T-Shirt Kiosk

It's a good thought, but someone would need to be there to load the shirt and cure it. I don't think this could ever happen.

Thank you for replying my post so quick.

Let's assume that automatic machine is already available, however it only supports white color T-shirt and 6 different sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL. If it can deliver the personalized T-shirt within 10 minutes and each only costs $17.99 (Both delivery time and price beats zazzle.com and cafepress.com), do you think there will be a big demand from the customers? For example, sell 10 T-shirts per day?

Are you trying to sell the idea?? or do you already sell it??

buzguy said:

Thank you for replying my post so quick.

Let's assume that automatic machine is already available, however it only supports white color T-shirt and 6 different sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL. If it can deliver the personalized T-shirt within 10 minutes and each only costs $17.99 (Both delivery time and price beats zazzle.com and cafepress.com), do you think there will be a big demand from the customers? For example, sell 10 T-shirts per day?

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It sounds like you know something others don't.

Either way, I don't see this as a incredible seller. In my opinion, it's more of a novelty item. The advantage of places like Cafe Press is marketing. You get to create your own website where thousands can see and purchase your designs. A kiosk in a mall or something similar will still have a limited market. I don't doubt it would make some sales, but I don't think people would be standing in a large line waiting to get their shirts printed.

JMO

No, I am not selling the idea. I am doing the market research to check if this kind of machine has the market.

I don't know how it could be fully automated. If it sits too long unused, you will get head clogs. If there is some way to load a tshirt, you have the big chance of wrinkles, causing smudges. Then you have to contend with heat near a print head, definitely not a good idea.

What happens if someone puts money in this machine and it prints and the banding is horrific and there is no one around to get their money back.

In concept it's an intriguing idea, but in reality, I don't believe it is viable. There are too many concerns for things going wrong that would lead to an unreliable machine and a loss of customers. At least that's the way I see it.

JeridHill, you have a very good point. CafePress and Zazzle are good at marketing.

Let's say I have both web site like CafePress or Zazzle and kiosk machines. What I can compete with CafePress or Zazzel is the speed. It will take about one week to deliver the personalized T-shirt from CafePress or Zazzle. The T-Shirt kiosk only take only take 10 minutes. I agree that people wouldn't be standing in a large line waiting to get their shirts printed. However, the kiosk machine can let 3 or 4 people design their T-shirts at the same time, of course it prints the T-Shirt one by one. We have one-hour photo printing, why people can wait for 10 minutes?

Thanks!

But what do you do about the technical aspects of the machine? If something could be done about all the problems that can be associated with an unattended machine, more people would buy the printer and throw away the kiosk portion.

I agree the technical difficulties you mentioned. I have considered those issues as well and they can be resolved. The only question left is if the customer is not happy with the printing, how can they return it? What if we provide a way to let the customer to return it if it is a quality problem? BTW, it seems to me that CafePress and Zazzle don't have return policy, correct me if I am wrong.

The reasons for unattended machine are: reduce the labor cost and improve the speed.

buzguy said:

BTW, it seems to me that CafePress and Zazzle don't have return policy, correct me if I am wrong.

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Sure they do:

CafePress.com : Customer Service Help Desk

As great as this concept sounds, we will never see an automated DTG machine operate in this manner anytime soon. If you can invent this machine, I will eat crow and be the 1st buyer...

chobay said:

If you can invent this machine, I will eat crow and be the 1st buyer...

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Hahaha, that'd be fun to watch!

As for overcoming these issues, I just don't know how you would with an unattended machine. Even running head cleans every so often does not guarantee 100% free nozzles. The problem with automatic head cleans is they don't work, so there would be no way for the machine to know if it had a head clog. If this machine does indeed exist, watch it be purchased, torn apart and rebuilt by many companies. Not saying it's ethical, just being a realist.

I don't think I'd eat crow or buy it like Chobay, but I would be highly impressed to say the least.

Thank you for your information about CafePress's return policy. Nothing is impossible as long as you spend time and effort to do it. .

buzguy said:

Thank you for your information about CafePress's return policy. Nothing is impossible as long as you spend time and effort to do it. .

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Oh I wish this were true. When I was a kid, I always had dreams of flying like superman. Now the closest I can get is in an airplane. Good luck though, it would be a good thing for sure.

I wish you well....but I doubt you can make it work and hit your price point of $17 a shirt, along with all the other difficulties already mentioned, your going to have to figure out how to deal with less then perfect artwork that your potential customers will be trying to print.

The good news is that the rest of us will live another day and still be able to print shirts and make a living!

(Mark (DAGuide) if you read this thread it makes me think of your Walmart statement that I like to refer to so often.)

buzguy said:

Thank you for your information about CafePress's return policy. Nothing is impossible as long as you spend time and effort to do it. .

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You're right about possibility. Just last night I saw a tv show, where a huge flower manufacturer automates the process of cutting and planting new clippings of roses and other flowers into new pots via robotics.

Another show had a huge carousel for milking cows, with laser guided robots arms to find the nipple and attach the pump to it automatically.

I'm just saying the ROI would be horrible for this. Regular DTG machines operated by trained owners are still way too problematic, how often do you think an automated machine would break down?

When the technican reloads the T-****s in the unattended machine, he/she can check the printer head and clean it if necessary. The automatic head cleaning is not needed. If it is really necessary, just use water. Based on my experiment, as long as the printer prints onece a day or once every 2 or 3 days, the printer head will be clogged. Of couse, it also depends on the environment such as temperature. Maybe you have more experience. About copying, the invention can be patented.

buzguy said:

When the technican reloads the T-****s in the unattended machine, he/she can check the printer head and clean it if necessary. The automatic head cleaning is not needed. If it is really necessary, just use water. Based on my experiment, as long as the printer prints onece a day or once every 2 or 3 days, the printer head will be clogged. Of couse, it also depends on the environment such as temperature. Maybe you have more experience. About copying, the invention can be patented.

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Use water? Really?? Have you ever used or seen a DTG machine in action? How do you propose the machine cures the shirt without burning down the mall?

You wouldn't want to use water, that's for sure. As for patents, look at China. They override patents all the time and don't care doing it. I'm not advocating it, I'm just saying it would happen.

I'd be interested to see how the person would reload the tshirts. What kind of mechanism would allow for preloaded shirts. It would have to be larger than the largest printer and have robotics or mechanics to do it. I'm not trying to discourage you or whomever, I just don't see how it's possible without spending a fortune, as already mentioned. The less moving parts the better, because it means fewer things to break down.