Fascinated about printing your personal customized attire? I put the Procolored F13 DTF printer, oven, and press bundle by way of its paces to see if it’s value your hard-earned money – or simply one other overpriced passion entice.
The equipment that I obtained included a 1 kg bag of DTF adhesive powder, 250 mL every of C, M, Y, Okay, and white ink, plus a 250-mL bottle of nozzle safety fluid, and a 328-ft (100-m) roll of DTF PET matte warmth switch movie. Oh, and mine got here in a extremely cool trunk, such as you’d see backstage in your favourite band. That was a bonus.
Every thing was packed very well for – what I assume was – the abroad journey it took to get to my home. The trunk had each the printer and the oven neatly inside. The warmth press was packaged individually in a daily field.
As soon as I yanked every part from its cozy packaging, the setup appeared somewhat daunting. It is not only a matter of chucking in your ink cartridges and printing out your first check web page such as you would with an inkjet printer – this dangerous boy wants some correct consideration to get going. You have to fill the tanks and use the provided syringes to attract ink from the tanks into the print head for each colour. It’s a must to pull ink to the waste tank as effectively.
JS @ New Atlas
I wasn’t significantly trying ahead to it, particularly realizing that DTF printers want for use recurrently, else they will have clogging points – significantly with the white ink – and real, high-quality Procolored ink isn’t cheap.
In prep for the evaluate, I purchased about 60 varied t-shirts, tanks, and shorts of various supplies and colours from Jiffy. I additionally purchased 150 clean koozies in each foam and neoprene (working with neoprene is actual exhausting, by the best way). I waited till I used to be correctly prepared to begin printing – and hold printing – earlier than I crammed the primary tank of ink.
A pair weeks later and I’ve printed and pressed almost all of it. Here is a fast breakdown of remaining consumables (roughly):
- 60% white ink (~150 mL)
- 75% black (~190 mL)
- 80–85% cyan, magenta, yellow (~200 mL)
- 1/3 roll of PET movie (~100 ft)
- 1/4 bag of powder (~125 gr)
I then I did all the maths so that you would not should:
The common value to print a daily cotton shirt is about 5 bucks every. That features the shirt, ink, adhesive powder, and DTF film. That worth can simply go up by two to 4 smackeroos in case you’re utilizing higher-quality shirts, and even down by a couple of greenback or two for these low-cost, janky, uncomfortable shirts that do not match proper and by no means come out of the closet. The selection is yours.
Sticking to that US$5 determine, it’ll take you 190 shirts at $25 every to recoup your preliminary funding on the ~$3,800 bundle I am utilizing (F13 + oven + warmth press). If you have already got a press and oven and simply need the printer, 150 shirts will cowl your funding prices.
You will should restock on consumables someplace across the 250 mark, I feel. After numerous analysis, I’ve discovered extremely rated and cheaper merchandise on Amazon, like DTF film, and transfer powder, however every part factors to utilizing real Procolored ink. Or a minimum of ink specific to the Epson L1800 print head (extra on that later).
JS @ New Atlas
Issues I seen:
Each time I activate the printer, it’s going to error with a paper-jam message, although nothing is definitely jammed [insert Office Space references here]. All I’ve to do is flip the primary energy swap (on the again) on and off actually fast, then hit the front-panel energy button once more – and it magically works 100% of the time. If I do not flip it off, and I simply choose up printing the subsequent day, no jam errors. An annoying “function,” for certain.
After 5 days straight of use, adopted by sooner or later of downtime, the white ink clogged. A fast software program printhead clear (twice in a row) bought it going once more with none further work.
DTF likes for use on a regular basis and does not like to sit down round ready. After about two weeks of printing almost each day, I’ve discovered to only clear the print head earlier than my first use of the day. It has been operating tip-top, even after a weekend of no use in any respect. That mentioned, you continue to have to go away the primary energy on always. Each hour or so (I feel, I have not truly timed it), you may hear it do some white-ink pump for about 30 seconds to maintain the juices flowing. Each 10 hours of idle time, it would robotically clear the print head as effectively.
The Procolored F13 comes with Professional RIP software program and a USB security dongle. It is annoying that it’s important to depart the USB in your laptop any time you employ the software program for anti-piracy functions. How lengthy will it’s earlier than we want USB bays stuffed with safety dongles? … However I digress. RIP software program is used to put out your photographs and to speak to the printer’s customized firmware for white-layer printing beneath colour – one thing common printers cannot do.
IT’S AVAILABLE FOR WINDOWS ONLY!
The Professional RIP software program is not accessible to the 17% of you guys ‘n gals utilizing less-awesome working programs. *Wink-wink* Additionally, Professional RIP is the one suitable RIP program for Procolored’s F13 machine. If you have already got a favourite one along with your workflow dialed in, effectively, you are going to should be taught to like Professional RIP. Actually, it is tremendous easy, easy, and simple to make use of although. You’ve gotten flexibility in every part from white layers to punch holes and extra with Professional RIP.
JS @ New Atlas
If you happen to’re anticipating to crank out pages of photographs like an previous laser Xerox at your final workplace job, put together to be disillusioned – the DTF printer is gradual. It is actually like watching paint dry. Procolored’s website says about six prints per hour, however that is best-case situation – or perhaps six small prints with little or no white.
I am making an attempt to optimize paper use by ganging up photographs so I am not losing movie, and it is extra like 25 minutes for each ~12 inches (30.5 cm) of roll in case you do two full white layers beneath. So in case you’re making six prints that slot in 12 inches of roll, then certain. A full front-of-shirt print could possibly be 10 inches (24.5 cm) large and 14 inches (35.5 cm) tall – completely throughout the printer’s functionality – however that measurement goes to take a strong half hour to print out only one.
Procolored says the F13 is nice for 200+ prints every week. I printed 50 koozies (back and front) in two days, so I feel it is potential for smaller stuff. No manner I may accomplish 200 full shirts with out assist.
Although gradual, it is tremendous detailed. It prints in picture high quality utilizing an Epson L1800 print head. It was somewhat complicated putting in drivers for an Epson whereas plugging in a Procolored, however I noticed it emulates an Epson printer with customized firmware that permits for added white layers and such.
JS @ New Atlas
I’ve needed to print every part with the lid open to this point. Initially, with the lid closed, it was grinding, thumping, and erroring. After placing somewhat brainpower into it, I noticed that the ink strains on the head have been sticking up simply excessive sufficient to make contact with the hinge screws within the lid.
I did what any respectable particular person would do and took the twist-tie off a loaf of bread to cinch down the ink strains to the printer head to cease all of the noise and jam errors. That stopped the strains from catching the screws … but it surely did not cease the slack within the strains from reaching upward to strike the lid exhausting sufficient to trigger extra thumps, grinds, and errors.
I contacted Procolored assist, they usually bought again to me straight away with a video exhibiting easy methods to barely transfer the strains to cut back the slack that will get pushed upward into the lid on each stroke. I have not performed it but. I am unsure if that is a standard concern or not, as every part appears very well designed, thought out … even the best-laid plans do not all the time work out each time, I suppose.
There are three pre-tapped holes the place the lid sits that seem to haven’t any use, and I am considering somewhat rubber spacer in there would do the job properly – making sufficient clearance for the ink-line slack. In the end, even with the lid open, the printer is quiet sufficient that in case you’re not paying consideration when it finishes a print, you may not even discover it stopped.
JS @ New Atlas
Total, I am tremendous happy with the standard the Procolored cranks out. If you happen to’re a small-to-medium-sized shirt firm that is not making an attempt to pump out greater than 25 or so shirts per day on only one Procolored machine, I feel you would be fairly proud of it. If you happen to’re a maker with an Etsy facet hustle or one thing taking one-off orders, the Procolored will completely match that invoice for you, even with all of the upfront prices.
The Procolored Oven
The 750-watt “EZ Bake Oven,” as I consult with it, is lots large – sufficiently big to comfortably deal with any measurement print you are more likely to match on a shirt chest. It bakes evenly and cleanly each time. The timer operate is good too, because it’ll warn you when time’s up – in case you are like me, making an attempt to multitask whereas not significantly good at multitasking.
I’ll say, the lid of the baking machine is not insulated, so it will get fairly sizzling – even the place the deal with is. Wifey makes use of an oven mitt to carry it (in the meantime she washes dishes by hand in water far too scalding for me to even contact). It is not that dangerous in case you’re solely touching the deal with. It might be good if that was insulated. Additionally, it could be nice if the lid had a slow-close hinge in order that in case you do burn your self and soar again, it does not slam shut with a metallic CLANG!
I’ve additionally seen that the air filter tends to get saturated with moisture fairly quick. I’ve to take away it each day to scrub and dry it. Over the course of baking about 50 gangs or so, the exhaust fan has most likely misplaced 50% of its means to exhaust. I am tempted to take it aside simply to see what’s occurring internally.
In any other case, the Procolored DTF oven does a extremely good job of holding the workflow transferring whereas trying cute on the identical time with it is large, completely satisfied panda face.
The Procolored Warmth Press
Having an automated press is each cool and barely annoying. It is nice you can set time and temp for no matter you are engaged on and it robotically simply does the factor – however you don’t have any management over strain. That may be good or dangerous relying on the merchandise or material, or for many who is perhaps heavy-handed. Or perhaps I am over considering it and it is simply actually good, as I haven’t got any actual idea of what “light-medium” strain truly looks like and the press takes care of it for me.
In the end, I am completely satisfied to not have to face on the press for 20–30 seconds at a time whereas my clothes get their goodies. Additionally at 750 watts, it isn’t too dangerous on energy consumption. All in, I am solely utilizing about 25 cents per hour in electrical energy to run all three machines constantly. If you happen to dwell in California, count on nearer to 75 cents per hour.
JS @ New Atlas
I like that it beeps when it is performed preheating to your required temp – one much less factor to babysit.
One factor I seen: my home was constructed within the Nineteen Fifties and, as lately as eight years in the past, survived a significant hurricane (Hurricane Harvey), so it isn’t precisely completely sq.. Some spots of my hardwood flooring are simply out of plumb sufficient you can’t inform till you set one thing down which may roll away if left unattended. Nicely, with the press, I discovered a kind of spots. Because the lid would open and shut, it made a grinding, groaning noise. I relocated the desk the press was on a couple of foot away from the wall, and the grinding noises stopped. So if it isn’t completely stage, it would protest.
Is the warmth press well worth the worth of admission, so to talk? As a DTF noob, I might say so. It takes out all of the guesswork and simply lets me make cool shirts and stuff. Altering temp and time is a breeze. And I did not understand it at first, however not solely does the controller have a “go” button on it, so does the lid. It took me about 80 presses earlier than I seen that – and it made the remainder of the presses that a lot simpler.
My Little Wrap Up
This can be a cool product. On the very least, DTF is a cool idea. It is not low-cost to get into, but it surely would not be troublesome to recoup your prices and begin making some fairly respectable side-hustle cash – even with only a single machine. I can simply see two or three machines and a sufficiently big spare bed room in your own home turning right into a couple-grand-a-month small enterprise in case you’re prepared to place the time in.
JS @ New Atlas
Native church buildings, sports activities groups, and different non-profits love customized shirts. Bars, liquor shops, and knick-knack retailers all love koozies. You are not restricted to only these two merchandise both. That is merely what I did throughout my evaluate. And DTF’s very nature is the power to make actually customized graphics on clothes with out messy and troublesome setups like silk screening.
And as soon as once more, like my Omni X UV laser evaluate, my crude humor leaves me with only a few photographs I can present you of stuff that I’ve made … however I figured if I am throwing a bunch of cash at a evaluate, I’ll make what I need to put on! Ha!
JS @ New Atlas
EDIT TO ADD// I despatched a batch of stuff I made by way of the washer and dryer … however I did it in probably the most harmful manner potential. The washer set to sanitize, the dryer at full warmth WITH six dryer balls in there to beat on it, to not point out I did all of it right-side-out. The precise reverse of all suggestions. The outcomes have been fabulous and the designs have been unscathed. I used to be actually a bit stunned, particularly with the dryer balls in there. However that was just one wash/dry cycle. Time will inform!
Alternatively, DTF has been round for some time, so we all know it really works.
Let me know within the feedback in case you’d be excited by a free New Atlas shirt (that I completely have not designed or made but), and perhaps I am going to choose one or two of the most effective feedback and shoot ’em off to ya. Ensure you’re subscribed to our newsletter, although, to seek out out if I picked you!
Product web page: Procolored F13 Panda DTF Printer
Word: Edited so as to add after wash/dry data at 6:33pm CDT. Thanks for pointing it out, philippeholthuizen!
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