I've long held the view (I posted on the T-shirt Forum about 4 years ago) that DTG will only ever come into its own as a viable and affordable mid-high volume priting method when it transitioned to a wide format transfer media. I based that on the premise that a wide format printer could produce transfers at speeds far in excess of even an industrial DTG printer at a fraction of the capital investment.
Now that Resolute/TMT have introduced a pro quality DTF printer, is this coming true? Film and ink costs don't look to be too prohibative, considering that there is not much competition in the market, yet. It looks like a 10x12" transfer will cost a little more than a £1 - £1.50 (depending on ink use).
Is it too early to jump, or are the 'early adopter' premiums likely to be too high?
As a screen printer who has printed plastisol transfers in the past I see the 'shake and bake' glue and curing plant as an unnecessary added initial cost for a lot of users.
I know that DTG and DTF are not the same, but the principle of using an inkjet printer to bung a bit of ink onto a t-shirt is close enough to compare the two processes. The ability to print onto polyester is attractive, if it works.
It would be interesting to hear other peoples view.