I never saw it print so I remain skeptical.

For now I am leaning towards the Brother GT-782 and the viper pre-treater. Because for some reason Brother has a pretty good reputation.

I’m talking with a rep now and I will see what kinda prices he can give me.

 

... My orders are 50 - 2000 tees. I really want to embrace the new DTG technology.

The Breeze seems to fill the gap. but I never saw it print so I remain skeptical.

For now I am leaning towards the Brother GT-782 and the viper pre-treater. Because for some reason Brother has a pretty good reputation.

I’m talking with a rep now and I will see what kinda prices he can give me.

If your orders are 50 at the minimum then I wouldn't bother with DTG. Are you doing that much photo work? Photos are the only place where a 50 piece order would come close between DTG and Screenprinting.

 

I think the SN says it all Ha.

Short run, is a big chunk of industry as a whole.. more profitable if you think about it, as big jobs need such price reductions that you makes peanuts per shirt but make the money on it with volume.

 

There is money in short run, selling a shirt for 25.00 instead of 5.00. BUT... you must not forget the time you spend selling. My experience is that it takes longer for a customer to figure out what they want on one shirt than it does 48 shirts.

You have to get paid for your time. Sure, it only takes a few minutes to print the shirt. What about the half hour you spent with the client working on the art? God forbid they get hold of a clip art catalog.

We aim for an initial minimum order of 24 shirts. This gives us a couple hundred dollars to work with, so we can take time to help the customer.

We have printed DTG orders as large as a thousand.... and we have a 6 color automatic screen press. Very fine halftones, gradiants, photos, feel... sometimes DTG is best.

 

Thanks,

Please understand that I am "trying" to talk myself into a DTG....?! I liked the Kornit but leaning to Brother.

After 19+ years in this field, I'm trying to NOT screen print. Not because I hate it. Trying to get away from the prepwork; Screens, washing out screens, storing inks, emultion, etc. Want a cleaner shop.

I'm trying to be totally digital. But the question is... Is it cost effective? and Can I make money with the new tech..?

 

I'm in the same boat.

I just want DTG to work.

 

Reo I really want a Kornit Breeze?.

Back from the Lyon textile show where kornit where going to show the breezer in europe, or so I thought/imagined, I did not get to see it. The working demo is in the US ( still since ISS, I guess waiting for the next show , DAX, ISS?).

Inks will be more expensive, and the machine is close enough to the 932 in price (15k apart) that ink cost might outweigh the initial savings, if you have to add the inks rip and extras I would definitely save for the 932. in fact my impression is that the 921 is a 932 redux, with higher initial cost for the hardware you are getting. Nice thing though is what they got out of switching head positions, now there is higher horizontal resolution, and the ability to print white just before color by pacing the white heads in front of the color heads, that improvement could be passed on to the 932 and be a nice touch.

The shirts from the 921 also need to dry with hot air, and the drawer thing might just work, but they InsisT in a tunnel dryer. So much for small footprint.

DO I really want a kornit breeze? I must say that I probably don't, The higher ink cost, ( that they wont make it easy to get around.) and with all the goodies they throw in with the bigger machines, it just seems like bait.

It might be good tasty bait, when it becomes available, till then...did I mention that there where 3 Brother782 all with their pretreaters on the same floor? I didn't? well now you know.

 

So, here is it a few weeks after the ISS Show in Long Beach.

I'm very wary of the Kornit Samples I got at the show.

Can everybody please tell me if these prints inferior because they were "quickies" and not dialed in?

Can the prints from the Kornit match the pop from the Brother 782's? I really need to know this. The Ink cost really bothers me about the Brother, which is why I want the Kornit as long as it can deliver what I need.

 

So, here is it a few weeks after the ISS Show in Long Beach.

I'm very wary of the Kornit Samples I got at the show.

Can everybody please tell me if these prints inferior because they were "quickies" and not dialed in?

Can the prints from the Kornit match the pop from the Brother 782's? I really need to know this. The Ink cost really bothers me about the Brother, which is why I want the Kornit as long as it can deliver what I need.

Are you talking about the Kornit Breeze?
Is the Kornit ink costs that much cheaper than the Brother 782?
If so, how are you coming up with your prices?

My samples where from the Big Kornit in (New Orleans SGIA) and they look and washed fine... Still I like the Brother colors better.

 

I was very disappointed by the Breeze at Long Beach, too. Looks like the 782 is the better machine, at least right now.

 

Any Kornit. Breeze, Hurricane, Storm

Kornit did the samples at ISS on the 90k show special 932NDS. They don't look close to being "Good To Go" (GTG) as the Brother Prints.

I REALLY need to know if the Kornit (any) Machine prints can match the Brothers 782's.

 

Kornit (16x14) Brother (12x11)

Here are 2 shirts that I watched each company print and go through the dryer.

I washed and dryed them both 10 times.... Both shirts have lost their new shin, but both prints have NOT faded! A very little cracking...

Brother seems to have always had a brighter white from the start. But, you can't overlook the size of the prints that Korit where putting out at the New Orleans SGIA show.

Ya, I know that brother can print bigger than 12x11, but they didn't at the show.

Korit was not scard to show that they could meet a demand while printing larger print. So, you have to give them credit for that.

 

thank you for sharing

but i can't see detail do you have a closer picture?

 

Thanks for posting Vic. Both looks "acceptable" to me!
The auto-pretreatment and the ink cost are the the two main Kornit advantages for me.
I wonder though how much ink are wasted when purging the Breeze print heads.

 

This is not the breeze, it is the Kornit Storm 931-8. Breeze was not working in New Orleans SGIA show...?

Brother white is brighter, Kornit print was bigger.

Maybe Brother printed smaller and put down more white? Where Kornit was more interested in a fast big print? I don't know.

Here is a closer look at them both.

Both have small type... looks good!

 

Both look perddy to me and for close up thing copy image and zoom in Photoshop ...
Detail wise, I would image both be par as both use same print resolution and picoliter size heads which is about 40

 

Really? I've always thought that the SPECTRA heads sprays larger droplets of ink than the rest of the other DTG machines out there.
Anybody knows who make the Brother print heads?

 

Mm. pretty sure Kornit uses the 40 picoliter heads, spectra actually makes heads from 10ish to 80
Brother uses a modified Kodak head is what someone said once, the head later turned to be used basically just for Brother.
Epson heads are about 4 picliter heads which are tiny but not really needed for fabrics as the ink spreads onto fibers

 

..Epson heads are about 4 picliter heads which are tiny but not really needed for fabrics as the ink spreads onto fibers

But maybe the EPSON head neads to be capable of spraying bigger droplets to prevent white ink clogging!

 

The 921 Breeze was working at SGIA New Orleans, It was ran about once per hour.

The Spectra PH that Kornit uses is indeed 80 p l .

 

The 921 Breeze was working at SGIA New Orleans, It was ran about once per hour.

The Spectra PH that Kornit uses is indeed 80 p l .

I went three days in a row. First day, all day. Never saw it run, Second day, 1/2 a day... wasn't running. Third day... I came by in the afternoon. All 3 days I passed by several times?

I really wanted to see it in action, but it was never running every time i came by. The rep seemed to not be interested in running it while I was around. So, let me correct myself...

Every time I personally passed by the Kornit booth on all 3 days, when I was there, . . . the Breeze just so happened to not be running.

I guess i must have caught it everytime it had made it's hourly run.

 

Yikes 80PL do you give option to get 40 or 30PL or does it need large nozzles for thickness of ink?

 

still looking for feedback? I own one

boomertee@yahoo.com

 

I think it's been a while since you bought the machine. Could you please give us some feedback, about the printing speed, and problems that you encountered.

Thanks a lot.

 

yes please let us know

how it work
any problem
quality of print etc...

 

So hw did it go?

 

Yes. please give feedback.... I'm looking to get either a Breeze 921 or a Thunder 931... but at a such a steep price, it is a really tough decision for the breeze.