T-Shirt Forums banner

Mission accomplished "license to thrill"

[DIY DTG] 
1M views 5K replies 321 participants last post by  Laser212 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
R1900BUILD-Mission accomplished "license to thrill"

It is now official she is the T-DOZER:) here is the video of her knocking out some shirts. again i did a video from the power up sequence all the way thru printing two shirts, at the start up you can see the pf motor does not move (by evidencing no movement of the platen)

the printer is 100% error free as seen. i still have not mounted my power button pad (epson original) or additional two buttons (my modifications) i just could not hold back showing the video of what she can do, before i completed the final details:D keep in mind all thru-out the video the printer is not secured yet and either are the base covers..she is smooth;)

I'm still using the cardboard platen template, the final platen is plexi and weighs in at 1.3 pds. i believe i have accomplished the goals i set prior to the build. small foot print, light weight delivery system, portable, etc-etc.

I'm using 100% epson firmware with only some wiring modifications (rerouting) at the board as explained previously. everything required to do this build was purchased at lowes home improvement store with the exception of the plastic base (which can be substituted) and the printer itself of course..

I'm still using trial versions of the rip.. i tried multi-rip gp first and now i'm on my second brand of a trial version. i wish i could have done a shirt of each at the same time but the driver configurations don't agree with each other including the epson driver (you can only use one at a time on the computer without complications by my experience) so I'm testing individually..

i can tell you the rip is mandatory in my opinion, (its the business end of the deal):D and there are some very cool features and settings to play with ...im still learning..

i finally learned to adjust the settings in the rip for the table adjustment, the videos show it printing in 1400x1400. now i can print in 720x720 with the same quality as far as proportion and by my calculation it prints twice as fast..;) the 1400x1400 is still the best quality image all around as far as details etc and im sure that i will print with that setting most often..

well i hope you enjoy the show as much as i did..;)

P.S i added the video of the printer printing at 720x720 res dual cmyk.. i calculate start of print at the :59 sec point in the video and the end of print at 1:37 so i came up with 38second print on an 11x11 detailed graphic...a major feat using the stock epson firmware with its jerky motion in the 720 res mode with the r1900 imho, watch the very bottom of the shirt bounce during the print steps, and then check out the detailed print...

regards
jeff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc3OrrsnMHs





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWNmlNKiQ7A
 
See less See more
#3 ·
yes, totally stock epson r1900 firmware no micro processor, only wiring modifications at the main board, and no pe switch as seen..

i have a small registration mark on the base;) i will put a stop however, but the registration mark works as well.. i printed several two pass color prints to check it and its spot on..:)
 
#4 ·
Oh this is sweet.:D

This means I should have kept that last 1900 instead of selling it.

So this means all one needs other than the modified printer is dtg ink and rip software.

You going to make a new step by step thread right?:)
 
#12 · (Edited)
Not only are you a craftsman but brilliant too. Very nice looking machine and art work. My wife is slowly getting stronger where I may be able to get out of the house sometime soon and with your success, this is going to be a have-to project (only in my mind) for starting up a small endeavor to give us something to do when she is able. Thank you for you help, ideas and inspiration. I have everything but the DTG and with you help, that isn't far off. Two question though if you don't mind. do you know how much the EKPrint rip will cost and do you think it is as good or better than the Multi RIP? Well one more. What did you use to make the belt with?Sorry. You posted that answer while I was typing.
 
#13 ·
i appreciate the kind words... the art is all my wife, thats her dept.

this is why i built the dtg for her;)

from what i've been told ek will match any quailified competitors price..there list price is higher.

I believe the rip is a personal preference..they all have trial versions, i suggest that before purchase..

I'm not qualified to answer any rip questions, not much experience there. you will be better off asking experienced users..

i hope your wife gets strong fast..glad to hear the positive news:)

regards
jeff
 
#16 · (Edited)
Thank you for the well wishes. If they are comparable in price, I will probably go with MULTI RIP when the time comes. Mark has been here for a long time and always very helpfull when he can. I saw in looking up some of your other threads that you have some experience with the 1100. I didn't find a lot of information about using it for DTG (will do a search) but with being a 24/7 care-taker, my funds are limited and if this is a viable machine for this process, it would make a good first production DTGfor someone like me at a hugh savings to gather the extra funds to make the 1900 for using on collors and darks shirts. Does it need a RIP to work for just white shirts? And, do you know of any posts/threads that work with/on/about the 1100 just in case I miss something important in my searching? Again, thank you.
Terry
 
#17 · (Edited)
Thank you for the well wishes. If they are comparable in price, I will probably go with MULTI RIP when the time comes. Mark has been here for a long time and always very helpfull when he can. I saw in looking up some of your other threads that you have some experience with the 1100. I didn't find a lot of information about using it for DTG (will do a search) but with being a 24/7 care-taker, my funds are limited and if this is a viable machine for this process, it would make a good first production DRG for someone like me at a hugh savings to gather the extra funds to make the 1900 for using on collors and darks shirts. Does it need a RIP to work for just white shirts? And, do you know of any posts/threads that work with/on/about the 1100 just in case I miss something important in my searching? Again, thank you.
Terry
well:) lol

i started with the 1100...

i can tell you that you will have to include the pe switch in an 1100 mod without a micro controller.. i played with this a long time.. we did bypass the sensors with the micro however there was an end of print timing issue that required additional sensors electronics..

i suppose you could do this mod with only using the epson driver since its not rip supported (reason why i moved on), and including the pe switch.. i myself had no luck with doing this consistently with out error amongst other issues jockeying of the platen and registration probs.. on double pass..it is a very nice printer however but the sensors in my opinion cannot be overcome without additional electronics which get costly and in many cases non reliable depending on what its programmed in..

for the investment, time, and quality and speed of the print i would say the 1900 is the best avenue and its a newer printer with parts to be available for a long time to come, with a coated print head.. as im sure you know several commercial manufacturers use the 1900 as there base printer..i would like to do a 4800 but its just to expensive of a printer for the extra 4" width..i have the cure for it as well;)maybe in the future a bit..im going to get printing with this bad boy..

i would talk to bob on this question (colorfinger) he has a complete set up with the 1100, and has more experience with the complete set up he has... there is something that i did not try it was mentioned by someone else in the forums using a 1400- he suggested using a 555 timer or a delay timer to trip the pe...this would be a great cure if its consistant and set up properly but there is also end of print issue with that aswell tripping the pe off at the end of print..(im sure it can be done) i started out trying to over engineer the issues of the printers this is a major fault i have..:D

additionally i agree on your opinion of mark, he is a top notch guy..and even responded to me on his honey moon:) thats what i call customer service....

best of luck on your build;)
 
#18 ·
Thank you. You saved me a lot of time trying to find information. Theres not a lot of it on anyone that tried an 1100 and kept going. I will want/need to have a machine that is able to do small production (like in a flea market situation) without a lot of hick-ups so I will start preparing for the 1900 to get started after I get the c120 to work.
 
#19 ·
good idea...the 1100 was my starter...and i still believe this can be done with some savy delay timer set-up..
however its not rip supported...

the whole key is using a printer that has a roll mode..dtg digital and mod 1 run in this mode. it makes the electronic hack alot easier in my case using just epson firmware, just rerouting some internal board wiring as i mentioned earlier, allowing you to fore go the pe switch amongst many other benefits.. it took alot of late nights and burning the candles at both ends to figure it out... not only that there was a tremendous amount of time spent calculating measurements to fit it to this footprint with no ffc (flexible flat cable extentions)..:)

its pretty small foot print, compared to even commercial models, i would like to say only the rainbow textile printers is smaller-but its close, i'll have to check there dimensions to confirm;)

best of luck on your build..

jeff
 
#20 ·
I have own both RIP software programs and based on my experience, MultiRIP GP is the better of the two programs all around. EK Print is a very simple program, but I found it very limiting. I found that I had to do more testing and color tweaking with EK Print. I also found printing photographs with EK Prints extremely difficult. It seems like the color profiles were really designed for just clip art printing – colors were oversaturated and while that makes the prints seem brighter; forget trying to do decent skin tones (every fair skinned person looks a bit tomato-ish, Asians look almost green and dark skin colors are too dark without enough contrast) or color matching. The problem is any screen printer can do spot colors and probably with more opacity and vibrancy. Photos are what separates a dtg printer from an average screen printer. MultiRIP allows you to print from their own printing application (like EK Print has), but it also allows you to print directly from CorelDraw or Illustrator. This prevents you from having to convert a vector graphic into a raster graphic before bringing it into the EK Print application. Everyone knows that when you convert the graphic from a vector to a raster, the colors change. So it is best to leave it in its original format and let the RIP software do the work for you.
 
#22 ·
Thanks again. Yes, the foot print of your machine is a very good size to fit into a booth at the local flea market here. Actualy, it looks totaly like a factiry made piece of equipment with the cover removed in the video. You have also inspired me to look into plastic welding. I had seen the "plastic welders" at harbour freight but just thought it would be a useless gadget for anything that had to be rigid. I do welding on steel with a mig unit and some braising with a torch so it shoulden't be a long stretch for me.
Terry
 
#25 · (Edited)
terry...

heres a tip i haven't shared yet besides with bob.. the material i used is pvc type II high impact plastic.. therefor it can be solvent welded ie( plumbing glue) it just takes a bit longer to set up and your cuts have to be precise even the cut edges sanded smooth for good contact.. i suggest making a square jig;) for those not confident about the plastic welding..

i use the plastic welder because my edges dont have to be perfect the rod fills it.;) then i just sand the top level..

also you could build it from plexi ie acrylic,plexi glass lexan available at lowes;)..this can be painted with acrylic paint and will look the same or vinyl stickered.. the best part of this material is it is solvented welded also but its bond is instant.. heres the trick you use (mek) available at most hardware stores including lowes..lol:D its branded as a parts cleaner and its some potent stuff..lol (this is the main ingredient in most plastic glues) you will use it in its pure form, it has the consistency of water use a syringe or hypo applicator to apply the liquid to the pieces to be bonded, instantly becomes one piece make sure you have it in a jig no taking it apart (this is how fish tanks are made;)) what it does is disolve or soften the molecules for a second between the two pieces that are to be joined then it hardens intertwining the two pieces molecules ie (becomes one piece) its not gluing, solvent welding:)

additionally you polish the edges using a map gas torch..similar to the small propane torch just different gas... it makes it awesome...

P.S DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POLISH THE EDGES WITH ANY MEK PRESENT IT IS EXTREMELY FLAMABLE..
 
#29 · (Edited)
ok guys,

I'm figuring out the settings and understanding the rip a little more..

the t-shirts i printed in the video where 1400x1400 res

the 720x720 wasn't giving me the detail i wanted, but here is what is awesome i discovered the rip has a table movement adjustment
gap adjust and feed adjust im still playing with this but ive got a perfect image at 720x720

anyone familiar with how jerky the bed is at low res will understand this completely

so in the video if you thought that was a fast print at 1400x1400..well you can just about cut that time in half or better closer to half by my calculations printing the same image..

and it gives the same quality picture in my opinion... no distortion etc

just freaking awesome... i already considered the rip a necessity but this feature alone is worth the money to me... i posted this vid of mark explaining the mod 1 at a trade show in the other thread..but if you watch it all the way thru he explains this res issue at 720x720 apparently he has some firmware that overcomes this issue my guess is its in the rip programming as it has these adjustments on them..here it is again..
YouTube - T-Biz Network Interview Mark Monbourquette at SGIA '09

now the machine just cranks out the images whether it be graphics or photos super fast like its nothing, just as the printer normally would..just awesome..im jacked up about this..
jeff
 
#31 ·
Does it use control of the print feed motor or just speed up/slow down the print head or maybe change where it does it's thing? Also, I am wondering if you guys have the pictures or your builds/parts/machines on-line where someone/I would be able to download them to be able to get a better look at them? Those little pop up picture aren't very easy for old eyes to get a good look at and it would be nice to have a lot of them available to look at/through without having to look online at different places every time I would need to double check something for any ideas I might have.
 
#34 ·
Hi, just noticed the DIY threads and your machine looks awesome :) The only plans or info on building is the C88 plans, is there a link somewhere to plans for something like yours with the 1900? I've been watching the DTG industry change the past few years and I've been looking for a possible way to do some shirts of my own as a hobby. I design for screen print here at work full time, can't convince the boss to invest in an expensive DTG machine. I'd love to have my own machine at home to sell my stuff online or print for friends or just for a fun project :)
 
#35 · (Edited)
I'M going to put together some detailed plans...just not sure quite yet which format i will use to do that..

I have even considered doing a step by step video tutorial, i have a multitude of requests for the plans where the people are concerned with the video approach due to not being able to understand spoken english, so have requested sub-title's..


anyway im still looking at the best approach for this, either way it will be put on my website, i'm going to put this out for almost nothing (almost) excluding the people who provided me info here it will be free to them(you know who you are). In addition i will include all part #s etc and where to buy, you will need a rip program (highly recommend one) ink carts or a bulk system and dtg ink, when i release the plans i will explain what works best for the machine to date and why. i am also working on a diy recirculating pump for the white ink, not completely necessary with good maintenance but a major benefit..could be a bit on that yet. i have alot of things going on:)

so it will work similar to how the original c88 plans worked on his site.. if you have followed the threads i originally started, i tried to do this with a micro-controller first but ended up having to many obstacles and cost involved ie additional power source and sensors needed over loading the mother board, blowing fuses etc.. some have experience with that realm with previously manufactured machines- so i had some 3rd party cost that i would like to recoupe

What i'm most looking forward to in the future is reading the post of people who built the (t-dozer) allowing them to get in the dtg game at a low cost and be profitable without lease payments or high cost machines..(that was my build objective) not all will have the carpentry skills to do this, and i would suggest finding someone local to you that does and have them build it for you..still a cheap alternative..

I'M letting the interest build a bit, so when i release them things will work fast. once there released there is the possibility of leaks, file sharing etc no matter the protection put in place, just a fact of life.. if you catch my drift;)

i did get an offer on the whole design-rights..i declined...the project was born here and i received alot of info here so that will be my way of saying thank you..some might not think that is the case due to a cost....but i did incur costs while putting together or inventing the machine, and i guarantee for the small investment they make in building there machine...it will pay for itself a million times over:D

I really only consider the wiring modifications the only proprietary info, which will also work on other epson printers to be disclosed in the plans.you could put this to any delivery system (base) you wanted. i honestly believe this will be the closest dtg to an epson produced dtg to date..until they make one:D due to it being 100% epson firmware...
 
#36 ·
I am going out to BURNING MAN in September and have tie-dyed some t-shirts for my crew that I'd like to screen print a logo on over some glow-in-the-dark paint areas.

WTB: CHEAP ! used 1/2 color press that is working and not busted. Not starting a business. A couple 20x24 110 screens and supplies including black plastisol. I have a little cash, but it's cash.
 
#38 · (Edited)
yes...100% error free.. aswell as nozzle checks;) this is done directly from the utilities of the ek rip..www.eukondigital.com/

ek rip included some very nice features in the trial version of the rip...to accommodate my design free of charge, and they have made it a standard feature included with there new version (3.4.3) when you purchase it .. they also have a very nice feature included which is a table movement adjusment for the r1900. it allows you to print in 720 res with the stock epson firmware by adjusting the gap and feed...at blazing speed as seen in the vid..priceless;) the platen size is 13x19..

you can also do this with an updated printer jockey program from what i understand but i have not tried this...
 
#39 · (Edited)
Hey guys

ill prob be out till monday, going out of town...but i will try to check in here in the evenings..:D

additionally i will be adding a link to my site with my signature in the near future... this way i can conform and stay within the forum guidelines... there is a fine line here as far as my help on the forums and what the project has evolved into.., and i certainly want to respect that..

i will continue to provide info..etc on the forums if anyone has questions on the how to procedures of fabrication, but my plans (electronic conversion portion)are a separate venture that evolved from here not to be confused with the free info regarding (plastic base and plastic fabrication and design..;)

so i would appreciate any questions regarding plans be directed to the site link when provided and not here.. :)

Have an awesome weekend...

jeff
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top