Author Topic: Does a DTG print on the shirt itself or the (Read 797 times)

killergraphics · « **on:** May 21, 2011, 01:32:37 PM »

pre-treatment?

If on a dark or light garment that is pretreated how does the ink get to the material?

And is that why they tend to wash off, not out after repeated washings.

SkyLinePrints · « **Reply #1 on:** May 21, 2011, 01:40:08 PM »

the pre-treat "seals" the shirt fibers which allows the inks to "sit" on top and adhere to the pre-treat. If you are seeing shirts with it coming off, my guess is the pre-treat wasnt applied properly.

killergraphics · « **Reply #2 on:** May 21, 2011, 01:45:14 PM »

So it does not print the shirt only the chemical base or pretreatment itself that will break down in the wash

much like an inkjet transfer will after multiple washings and is more temporary than screen printing.

Thanks That answered my question.

inkmyt · « **Reply #3 on:** May 21, 2011, 07:49:05 PM »

DTG onto whites with NO pre treatment do show wear over time due to the shirt's cotton fibers break off and poking up. The shirt gets softer with multiple washings just like jeans.. No hand.. ever. you can't feel the print. The shirts that are softer initially show more fibrillation than the others. They show it sooner too.

The ink is printed into the cotton fiber. This is part of why it takes so much ink.. It will never wash off if properly heat set into the fabric.

I have the printer and can send you an old sample if ya want.

mk162 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 21, 2011, 08:33:45 PM »

with dark shirts, the pretreat bonds to the fibers and the ink to the pretreat. If it is properly applied, it will not wear any faster than a screen printed shirt. They are also working on a finishing spray that takes no skill to apply that increases the abrasion resistance.

with light shirts, you can use a pretreat that will brighten the colors. I am working on one myself and I've had good results, just not good enough to be worth it.

dottonedan · « **Reply #5 on:** May 24, 2011, 03:32:56 PM »

The biggest reason I see that prints wash out is due to inconsistent pre-treats in combination with an inaccurate heat setting/temperature/time. All of these must be in the sweet spot.

mk162 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 24, 2011, 04:18:18 PM »

Dan is 100% right. If you are doing dark shirts, a pretreat machine is a must, unless you used to paint cars for a living.

killergraphics · « **Reply #7 on:** May 24, 2011, 09:11:17 PM »

So back to my question

"If on a dark or light garment that is pretreated how does the ink get to the material?"

I doesn't.

The reason I'm asking is I don't see how it would be any better than a laser or inkjet transfer with some of these new papers that are out as far as holding up to multi washings.

Brad how many washings will the print hold up on a dark shirt before it starts to lose some of its brightness?

mk162 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 24, 2011, 09:53:13 PM »

I don't know, I did test one from Brother and it went about 10 washings before I gave up on it.

dottonedan · « **Reply #9 on:** May 24, 2011, 11:30:16 PM »

I'd have to say that the inks do penetrate and bond with the 100% cotton shirt (FAR MORE) than a transfer of any kind.

For the most part, the shirts were being printed straight to the shirt without pre treat for the longest time like years before people starting pre treating whites. They get more vibrant colors using the pre treat. The original intent was to print straight to the shirt. You can still do that on whites but jsut not as vibrant. You can do it on darks as well, to get really good aged distressed looks. Very trendy now days.

My biggest pitfall is that for dark garments, I find it too tedious to stay in that sweet spot. Each design and ink % makes for differnt results. If you just stick to whites, your good.

mk162 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 25, 2011, 06:38:57 AM »

I think Brother has done a great job with their printer, except when it comes to the price tag. The prints that I have seen come off that machine are amazing. And when paired with the Viper Pre-Treat machine, it's an awesome combo.

I just can't drop $60,000 like that. I think I would put in a 10 or 12 color auto before that.

killergraphics · « **Reply #11 on:** May 25, 2011, 08:20:51 AM »

I'm with you Brad.

There is a guy on the east coast that is doing contract DTG on a "few" $160k machines.

How can someone do that?

mk162 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 25, 2011, 08:46:36 AM »

Numbers, that's the only way, small numbers and lots of them. You could make a killing if you kept that printer running with 12-24 pc jobs with full color prints.

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Author Topic: Does a DTG print on the shirt itself or the (Read 797 times)

killergraphics

Does a DTG print on the shirt itself or the

SkyLinePrints

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killergraphics

Re: Does a DTG print on the shirt itself or the

inkmyt

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mk162

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dottonedan

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mk162

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killergraphics

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mk162

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dottonedan

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mk162

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killergraphics

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mk162

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