Fast T-Jet/T-Jet2 direct to garment printing

By Anonymous (not verified) on Feb. 15, 2006
Forums: 
Direct-to-Garment Printing

I don't know if this belongs in the "Screen Printing" discussion section.

As I said in my previous post, I do embroidery and heat transfers. I'm thinking of getting a Fast T-Jet2 (the small one). Before T-Jet2 it was just T-Jet. The difference between the two is that with T-Jet2, you can print on dark colored shirts as supposed to just the light colored shirts with T-Jet. This is really what got me very interested. But it's also very, very expensive! I'm seriously considering buying, but do you guys think it's durable? I mean my printer at home seems to have problems here and there from time to time. Maybe it's the same with direct to garment printers? I know with manual/automatic screen printing presses they can last a lifetime. Any input? Thanks again.

Location: 
United States
Submitted by Marc on Thu, 02/16/2006 - 09:18

I don't have either T-Jet or T-Jet2, however I've demoed both of them several times at different trade shows. I must admit I wanted one right away after each demo LOL. You're right they are pretty expensive, but it is an investment. It's not like you're throwing your money away buying a widescreen plasma HDTV. I'm sure you'll start to get your money back pretty quickly if you play your cards right.

My first impression of T-Jet2 was "wow it actually prints on black." It's pretty amazing. As far as it being durable, to me, it seems pretty solidly built. Checkout other direct-to-garment printing equipment manufacturers like Kornit, Flexi-Jet, Mimaki, and Brother. I'm sure there are more companies out there, the ones I listed are just what popped in my mind.

Submitted by GREEKCLOTHING on Wed, 04/12/2006 - 01:38

well i'm on my second. t-jet2 had the first a month (counting the week wait for a box to be shiped over-night). second has been grand but there testy and can eat profit. it's basicly an epson 2200 with bad software. there is a minium of three detailed steps to print using two programs fastARTIST, fastRIP. whites and light color tees are a sinch add a white under base and you can make your jaw drop. true colors red blue yellow can be tough on black, odd dark, and heather/sport/ash grey along with now and again discoloration from pretreatment. support is iffy though (i think most of them don't like me . due to t-jet2-1) i seem to allways get the 25 min wait when calling followed up with "well i'm not sure?" "can't say i have heard that" ect... i've printed sofar around 3000 shirts with it with like 20% loss in shirts. but the margin covers the cost. at least that's what the boss says. with one pushing it or doing repeats you can pump off 30 left chest in an hour one pass color only 20-24 with underbase pass boost the dpi and size of image and you can get to as slow as a 6x6 print at 12 per hour (that day sucked 135 toats with 20 toast). any hoo printed on canvas toats with success , tees, cotton thongs , bella tees. and sooo ok well it is a car payment a month or 16000 down. ink aint cheap eather i think it's like 400 for a liter of white ink. i can say to get one but if you got alot of time need a new noise in the shop then hey.

marcus
Greekclothing.com

Submitted by TahoeTomahawk on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 11:54

GREEKCLOTHING,
I am also considering the Fast T-Jet2. Can you give us some examples of the 20% loss of shirts? Did the clothing get twisted, or did something go wrong with the print heads?
Also, have you had any problems with the Ink Heads clogging?

Thanks!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/24/2006 - 17:25

TahoeTomahawk, I had the same problem as GREEKCLOTHING in late March until very recently with the high spoilage rate. I did everything I could and so did the the T-Jet tech support. I cleaned everything! Still the problem persisted. What was weird was that I never had this sort of problem before so I was at a loss as what the hell was going on. Finally, I received an email from T-Jet support recently with the solution! It turns out they sent a bad batch of white ink (at no fault of their own because they contract the manufacturing of their ink). Nobody at tech support could pinpoint the problem before because bad ink has never been an issue with anyone before so the problem went under the radar until a lot more people complained and a common thing was determined. I guess I felt a bit concerned that they don't do enough extensive testing with their ink, but now that they had a problem like this, they assured me/T-Jet owners that steps would be put in place to prevent such a problem from happening again in the future.

I had two liters of bad white ink, and for my headache, they sent four liters of good white ink, new bulk system, and cleaning fluid. I'm very happy with how they resolved the problem :)

Submitted by inkrob on Thu, 04/27/2006 - 15:25

weve got a tjet 2 and have been working with it for a couple of months before putting it into a mall type enviroment and have come to the solution that buying heat transfers is the better solution and using the t jet for other projects...the machine simply isnt that reliable nor is the software...i really wouldnt recommend it unless they get better technology or software...problems with banding in the print, software poblems like freezing and locking up color changes or starting a new print with a 1/4 of the last print. and the bed never sits level, the head cleaning motor broke the first month and got replaced twice...support is good but it seems like we know more about the machine than they do, we use a acrylic lazer daily and some of the software is similar so that helped in the whole start up, we werent completely in the dark...well hope that answers some questions.

Submitted by sambil12 on Tue, 11/07/2006 - 23:28

Hello everyone:

I DO NOT RECOMMEND this machine to anyone.

I had the T-Jet2 since March, I feel mislead by the shows and presentations.
For starters, this machine is overrated, and too expensive for what you get. When you see it at the trade shows you want to get one right away, but the problems start after a couple of weeks of use. PRINT QUALITY: they say the prints last 40 washes or so, this might be true, the problem is that the T-shirt looks like it has been washed 40 times right after the very first wash. PRINT HEAD: This machine is nothing but an EPSON 2200 modified to fit a drawer containing the t-shirt, but all components are still the same, the print head was designed to print over paper with very small amounts of ink, the software that comes w/this machine makes the printer shoot more ink, therefore the print head breaks down often, very often. I haven’t print 1000 t-shirts yet and I have replaced it twice, at $310 each; this is not covered under any warranty. Changing this print head is a BIG ORDEAL, is clearly not meant to be changed. I am a computer technician and I have a very hard time doing it, I can’t imagine and employee performing this task (unless you have computer technicians working as screen printers in your shop). There is a daily maintenance routine that you must perform after using this machine (nonone tells you this before buying), this involves wiping encoder strip with alcohol, adding a drop of Windex to holding pad and even replacing ink bulk system, if you are not going to use the machine for more than two days, there is a different routine for this. I met Scott F. at a trade show recently and he had NO ANSWERS to any of my questions, other than “I‘ll look into it”…they come with some upgrades and fixes for some problems once in a while but you have to pay for them. And I do not have more space here to explain the ink cost and a bunch of other things…But I will be glad to answer anything at Areingdale@hotmail.com.

Submitted by BOJAN on Sat, 11/25/2006 - 22:32

Hi guys
I won’t to buy digital garment printer. After everything I read I’m little confused about this. Can somebody tell me what is better T-jet1 or 2…..or maybe something different?
I won’t to open a store for printing t-shirts in my country. We don’t have this kind of printers there. I’m from Toronto and I can’t find distributor here to see the printer…
Thanks

Submitted by T's In Motion on Fri, 12/15/2006 - 18:12

No DTG printer, no matter what some may claim, has mastered white ink technology. They all require pretreatment in order for the ink to stick, meaning they break down very fast when washed if the formula/combination of factors aren't just right. Tjet claims they have their own white ink, but I'd like to see some proof to back that up before I'll believe it. Do some research, most of those 'in the know' would recommend waiting at least a year for the industry to grow up a little bit before you even attempt to print on dark shirts.

We're currently shopping for a DTG printer and like the Brother, it doesn't need any retarded RIP software or pretreatment, and holds up good in the wash. It's simple to use, but it isn't offering white ink yet.

I'd say be wary of ANY printer offering white ink

Go to screenprintinguniversity.com. it's a GREAT resource for anyone looking to get a DTG because it has all of them listed in the same place, you can talk to the people who actually have them, get their feedback, and ask them questions

Submitted by Creative Digitizing on Tue, 07/10/2007 - 14:07

What is the cost of thr jet2? I recently went to a trade so and saw a demo of the DTG. I was amazed at the quality. As far as print on black, they had a black T w/ white lettering. It was nice, but to get the quality the demonstrater said you have to make around 6 passes. It is ink jet and then you immediately heat press to cure the ink. Show price was 11k

Submitted by general307 on Wed, 11/21/2007 - 17:05

I have been using the t-Jet2 for about three months. I bought it on e-bay and had it refebished and it was thousands of dollers less then what i have heard people have paid for them. If keep it clean it works wonders. The only thing that is tricky is dark/black t-shirts. I have been getting whicked colors on dark shirts and have only run into a few problems. The tech' isn't at it's peek yet but this machine is the future of the t-shirt world.

-love general clothing

jpat's picture
Submitted by jpat on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 17:29

The T-2 & T-3 are semi-commercial DTG printers. They are built on the Epson 2200 and Epson R1800 print engines. The price reflects this. If you want a commercial quality T-jet you will have to purchase a Blazer or Blazer Express built on the Epson 4800/4880 platform.

All of the DTG printers out there have a hard time with white Textile ink. I don't care what printer you have, you cannot let ink dry in the head or lines. Thats why every manufacturer has a software utility that keeps ink flowing through the head every few hours to keep the head wet. For long term storage, it is always best to flush the lines and head with the cleaning cartridges so there is no chance of head clogs.

We have never have any problems with our demonstration machines. Our T2 has been here for over 18 months without any problems. We have someone in charge of that machine to make sure the 5 minute maintenance is performed whenever we use the machine, and the head cleaning utility is communicating with the machine every night.

This is definitely new technology, and it's not perfect yet, but it's improving dramatically. You can either wait to purchase a machine in the future when the technology is better, or you can be the first one in your area printing white ink on dark shirts.

Best Regards
John Echlin
IMG

Dr DTG & EMB 714-770-0969

Submitted by Dov Meyers on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 07:42

Hi DrewDan,
We distribute the DTG direct to garment systems in South africa, and find that for small jobs on a regular basis the KIOSK II is a robust machine that gives good consistent results on white and dark garments. check the website dtgdigital.com for a distributor in your area.

Submitted by diljo13 on Mon, 02/12/2007 - 03:32

the tjet2 is considerably durable

we use it to go to events, parties etc and its so quick and easy it is worth every one of the many pennies

we have the 6 pallet model

the hard part is the weight

but this product is most definitely worth it

Submitted by DrewDan on Thu, 03/15/2007 - 14:28

I seem to be getting mixed signels because some people are saying its the worst machine ever...and other people are saying its great???? can some more people who own Fast T-Jet 2 printers give their opinions?

Submitted by EnvisionSports on Mon, 04/09/2007 - 23:45

We Have owned a T-Jet 2 for a year now. When we first got our t-jet, it sucked and always broke down. Up until yesterday our machine had not printed a dark garment. After letting our maching sit for 6 months and finally getting the newest upgrades(that support sent to us free of charge) our printer is up and working the best ever. Before this last week our machine haddent spit our more than 100 shirts in a year. But since last week we have printed over 200 shirts with only a single mistake, and that being my fault on stopping a job in the middle of one and starting another. Support is great, the new upgrades are flawless. I would recommend this machine, hadnt the t-jet 3 come out which is far more advanced than the t-jet 2.

luke

Submitted by smang12345 on Fri, 10/12/2007 - 19:32

DO, and I repeat DO NOT buy ANY T-jet machine. I have had a unit for 20 months and have spent 2 full months talking to customer service or replacing parts and have managed to get less than 300 imprints total since January 2006. I have replaced 6 heads, done countless head cleanings, driven 10 hours to get it fixed, built a climate-controlled room just for the machine, begged and pleaded, and still it will not work. Every time I called to complain their techs would assure me the next fix would work and convinced me not to ask for a refund and to this day it still sits. By now they say it has been too long since I bought it to get ANY money back but they will do a full-service for $500.00 plus shipping there and back and the cost of a new print head. Please take your money and buy anything other than this machine. Making a big pile in your yard and setting it on fire would be a better use of your money than buying this machine. Anyone want to talk about it I can be reached at 661-321-4937. Joel Mangrum

Submitted by localteez on Thu, 12/11/2008 - 21:13

reply to BOJAN

T-jet is only better if you are printing on dark or black garments, the only drawback with the t-jet2 is if you don't print white much ith white ink will settel and it needs to be re mixed. I do it by using the syringe provided with the t-jet's my t-jet2 run me $13,599.00
and it worked great after i figured out how to use it. My T-JET 2 is up 4 sale. it can't keep up with my demand, for short runs it's good but for 500 & up you can't beat screen printing.
mine is 4 sale for $9,500.00 and comes with about 14 platens i made from dual hat & license plate holder to shirt sleeve & shirt platens. plus all the goodies it needs to run
SORRY IT IS NO LONGER FOR SALE IM STILL GETTING THE QUICKIE 2 OR 3 GARMENTS

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