Importing a DTG printer from China

I have been in this biz since 1997. I have owned a DTG, do laser printing, sublimation, heat press vinyl and there is NO WAY I would import a Chinese printer. Trust me there will be issues with ANY DTG printer when just starting. Having support and training available at purchase and after sale support. A DTG printer is not like a desk top printer...plug and play. It is a bit more complicated. If it does black garments, learning the pretreatment is an art and mistakes are costly, so is white ink. You should not pretreat in the same room as the printer. Also important is temp and humidity in the room.
In the case of buying a Chinese printer things to consider:
....where do you get initial training...crazy to go alone as as a beginner
....what printer engine...is it nearing end of production
....if you don't know Chinese communication can be a problem
....what about parts..even if available what about shipping
....what inks does the unit use
....have you held a sample of the print? All DTG prints are not the same
....what if the unit arrives broken or non functional...who pays to ship back

So best I can suggest is to do diligent study before the purchase

I bought DTG from Spring Sun just four weeks back! I did search this forum and lots of manufacturers and their products. I checked about this co thru friends who have offices in China and came back positive. So, after considering 'most available factors and issues', I ordered. I had to wire money and they confirmed receiving it. They shipped the machine within three weeks after that by DHL in wooden crate. Everything well secured. After uncrating, got set up DTG without major problems. Software they provided was iProof for RIP which is very good.
Now, after set up started printing without any problems. One mistake I made was that did not start printing dark color with white Ink right away and that created series of problems. First white nozzles clogged. They sent self explaining video showing how to and that was good. Managed that. Wasn't careful doing that and self created few more problems. But they always sent video in real time along with pics to resolve errors and problems. Got back running and also taught a lot.
Since this I have followied similar thigs/errors in this forum. Many were frustrated as eirher they did not get support for their local purchase or didn't know to cal at mfg tech support. Even today, I can see that many explanations given to local brand name were not for new DTG owners, you have to have knowledge to some extent. So, many frustrations here. Where as I did get video showing how to. They do have english speaking people.
Now, their equipment was less than 5k verses 20+ here. Their ink system is bulk cartridges which you can pour. Uses DuPont (USA) Inks. So far have not needed parts, they said they will ship at no charge for first year. Gave me part lists when I requested. I also found out that they use same technologies as many brand you will see in the forum. So, all the questions and answers are for this DTG as well.
As far as choice goes it is yours to make. Very little investment or big and wait for returns. If you are technical, want to invest little and get going, may think very hard. Though no training, or local tech support, I didn't need any. Learned by self. And can print T's about 240 to 280 in 8 hours. I will recoup in little over 3 weeks.
So, think and decide for youself.........

Shashin....glad to hear of your support of the unit in question...my comments remain..JMHO...I am somewhat experienced...with graphics and DTG...But I must say that I seriously question your math...you say 240 up to 280 shirts in 8 hours....that means you are doing either 30 or 35 shirts an hour....30 shirt an hour...x 8 hours is 240...in the 8 hour period...so that means you print one shirt every 2 minutes...that would count the pre press, the placing on the platen and using your rip...and print..pull off and lay aside......just does not compute as very likely for a full day

I still say a beginner should not try to buy from China and think they are going to plug and play...again JMHO

I checked their listing at
Direct to T-shirt Printer - Detailed info for Direct to T-shirt Printer,Direct to T-shirt Printer garment printer cloth printer heat press printing on t shirt,Direct to T-shirt Printer,DFP-08FZ on Alibaba.com and it shows the DFP 08FZ at 2 prices...one is $5500 and the other is $6000...so which is correct...and google shows their website as mysunspring.com...does not load...huummm...does not give one much faith

Charles: I am not here to prove anything. For me pricing was important for first DTG. I paid 4650.00. All brands will negotiate, even here and/or reduce price. Yes, we did produce nos I stated. As my heat press, DTG and computer are located within proximity, I pre heat, load and start printing within same time frame. RIp is already done and only button to pust is start/reprint. (I am printing the same design in multiples of 24 pcs). While shirt is being printed, or heat pressed, other activities like pre and laying and arranging goes on.
And checking with all other brands, and their math, I did not see any difference in production rate. Yes, you are right that if not planned and thought out production won't be there. As I learned (and still learning), for volume and same design screen printing is best at this time. For quick and fewer pieces, DTG. For white on Dark I will choose screen printing.
And, For technically connected person, I will think of this machine. Otherwise, go local! Support depends upon how often one needs help and when.

Don't buy a Springsun printer !

I bought a Springsun printer from Jason & Shirley at the factory.

The build quality is terrible, and here are just a few things they don't tell you:

- You can't print directly from photoshop, illustrator or any other standard software.
- Printer only works with their own rip-software.
- Rip software only works with a USB dongle
- Printer only connects with a pc through a USB port, so you need two dedicated ports on your pc to print.
- When you have an issue with the printer they send you instructions and videos with screen shots in Chineese ! Impossible to figure out what is what since layout is not the same as in English.
- No warranty on the product. If it doesnt' work, like mine, you have to pay.
- Shirley and Jason are sales reps. They are nice until they receive the money, after that they have zero incentive to help you, no matter what problem you have.

If you still want a printer, you are wellcome to buy mine.

It never really worked. After a few test prints it is now permanently stuck in "Remove Paper" setting.

My Spring Sun flat bed printer DFP-08FZ from china has been three+ years old. I had good experience. Made my $$ many times over investment.
Their software is at no charge. They gave it to me computer specific. If I change computer, will give another key. All mfg in USA would give for a year or more. I never had trouble getting answers or help from them. Of course it is via emails or Skype. They will send pics and instructions.
Now, most people getting in DTG must be mechanically inclined. As you can read from numerous issues in the forum, most get frustrated when they can't do anything till....Also, one must have constant flow of work to keep ink flowing and especially white. Clogging, cleaning and error msgs are very common.
T-shirt forums has been very helpful for searching and fixing usual errors. Or go to U-tube. They have almost every video one can imagine.
And, no matter what brand one gets, problems and issues are there and everybody do not have instant solutions. So, be careful when investing hard earned money.

It does not matter where you buy from. Before (and after as well) my purchase, I read and also talked to many resourceful and informative people, that service is just about what one expects. While overseas has it's drawbacks, domestic has not been that great either. When one mazes thru the call, you rarely get real person right away. And then when you complain in the forum, they will say call me!!!
Anyway, you tube has been fabulous. Just type in your issue and there are numerous videos. If you are mechanically inclined, you can get your problem resolved. I saved more than 15k buy importing from china. You can buy many things with that kind of savings. Ofcourse, nothing will beat on hands demo or start up.
I have seen with some on the field owners, when they have problem or issue, domestic supplier sent them new printer (originally they spent close to 30k). When that failed, they sent third one. And have not picked up other two as of this writing (which is more than two years). Now you do the math. Who is charging more for what it is worth.
This is not to put domestic brand down. Most of the time, within reasonable limit, would prefer local brand any day. Not only it supports our made in USA, quality and service, jobs as well. However, most components and main engine is made in Japan anyway (for DTG). So, think a lot before investing.