My First Time Printing Shirts with a DTG PRINTER! 

Pick up one of these cool shirts here! roguelabmfg.com/products/chromium-tee

We do a LOT of DTG and we've found that if you do multiple smaller-timed presses (with a few seconds in between), you dry the shirt without crystalizing the pre-treat. Details: Using medium pressure set to 350 degrees press the "box" area in 15 second intervals, flipping the curing sheet between each press. (Most tees take 4 presses to dry.) Finalize by pressing the tee under heavy pressure to prevent fibrillation. (edited)

A tip for the pretreat box… Pretreat your shirts a day in advance and hang them to air dry. The next day, press them to remove remaining moisture. Or even conveyor dry them (they will have a different print). When curing the pretreat we mostly like to dry them on the conveyor (very slow speed & lower temp than screen print), the box will not be there & the print will be more vibrant since you’re not smashing the ink down as when heat pressing.

I remember when i first found your channel and commented with tips on when you were experimenting with printing boxes…back then I had all the same equipment as you. Now I look forward to watching your videos for advise, keep kickin ass and helping all of us printers out!!!

O snap i finally got a notification from the channel. NEVER clicked so fast. I am excited to see this!!!

Let’s GO!!!! Shop just keeps getting better can’t wait to see more!

Glad you're making vids again. I've learned a lot from these. Thanks.

Good to see you making content again! DTG is one of those fascinating options in our space, that I’ve never been in love with it, but glad to hear it’s making strides in the right direction. I know you’re somebody who is particular about the details so it’s good to hear that it’s passing the “Lee test” haha. Looking forward to more of your videos in the future, keep up the great work!

Bless up Lee! You inspire me so much! Keep spreading this info.

Nice work man!! Glad to see the notification you uploaded a new video!

He's back with a banger of a video!

Let's Go!!! Been waiting for this for a while!

that satisfying click when you stuck it in . awesome.. glad to see ya back at making some content with all the other stuff. cheers sir. lookin fwd to what you come up with.

Awesome !! Your back…. Super rad the shops cranking some shit out

Hell yea, good to see you back, Lee! 🤟🏽🤟🏽

DTG definitely has it's place, and I am very intrigued by it. Awesome video as always, informative, visually pleasing, all the good stuff.

were planning on getting this exact setup! thanks for the video!! very informative

Awesome video! Glad to see your back ad reviewing exactly what we were waiting for. We bought this printer a couple of months back and we were excited to see your thought and videos on it! Definitely have learned a lot from running our business with it and it has felt a little lonely with so few quality videos and reviews on this printer( tbh DTG as a whole). The prints on this thing come out beautiful (like yours in the video) and it really does get the job done. One thing we will say is to DEEP clean the printer every night. Not just like the videos they provide, but a full cleaning to make the wiper, printhead, and capping station look almost brand new. The ink can dry very quickly and even the smallest missed spot can cause many issues. We also noticed that Printhead Cleanings must be done every 10-15 prints (Polyprint never told us this), but when your doing a full production you will see the white start to fade after 10-15 prints. This was all brought up to us in a Facebook Group for Echo 2 Owners that we HIGHLY recommend. With the Polyprint HQ being in Greece it's hard to get ahold of them sometimes and this group has so many amazing people waiting to help (even a Polyprint Technician). We wish you the best and would love to share advice or help if you ever need it. Looking forward to more videos and updates! p.s. We don't have the pretreatment machine yet and we can confirm that spray gun works for starting, but it is neither ideal nor cost effective in the long run. Working towards it :)

When I used to run DTG I would pretreat all the shirts a day before or all of them at the same time before printing which actually was more productive. The way I avoided the pretreat box to a min is to hover the heat press close to the shirt for about 1 min before pressing the pretreated shirts.

Your an absolute beast Lee, I love the content your an inspiration my friend keep it up

Nice shop! NIce work! Nice vibe! Very motivating videos and inspiring. Thank You! :)

when I see you upload a video Im grateful man

That's really cool. Can't wait to see what other things you can do with the DTG machines. Very cool. Glad to see your back. It's probably an interesting story of why you've been MIA for the last little bit. :)

Happy to have you back 🎉

I have a Ricoh ri1000 DTG and Viper Maxx pretreatment. DTG adds so much value to my print shop. To avoid the DTG box as much as possible, I use light pressure and low temperature (285 degrees) when curing the pretreatment. The light pressure allows the pretreatment vapors/steam to escape from under the heat press. Also recommend opening a door or setting up ventilation so you're not breathing in those pretreatment vapors.

Use your tunnel dryer to cure your pretreat, then heat press the shirt prior to printing to matte down the fibers. Your heat press pad will retain moisture, making it longer to cure or not cure evenly. You can use the dryer to cure your DTF prints as well

Amazing Lee keep the DTG videos comming.

That north of 9 print is still one of my favorites. Mind blowing when you screen printed it. Look at all the weight loss 💪🏼 Keep it up dude

Legend has it if you get the lower heated platen power pack you can heat from the bottom and heat from the top with less heat to avoid the dtg box

So glad you got this machine! I’ve had it for a year and I look forward to your reviews. Looks like you found the same issues we had! We had to figure most of it out by ourselves.

Your equipment are amazing bro 🤘🤘

Dope video brother! Thank you

You truly inspire me i wish i could start gathering my equipments sooner😭😭

You convinced me to buy the same setup. Let's see if you have the same issues I did ;). One thing... watch out for the pre-treater switching tanks. Always check which tank you're on. I made my first 10 prints with the CL tank selected, and found out that they switch it back to that every time you shut down. Big gotcha for me. Good luck, can't wait to see more videos on this topic.

Lee we run dtg using Epson F3070’s and digital factory and we also have the same BBC dryer you have. We figured out that the BBC gets rid of the pretreat box use it ! not only does bbc eliminate the pretreat box it will speed up your pretreat time.

Hell yes!! I’ve been hanging for a new vid!

Rad work bro... I just supported that effort and bought a shirt... keep rocking away bro... you inspire me always as a fellow influencer

Oh hey, Lee, lookin good, both you and Wheelie!

I ran a converted Epson P600 for a few years (out of my bedroom closet) and got some amazing prints off it. The only issue is that consumer print heads just arent meant for long-term DTG use. As for pretreatment, I find that firebird pretreatment was money for the application window and pre-treatment box post-press. Note, the poyl proint is essectially a Epson P600 or P800 from what I understand. Also, I'd suggest good ventilation or wearing a mask when pretreating. Looking at the MSDS, you don't want to breathe this stuff during the curing process.

Good to see a notification from you again! Its been a while Glad to see you're back with another cool video That printer has some serious vibrancy. Nice colours. Im curious about fade after 20+washes. Its the main reason why i stick with dtf, even though i agree with your comment about the feel, but its improving slowly. Welcome back! Lets go!

you are still our hero.

Nice video drop man!, Top quality content and beyond human work ethic!! keep them coming hopefully closer together LOL

Ok 3rd time hopefully a charm writing down a comment. Love the vid man, good to see a new video. Ordered the shirt will be rocking it when i'm back in the Netherlands, couldn't risk let it be shipped to where i am in the states.

I have the same setup. Make sure when not using the pre-treater you remove the nozzle heads. It will prevent crystallization in the head. Other than that it’s awesome machine.

Sweet video and sweet Shadow of Intent shirt! Love those guys. Cheers!

That Logo.....💙💙💙

The box is from the heat press. Try lowering your heat press settings to the lowest threshold of drying point and it should do the trick. Once you find the low point you can work your way back up till your happy that your getting enough heat to cure, but in many cases it just happens. I see the box even with DTF and transfer vinyl so rest assured its not your pretreat. It usually goes away even before the wash as garments get stacked and moved around a bit. Also side note, I have noticed quality of dye makes a difference. Long time viewer love the channel.

Cool to see you doing DTG too. I recommend using a steamer to erase the box. It works most of the time and you get the wrinkles out.

Glad to see ya back. Im really curious how the maintenance and long term use is going to work out.

Finally new vid ❤️

Good to see you, dude! I thought of you when TBDM announced the news a few days ago (or whenever the fuck it was. Time means nothing anymore).

Oh snaps he's still alive!

So refreshing to see another video homie! What dtg equipment do you run for the printer and the pretreat? Good to have ya back man!

Lee when how do you feel about the conveyor dryer vs heat pressing to cure. I spoke to poly print once and they it works good and improves ink vibrancy. Also for the pre treat issue maybe pretreated shirt might work.

Great video Lee. Thank you for sharing. Quick question, what made you decide DTG over DTF?

Welcome back . Bro! Looks like you’ve been working out .

ok bro so...Im a screen printer as well and I stick to it because it feel like its higher quality since it goes into the fabric. Does this feel like its high quality or mostly a part of the fabric?

lmao good video bro it was funny

Finally 💪🏾

I think that RIP is a version of KOTHARI, and it's super powerful! It's a heck of a RIP. Definitely the best. That's whats going to power your prints to its fullest.

Pretty slick. Regarding color matching. I wonder if you build a 4color white and overprint onto that if you could match your screen better vs overprinting on whatever base white ink PolyPrint uses. And or, calibrate your screen to match their white. idk. Either way, they came out fantastic. Need to get into printing on substrates that aren't paper. -_-

Dope video bro! I’m trying to make the switch now. These transfers aren’t cutting it anymore. 😎🙏🏽💯

Which is easier to maintain- dtf or dtg? I’m in the process of converting my Epson printer to dtf 😊

hello Lee, how is the Echo2 printer printing for you?

My job also requires me to using Dtg machine, sometimes for certain apparel(tetracotton,polo,hoodies,microfiber cotton blend) I just avoiding heatpress machine cause it sometimes make final results a bit dull and dye migration, I'm just using hovering heatpress, conveyor dryer.

Welcome back! Looks like you spent all your time away in the gym.

Lee, thanks for the DTG setup and your progress. I have been told that humidity plays a big part in the printers output. Since you are getting great results what is your humidity in the shop?

I was wondering when Lee would start playing with his drug money toys 😂

Nice detail, what’s the top colour look like super up close? Does it halftone the blends, or mix as it goes with no noticeable halftone dots? Curious if a guy could screen print overtop of DTG with plastisol. 🤔

Good morning, what program or application do you use to make these edits?

Welcome back.

Awesome shirt! Is DTG the only way to go for true gradient prints on shirts?

What brand of roll transfers do you prefer if you even use them??? The quality of the transfer paper I've found makes great images with excellent detail, but the shirts aren't lasting very well.

plz I need to know what are all the machines that he used in the vid

If the logo had the metallic look and it will look fire 🔥

What's the best printing technology to print face or picture of persons onto a T-shirt?

Hey, I have a question. How do you do if you want to print in a sleeve?

can u update did u know how to get rid of box already ?

So how would you print on sleeves or sweat pants

GADDAMN DIDNT EVEN GET A FEW SECONDS IN THIS VIDEO IS CRISPY AS HELL ! BE BACK IN 24 MINUTES 30 SEC0NDS

I am looking to pick up a printer just not sure about which one to get.

a few months ago I order like 72 DTG white t shirts and when they got hit by the sun, my t shirts turn yellow all around the area where the pre treatment was spray on. I lost all my shirts.

You can spray water on the pretreat box after your done curing the print and hover over it for 30-60 seconds. And pretreat box will go away a ton

6 minutes a print is wild

hell yeah

Been waiting for you to drop a vid on this as I picked one of these up round about the time you announced you had one ha!! Good to see you uploading again. Love the printer took a while getting used to making sure the underbase was always bright etc - one thing I noticed is that you dont use a baking/release sheet during any of your process when pressing ( unless I missed that ) is that something that you were told not to use and just press the ink wet?

Video was great as usual. Just ordered one of those shirts cuz they are fuckin cool!!! Keep it up.

I’ve hard that if you steam the shirt when it is complete that the pretreat box goes away.

Nice video. This printer can print Gradient? I mean fade or 50% transparent pixels?

About that USB key, you should try debugging and check connectivity ports.

@leestuart38 how’s the Pretreater Pro been doing after all this time? I’m thinking about getting one… Than you so much for your videos!

How did you promote the custom screen printing from home?

wait is that a halftone pattern??

Yeehaa a new vid. The outcome looks great. What’s your thoughts on hand feel and overall print quality compared to screen print?

Nice prints Lee! I have the epson f2100 and it’s a breeze once you get the hang of it, we arranged our equipment about 4 times until we figured out how we wanted the work flow to go. Also, DTF turn out very durable and like you mention, it’s nice not to have to rely on shipping/min orders to provide DTF now that you have the new printer 🤙🏼

Interesting the Pretreat looks like a modified Shultz with a better screen. Print looked good. Try that other pretreat FireBird see if box Is gone. Best result dryer but that would make another video lol

I am a beginner to graphic design. What classes in Skillshare would you recommend, so much to learn, dont know where to start! Help..lol

Does the white is still vibrant after Few washes??🤩

Regarding the pretreatment box, wouldn't it be great to have a "pretreatment printer" which applies pretreatment only to the exact shape (with some extra margins) of the print instead covering the whole shirt?

Awesome video dude. Interested to see the production costs vs screen printing.