New to DTG

1081 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by VTG, Apr 1, 2012

bpfohler

Discussion Starter · Apr 1, 2012

We are looking to add shirts to our sign and engaving shop and have narrowed it to sublimation or DTG.
Because of sublimation limitations we are leaning twards DTG but the more I read the more confused I get so here goes some newbie basic questions.

Do all shirts (regardless of color) need to be pretreated, pressed, printed than pressed again to cure the ink?

Why are DTG machines offered with optional white ink?

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JeridHill

· #2 · Apr 1, 2012

bpfohler said:
Do all shirts (regardless of color) need to be pretreated, pressed, printed than pressed again to cure the ink?

No. If you want to use white ink, you need to pretreat the garment, then press. Kornit is the only machine that pretreats while in the printer and doesn't need pressed. If you do not use white, you do not need to pretreat your garment.

Why are DTG machines offered with optional white ink?

Some people do not want to use white ink. When using white ink, there are more problems that come along with it. Maintenance is more critical when you have white ink in your system. The additional work needed to print with white ink also deters people from purchasing the white ink option.

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VTG

· #3 · Apr 1, 2012

Robert, if you have time, there are tons of helpful threads here on TSF that will answer a lot of your questions regarding DTG and Sublimation.

bpfohler said:
Do all shirts (regardless of color) need to be pretreated, pressed, printed than pressed again to cure the ink?

Yes and no ... some people will pre-treat all shirts (lights & darks) and some will pre-treat only their dark shirts.

You have to pre-treat darks shirt in order for the white under-base to adhere properly. You don't have to pre-treat lights, however, we feel that the colors are more vibrant when we do.

My recommendation would be to pre-treat all shirts. Your pre-treatment for darks should be done at full strength (100%), while lights are generally done with diluted pre-treatment (50% dilution).

And yes, you pre-treat, press, print, and press again.

bpfohler said:
Why are DTG machines offered with optional white ink?

You only need white ink if you are planning to print on dark shirts (for your under-base). If you only want to print on light shirts, you can get away with CMYK only. Some DTG printers do light shirts only, so make sure you look at the machine specs.

Good luck.

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