There are various ways around this problem, including sublimation and transfer, but a newer development has not only solved the order size problem but has also been instrumental in expanding and finding new markets and is still doing so, says Tony Whitmore.

"The digital ink jet printer is the relative new kid on the block having only been around for three years or so, and DTG and Your Embroidery Services Ltd (YES) have both championed this style of printing, which has developed new markets and satisfied difficult old ones," he says.

The printers are, at the very basic level an ink jet printer usually based on an Epson engine and they work in the same way as the one that sits in your desk printing invoices. Where they differ though is in the transport system and the ink. A tray holds a platen onto which the t-shirt is placed and which then moves under the print-head similar to the way paper moves through a printer.

"This has some small limitations in the speed department but, even so, still produces full colour prints in a relatively short time," says Whitmore. "DTG has also come up with a different method whereby the bed stays still and the head moves, resulting in greatly increased print speeds. The second area, the inks, is key to the whole success story of this style of printing."

The first major breakthrough was developing ink that would print direct onto 100% cotton. Ironically, this goes against all common logic where cotton with ink would react in the same way as blotting paper but the fact is that it doesn't, says Whitmore.

The second major breakthrough was the development of white ink, making it possible to print onto any colour of t-shirt. "Over the past couple of years companies such as YES and DTG have worked with some of the largest ink manufacturers in the world to perfect these inks," explains Whitmore. "The obvious benefit of this style of printing was to satisfy that small order market, but DTG realised that this type of printing could be applied to other areas and other products and so set about a development program to further the market in general."

DTG's first machine, The Kiosk, was a single unit printer aimed squarely at the aforementioned small order market but DTG realised that if it could increase the speed and productivity then this style of printing would be equally at home producing larger orders, says Whitmore.

So it developed two large area flat bed machines: the DTG Bullet and The DTG Xpress. It is possible to load 6 - 10 shirts at one time on these but they could also be used to print large flat areas such as posters or even doors. The disadvantage with a machine like this though is the size so DTG needed a machine that could produce more efficiently but not take up any more space.

This was achieved with the DTG HM1, the first single unit machine to use moving head technology, and the DTG D1, the first double head machine. The latter consists of two print units in line, so the variations of ink can be increased, and with both heads using 8 sets of jets the print speed is remarkable. The back head is usually filled with white ink but it is at the front that the real benefits can be seen. As the printer uses 8 sets of jets but prints CMYK, the front head can be loaded with two different types of ink, and as inks have been developed to print onto hard surfaces and polyester this means that a single printer, without changing anything, can print onto white 100% cotton, coloured and black 100% cotton and either polyester or hard surface.

Another benefit of ink jet printers is that there is no smell, no washout and no screens, making this type of machine ideal for a shop environment or an embroidery area where invasive inks would normally not be welcome.

Further developments by DTG included a 4 in 1 platen that consists of a single base unit but four different size platens. This gives the flexibility to print onto various sizes of garment but keeps the cost down. One of the key developments though consisted of a little light that simply avoided a collision.

One of the more costly parts of these printers is the print head, and if the platen is set too high there is a risk of the print head hitting the carrier resulting in damage. DTG solved this by putting a laser control on its machines to automatically stop the machine when the risk is present.

An added bonus on the HM1 machine is the auto height control. The distance between the print head and the print media is critical to the quality of the print. On the DTG HM1 the user simply presses the "up" button and the machine then sets itself to the optimum height.

Whitmore concludes: "The possibilities for digital printing are endless and only require imagination and diligence from the manufacturers. But, of course, they can only take it so far. In the end it is the user that will generate further uses for these products, find the niche and realise that this product can be the answer."

For information on digital printing and the full range of DTG printing machines contact YES Ltd on 01623 863343 or email sales@yesltd.co.uk 

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