How to make more money from DTG printing

Amaya Sales UK’s MD Peter Wright, explores how you can get the best out of DTG printing by making as much profit as possible.

DTG printing is booming, so if you have not yet invested in a printer then I believe you should consider this urgently. There are several areas you should be aware of when it comes to making profit.

First of all you have to find a direct to garment printer that suits you requirements. There are quite a few printers around the £10,000 to £12,000 price and then there are the more expensive ones which go from around £30,000 up to around £200,000. For most garment decorators the lower end is perfectly adequate but if you want to compete with the speed of screen printing then you would need to look at the higher end. After saying this there is a lower priced DTG that combines both screen print and DTG that drastically increases the speed of production.

Understand the industry

When looking at DTG printers always look for a company that has been selling this kind of printer for many years and that has service engineers that understand how DTG works. It’s also very important that the company understands the industry and the garments that can be used. Look very closely at the economy of the printer, how much the ink costs per litre, how many times you have to flush out the system, how many times you have to do a power clean, how long can you leave the printer off which flushing. Choose one that keeps this down to a minimum. The most economical printers also have refillable ink cartridges. Sealed cartridges can sometimes be double the price of buying ink by the litre.

The ink and maintenance costs have a big impact on the profitability of the DTG printing business.

Sell online

On the marketing side of the business look at having a suitable website that is easy to update and is easy for you clients to order. There are a few companies out there that fulfil these requirements and can get you started in days. Another way of moving things quickly is setting up an eBay or Amazon shop, you will have to pay them a commission but your goods will be on sale in no time. Retail outlets selling T shirts are also a good way of selling your products. Go in and ask them if they would like to buy personalised shirts in small numbers or let them suggest their own designs.

With regard to websites being seen, use Google Adwords to get you started; again this is an instant way of attracting business.

If you are already in business, send out an email campaign or mail shot to your customers explaining your new products.  You could also send them a T shirt with their company logo on.

Maintenance

The last thing to consider is to keep you printer well maintained. A lack of maintenance will increase the amount of power cleans and cost you more money on ink. It could also lead to expensive repairs to print heads, capping station etc. Please carry out the maintenance in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.