I had a Brother DTG printer that was a disaster. I spent 75% of the time just cleaning the print heads. I know you are using a DTF printer, but the technology is pretty much the same. You are correct; you have to keep using it on a daily basis (even on weekends) to keep the heads from gumming up, and the daily "automatic...(LOL)" cleaning process took an hour at minimum. And if it was printing white, it was a further time waster and required a separate pretreatment chemical application machine that was another $2500. The ink is very expensive. A head replacement was $1500 (and there are four heads). It cost me $25,000 when I bought it, and it has now sat in my garage under a tarp for the past 7 years. Biggest waste of money I have ever spent. Sometimes, I still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, just thinking about that evil machine in my garage....Run away, run away.
I actually print sublimation on the film and use the powder to be able to put on cotton also I have transfered the print onto permanent vinyl and used it for cup decals
This is what I'm wondering. It's DTF the same as sublimation? Do you use the same ink and such? Sounds like they're not exactly the same. It's one better than the other? Cheaper? Lasts longer?
@@HeartlandFamilyDesigns you can use sublimation ink, but you won't have white ink. This will solve the problem of having to use garments with high percentage of polyester though, but only on light garments without white ink. The work around for this would be to use white htv as a background before you press on to dark garments. So you can use sublimation ink with the dtf powder and film, but keep in mind that anything you are counting to show up as white, will not be visible on dark garments without that white ink. Many people convert their printer to dtf. That requires a software update and an automatic stirrer for the white ink to prevent clogging. I've seen these updates sold on usb dongles for under 100 dollars. It adds up to get started, but from my research, dtf is a cost effective solution to printing on any type of fabric (like 100% cotton) and it eliminates several steps.
thats why your printer is cloggng, your using 100% white! you should have it at 65% color 55% white. keep your capping station wet with cleaning solution
Hey Guys! This was great! I just got my dtf printer and I'm wanting to experiment with tumblers...have you tried using a mug press? I think the pressure is what is missing to get the print to stick. The shrink wrap is a start but I think heavy pressure will help. I'll test it out and see what happens. Thanks so much for this video!
This is the first video of yours I've seen. Have you tried powder coated aluminum? I'm thinking of having something made and am wondering if it's reasonable to ask them to try to put it on over the powder coat (it's the only way I can order the blank)
After watching this video 6 months ago I purchased the same DTF unit you have (thank you for the recommendation 😉) I CANNOT seem to get the white like yours on a dark shirt (it becomes light grey when I press it) and I have tried everything I can.. including every DTF video you put out and black powder. LOL! I did notice today that I don't have "Image Type" in my RIP program to change it to photography. How did you get that in there? Also thank you so much for giving such great value! ❤
I've been researching how to print on hard surfaces. I've figured out how to print on garments etc, but from what I understand there is a special type of uv film for surfaces that would be difficult to press or apply with heat. You need A film and B film. You print on A and then send it through a laminator with film B and transfer it to your object like a decal without heat. Film B acts like a transfer tape like you would use with vinyl. It picks up the image and you apply it almost like a waterside decal. I didn't see any use of dtf powder with this process though, so I am not sure how it works. The materials seems pricey though and not so readily available for smaller scale projects. I'm wondering if it would be possible to use the regular dtf film with film b for transfer and using a regular laminator. I love the results I've seen professionals use and I'm determined to find out how to do it myself without buying more equipment. Thanks for sharing all your tests. You saved me a lot of testing myself. Lol Quick update... ok, you can't do it the way I was thinking because that system uses uvdtf ink and it's not the same as dtf ink.
Those plastisol inks must be a pain on print heads, & i guess they are not very sun friendly witthout a uv clear spray? Any paint panel to jean jacket texture works for me.
Question when you glue this to a plastic piece like a laptop for example how stick this to it or how good glue in to plastic, I don’t want something that peels of easy by time .thanks
Hi! Nice works! I have a doubt, the redish "spray" arround "Kim" and the border of "Make it", I see a greenish "spray" too, is it in your logo or is a fault on the print itself? Thank you for sharing!
I am curious to hear of your findings regarding how well or how long this lasts on fabric items after washing and wearing. Also, do you know what the film is made of? If you used a seamless pattern on say a sheet of acrylic or wood could you cut it in the glowforge after the fact? That is something I'd really be curious to find out about.
I’m thinking of converting a printer to dtf, however I see a lot of screen prints I don’t think I know the difference really have you looked into screenprinint
Hey Robert! This was just for testing. We don't plan to sell them or keep them. The things we were going to keep I made those images. Thanks! 😃 ~garrett
Kim and Garrett you are making profit from your video using the images, you need to license them for impressions. You have options to use public domain images or those with creative commons designation if you dont want to buy images when financial gain is involved.
@@thedaxman3047 What do you do for a living? I create art that gets stolen, how about you? Would you be okay with your work being used for someone else's financial gain?
To me doesn't look as it discoloured the acrylic, is mor like the film around design shows up try make it larger than your acrylic and see how it looks
Are they two completely different things? I think you just use sublimation ink in a regular printer for that, but if you do DTF, do you need an entirely new separate printer?
OOOO!!! Thanks! I also got close at 350 for 30 seconds, cooled it all the way, then removed the film. Some of the small corners pealed up, but most of it stayed. ~garrett
