Welcome to the forum. I'm not sure what you mean by regular inks. If you mean inkjet inks you buy at Best Buy or your local Office Max, then no they will not work for Garment printing. Printing on garments requires specialized inks. When you purchase a DTG printer, your salesman will give you a place to buy these specialty inks. We have an HM-1 machine which is Epson based. When it prints well it really shines. Of course as with any technology that is relatively new you will always have issues. There is much maintenance to these machines which is really not covered well in training. Before you buy, see if your salesman can give you the phone numbers of past customers. Then call them, ask questions, find out what their problems were. See if they are making money with their machine. Or, just read the threads on this forum. I have found this forum to be a good place to learn and share ideas. Good luck with your venture should you decide to proceed.