[rcmsellers]

I know everyone bashes everyone on here. I am trying very hard to make a decision on what DTG machine to buy for a start-up biz. I have read all the stories, but, yet, there is nothing that tells me which machine is the best to get. I will be doing white prints and dark color prints.

Can someone please just through all the bull and give me a straight answer. No sales pitches, just the facts.

I want to make sure that I can move the machine with ease as well.

Thanks.

 

[TahoeTomahawk]

Best is relative.
This forum has a wealth of information especially from owners of the machines. Best thing to do is go through each manufacturer section and browse the threads.

 

[mediapress]

I've been using different DTG / From CHINA brand to American, I have previous anajet, tjet but best for the best and im loving it is the DTG VIPER.. .
so i assume go to viper
Cheers

 

[binki]

they all suck, get a screen print set up. you will be much happier. Better yet, get a vinyl cutter and you can do 90% of what you would otherwise screen print and you will save yourself a lot of learning curve.

if you must buy i have been told brother is pretty good. $55K and you are all set.

I want to make sure that I can move the machine with ease as well.

better get a trailer and mount it in there. these things are really heavy.

 

[raise]

Hehehe don't think you are going to be too successful making a GT-782 portable. The unit is incredibly large when thinking about moving it around. Now a GT-541 I could see making the rounds and several people have already succeeded at doing that.

 

[mediapress]

lol @ Binki, good on you mate.
cheers

 

[Mabuzi]

Please check the posters creds really carefully as they will push their wares.
I would for portability, get the anajet. Please remember the machines are very sensitive and could suddenly stop working. Dust and low humidity are killers.

Dont be fooled if you think it is easy, cos it aint. All DTG have massive learning curves, they all have horror stories and fairy tales.

 

[Mabuzi]

Oh yes, dont use cheap tees and dont watch out for silicon washed shirts. I would buy shirts form various printers with the same design and wash test them.

 

[IYFGraphics]

Here's an ongoing thread here on TSF of real users talking about there DTG machines.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/direct-garment-dtg-inkjet-printing/t41520.html

No one can really answer your question and tell you which machine is the best, all DTG printers have issues of one kind or another, the process has a learning curve that requires a lot of diligent effort to be successful, and what works for one company may not work for another.

Best advice anyone here can give you is to educate yourself, read the forums here on the different brands, read the real users statements about what works for them and what doesn't, ask questions lots of folks have been down the same road and can save you a lot of grief, take what sales people tell you with a grain of salt they are after all salesmen looking to make a sale and believe their product is the best....

But really read read read....educate yourself it's the best advice.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stitch-Up]

Excellent post Jon

 

[GetReel]

Jon is most definitely correct. Research and education are the key. I have owned both the Anajet and the Veloci-Jet. We are not rookies at dtg printing when I purchased the AJ but could not, after 4 months, make the AJ work successfully. An expensive lesson and why I want others to not make the same mistake. We have been having great results from the VJ and have been continuoulsy printing with it for about 8 months. It has increased our bottom line by 25% to 30%. Combination of software package, engineering, tech support and cost make the VJ a machine I would purchase again.

 

[Printzilla]

they all suck,

BS..........if you know how to use them properly, and understand their strengths and weaknesses (just like EVERY other garment decorating process) they can be highly profitable tools, but that is just what they are.....a tool in your tool box. Would you use a wrench to drive a nail? Sure it might work, but it isn't the best tool. Once you wrap your head around this you can begin to fully appreciate what these machines can do.

Are they for everyone? Nope. Some people just are not capable of navigating the learning curve required.

Don't let sales people sell you, don't let naysayers discourage you, do the research and decide for yourself.

I can show anyone in one day how to operate my machine with great success. Will they learn everything....of course not, but they can learn enough to be successful at the operation end of the business. Now the sales end could take a wee bit longer.

Zilla

Ps - anyone that wants to come to my place in Florida for some hands on experience, come on down.. Just pay for materials, beer, and pizza!

 

[Don-ColDesi]

Just pay for materials, beer, and pizza!

Zilla can drink him sum beer - be careful!

 

[FatKat Printz]

they all suck

Don't be a hater..

funny you say they "all" suck and then recommend a Brother... hmmmm

I feel that if you are just starting out buy small then see how you progress. No need to go out buy some big machine because..when the orders don't come in and you have payments the payments are still gonna be there.

Try to buy used/refurbished K2 or TJ2 ~ bag it have no payments and watch the money roll in and then start savings towards a Mod-1...

learn the insides and the outsides of the machine.. so that when you do get something bigger you aren't on the forums freaking out for help. The K2 and TJ2 are basic set-ups but ya gotta get your hands dirty and really learn the functions.. Don't be afraid of it because it smells fear we have broken so many little irreplaceable pieces and gorilla glue has been my savior.

some suggest to not do darks first and master white shirts first ..which I wish we could have done but our first order was 125 front and back black shirts so we had to learn real fast.

 

[Printzilla]

You buying in Hotlanta next month Don?

 

[FatKat Printz]

PS - anyone that wants to come to my place in Florida for some hands on experience, come on down.. Just pay for materials, beer, and pizza!

A nice trip to Florida.. may have to do that !!




off topic.. I heard thru the grapevine you have the Hotronix Hover Press??

 

[Don-ColDesi]

You buying in Hotlanta next month Don?

I'm low-carbing it - look like we are drinking MGD 64!

 

[rcmsellers]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I am learning towards the anajet. Now, as for dark colors, what would you consider dark colors besides (black, dark blue, purple). I want to make sure that I don't mess up which I am sure I will before I get it right.

 

[IYFGraphics]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I am learning towards the anajet. Now, as for dark colors, what would you consider dark colors besides (black, dark blue, purple). I want to make sure that I don't mess up which I am sure I will before I get it right.

Once you deviate from a white shirt depending on the artwork everything is dark, I know this sounds wrong, basically anything that require a pretreatment to print the artwork is either a light or dark garment that you are printing a white underbase on, so the colors you can print without an underbase or pretreatment are white.....and sometimes you want to pretreat whites to get the colors to pop!

I hope that makes sense, an example for you, you can print lets say a single color graphic on almost any light colored shirt with black ink and get a great looking print, take the same shirts and add red, yellow, and blue to the mix and depending on the shirt color the colors are lost/muted, and you now require pretreatment, a underbase, and your CMYK to get the correct colors on your light colored shirt.

The artwork dictates what is light (no pretreatment or underbase) and what is dark (pretreatment and underbase)
not really the color of the shirt once you move away from white shirts.

This is JMHO, others may tell you differently, and a salesman will tell you I'm totally wrong.

PS you went from a Viper to an Anajet in the span of a few hours, I'd suggest you keep gathering information for a few days before you decide....again just MHO.

Hope this helps.

 

[Printzilla]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I am learning towards the anajet. Now, as for dark colors, what would you consider dark colors besides (black, dark blue, purple). I want to make sure that I don't mess up which I am sure I will before I get it right.

After reading this forum, you still come up with Anajet? Putting aside the plethora of other issues you would be facing, you are starting off behind your competition because of much higher ink prices. With all of the info and user feedback available I would think you could make a more informed decision.