Why wont these machines work right?

8479 Views 69 Replies 22 Participants Last post by popllama, Aug 4, 2010

PPop

Discussion Starter · Jun 18, 2010

Why are there so many DTG Machines NOT WORKING right?

I know this is a forum to post your problems..., but every week, there are an overwealming amount of these DTG Brand Machines having problems.

Kiosk II: Not Working! ( 1 2 3)
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[DTG HM1] HM1-C White Ink Clog
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19 Hours Ago
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1 42

[DTG Kiosk 2] EZ PRO K Bulk Ink System ( 1 2 3)
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1 Day Ago
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34 2,060

[DTG Brand] Blocked Viper's waste ink outlet
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1 Day Ago
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5 171

[DTG Kiosk 2] kiosk print head carriage replacement
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1 Day Ago
by MHD
0 48

[DTG Brand] DTG Viper problems ( 1 2)
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2 Days Ago
by homegrown
21 1,221

[DTG Brand] Post your experience with the DTG Viper here ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
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2 Days Ago
by homegrown
300 32,008

[DTG HM1] printer not recognizing DTG RipPro
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3 Days Ago
by fishnstk
11 244

[DTG Brand] DTG Viper ( 1 2)
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3 Days Ago
by 1stoptees
18 576

[DTG Brand] SWF EAST laughing all the way to the bank ( 1 2 3 4)
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3 Days Ago
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56 1,310

[DTG Kiosk 2] Error Eject Lights nightmare ( 1 2)
sabbone
3 Days Ago
by marinkom13
22 1,248

[DTG Kiosk 2] Changing printhead color channels
MAYNEMAG
4 Days Ago
by MAYNEMAG
2 77

[DTG Kiosk 2] Color matching
MHD
4 Days Ago
by FatKat Printz
7 142

[DTG HM1] White ink underbase bleeding through color
clarkburmeister
5 Days Ago
by clarkburmeister
5 96

[DTG Kiosk 2] Nozzle check
MHD
5 Days Ago
by MHD
8 115

Wrong color lines in color prints
EEmbroidered
6 Days Ago
by clarkburmeister
7 411

[DTG Brand] dtg won't print
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6 Days Ago
by FatKat Printz
14 192

[DTG HM1] In my shop service on DTG HM1
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6 Days Ago
by FatKat Printz
1 86

[DTG Kiosk] print bleeds into itself using dtg
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1 Week Ago
by stone hawk
8 97

[DTG Kiosk 2] Color not rpinting correctly
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1 Week Ago
by vinyl signs
3 154

[DTG Brand] Viper ICC color profiles
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1 Week Ago
by Rob_K
2 64

[DTG Brand] How does the DTG Viper print over zipped hoodies
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1 Week Ago
by Gordz
2 115

[DTG Brand] Brand new Kiosk 3 problem ( 1 2)
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1 - 20 of 70 Posts

IYFGraphics

· #2 · Jun 18, 2010

Some are user errors in maintenance, some are used machines that have sat with ink in them, some are new machines that have new users learning, and some are defective machines.

The bottom line......there is no perfect DTG printer, they all have issues from time to time either caused by the untrained user, being ran in a improper environment, improper maintenance, or defective components.

You need a willingness to learn, problem solve, adapt, and over come these issues to use a DTG printer and make any money at it.

It's a Love-Hate relationship if there ever was one! LOL!

vinyl signs

· #3 · Jun 18, 2010

PPop the problem with mine was the rip had gotten corrupted! Other than that I can not complain about my machine!
I was trying to find out what had happened because the settings were all correct! I think moat of the problems people are having is from not maintaining or knowing how to do the correct maintenance!

Reactions: 1

whitca

· #4 · Jun 18, 2010

We bought a used printer that had been grenaded with dry ink...not the machines fault but the previous owner's not keeping up with regular maintenance. Although I do potentially forsee a lot more due to user error lol.

Reactions: 1

FatKat Printz

· #5 · Jun 19, 2010

We bought a new DTG Kiosk2 less than 2 years ago.. had troubles.. won't go there lots of bad words and hurtful wounds involved, empty promises and wasted money

We converted to the bag system as did Tahoe Tomahawk and we couldn't be happier with our machine..

Yes user error... is a big problem but air getting into the system is another big factor especially with white ink.

remember you are buying a machine that is converted to print onto shirts that was built for paper.. I am not knocking the DTG concept its just that its not rocket
science.. if something was stock on a vehicle it was built for a reason you modify its not stock anymore..

The bag system eliminated many of our problems and I am sure Adam will agree along with anyone else who has made the conversion.

its not the machine its the ink delivery of the machine..

Reactions: 2

THX1138

· #6 · Jun 19, 2010

they were sold before they were ready for prime time.

1) get a bulk in delivery system
2) never turn it off so it does regular head cleanings
3) clean all the ink touching things (print head, capping station, wiper, spit station) every few days
4) shake the white ink every few days.

it should be ok then.

Reactions: 1

chobay

· #7 · Jun 19, 2010

I agree with the "love / hate" lol.

Reactions: 1

JeridHill

· #8 · Jun 19, 2010

THX1138 said:
they were sold before they were ready for prime time.

1) get a bulk in delivery system
2) never turn it off so it does regular head cleanings
3) clean all the ink touching things (print head, capping station, wiper, spit station) every few days
4) shake the white ink every few days.

it should be ok then.

In response:

1) The vast majority of these machines already have bulk delivery systems, it's doing it right is what counts.

2) I always turn my machine off, I just put windex in my capping station and when I turn it on, I do a simple clean and I have 100% nozzles open. I did this even after 4 days and all colors plus white were perfect.

3) I clean all of these daily. It takes less than 5 minutes and allows me to avoid all the issues throughout the day that some others are getting. I would add, you should also keep an eye on the encoder strip. It's not a bad habit to clean it once a week.

4) With the clear bags, I just pick it up and shake it every day. I do it if it's printing, that way I'm not making an extra trip to shake my white ink. If I do it daily, I don't have to worry about it separating. If I'm gone for a long weekend, I'll see some separation take place, so I just shake it for a little longer and up and running once again.

I'm not trying to dispute what you are saying, I just know it can be done differently with excellent results.

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IYFGraphics

· #9 · Jun 19, 2010

Matt,

I think if you dig a little deeper you'll also fine that the problems are not just related to the DTG brand of printers, like I said above ALL DTG printers have problems from the cheapest printer to the most expensive, whether DTG is ready for prime time or not is really debatable.

I hate to sound like a broken record but as Mark (DAGuide) said "When DTG is trouble free every Walmart will have one and all of us will be out of the DTG business"

Like Jerid, a lot of us have figured it out, that is how to make our machine print consistently with relativity few problems, others have not and will either learn how to make it work or sell their printer, a lot of the folks complaining about DTG printer problems are new to the process, there really is no other garment printing process that offers the rewards and failures that DTG does.

It's not for the weak hearted.

TahoeTomahawk

· #10 · Jun 20, 2010

All of you had great responses.

Bottom line is most issues are due to White ink or Ink clogging in general. Forget what the sales reps say, listen to those who have been there and done that.

I wish I could come to DTG's defense and say it Isn't their machines however there are several things they could have fixed to keep us happier like getting rid of that flimsy tube carrier that jams your printer after about a month of use. Convert over to a Cable chain like EquipmentZone and Belquette have done for the Kiosks.
They could have acknowledged the original dampers on the Kiosk have a filter that is far too small to keep up with large prints that use white ink. They could have offered the 'Enhanced Dampers'.
They could have offered a mainboard repair service for $100 like EQ when your fuse pops instead of forcing you to buy a new MB for $600 - $800 bux.

Or seal the print head Ribbon cable like Belquette does on the MOD1.

In the end it seems it was easier to censor us rather than fix the darn problems.

End Rant.

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Reactions: 2

TahoeTomahawk

· #11 · Jun 20, 2010

And BTW, often times people say maintenance was not done properly or enough to produce good nozzle checks.

I have NEVER got a perfect nozzle check with the original dampers when first starting up. Good to Great nozzle checks appeared after a test print or 2 were done to get everything flowing.

After I switched to the EquipmentZone cartridges, perfect nozzle checks could be attained after a few head cleans and an ink fill without doing test prints.

Now that we are on the Closed Ink system even after letting it sit for several days if we do a nozzle check and don't get a perfect nozzle check it just seems so strange.

If only I could take back the countless time I spent troubleshooting ink flow, better yet if I could only save the $$ I flushed out of my system in wasted ink.

Save yourselves some $$ and your sanity and convert over to what works!.

Enhanced Dampers from DTGInks.com and the Belquette Closed Ink system. Problem solved.

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Reactions: 2

THX1138

· #12 · Jun 20, 2010

JeridHill said:
In response:

1) The vast majority of these machines already have bulk delivery systems, it's doing it right is what counts.

ours did too but the lines were too narrow and starved the print head. we replaced it with the ez system and no problems since then.

JeridHill said:
2) I always turn my machine off, I just put windex in my capping station and when I turn it on, I do a simple clean and I have 100% nozzles open. I did this even after 4 days and all colors plus white were perfect.

we were warned against amonia. besides, doesnt windex have wax in it?

JeridHill said:
I'm not trying to dispute what you are saying, I just know it can be done differently with excellent results.

i dont think you are saying anything different. these things require daily attention for a low profit margin. the only reason to bring one in is to attract other business. we sell a ton of emb and vinyl on shirts that goes with the dtg printing. otherwise it is not profitable for shirts.

our best day is 50 shirts, 2 sides, in 8 hours. that is 12% of what we need on any given day to stay open. we need to do that an hour and not a single sales person for any dtg company will tell you this.

JeridHill

· #13 · Jun 20, 2010

THX1138 said:
our best day is 50 shirts, 2 sides, in 8 hours. that is 12% of what we need on any given day to stay open. we need to do that an hour and not a single sales person for any dtg company will tell you this.

It depends on what machine you are using and your pricing structure. A salesperson cannot tell you what pricing structure to use and how many shirts you need to stay open.

I'm just telling you from experience, there are other machines on the market that will do more than 50 shirts, 2 sides in 8 hours on white or black.

Stitch-Up

· #14 · Jun 20, 2010

THX1138 said:
our best day is 50 shirts, 2 sides, in 8 hours. that is 12% of what we need on any given day to stay open. we need to do that an hour and not a single sales person for any dtg company will tell you this.

If you knew you needed that sort of throughput to 'stay open', wouldn't that have been the first question you ask the salesman?

I have never seen anyone claim 50 double sided shirts in 1 hour or for that matter, nowhere near it!

Seems you didn't do your research based on your known requirements.

JeridHill

· #15 · Jun 20, 2010

Stitch-Up said:
I have never seen anyone claim 50 double sided shirts in 1 hour or for that matter, nowhere near it!

I will tell you, as a person who sells DTG, at the moment, this is impossible with the given machines on the market!

Some screen printers can't even do this on a white tshirt with a single color, let alone on black or multiple colors. Notice, I said "some".

helenh

· #16 · Jun 20, 2010

TahoeTomahawk said:
And BTW, often times people say maintenance was not done properly or enough to produce good nozzle checks.

Enhanced Dampers from DTGInks.com and the Belquette Closed Ink system. Problem solved.

What is the part number for the enhanced dampers, when i look at DTGInks web page they dont call them enhanced. ALso do you have to change your carriage to use them or do they just fit in?

vinyl signs

· #17 · Jun 20, 2010

Look under Epson OEM Parts!

JeridHill

· #18 · Jun 20, 2010

vinyl signs said:
Look under Epson OEM Parts!

Strange, this wouldn't be an OEM part??

YoDan

· #19 · Jun 20, 2010

Strange, this wouldn't be an OEM part??

Correct and when you look at them they are not listed as OEM only "ENHANCED"

Dan
"HAPPY PRINTING"

JeridHill

· #20 · Jun 20, 2010

Yeah I just figured I'd rib you a bit....

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