DTG Vs Print on Vinyl

[Earl Smith]

The downfall of the laser papers is the longevity, unless they've improved any?

30 to 40 washes in my book is not long enough for a premium garment print to last...

I can see customers returning garments and muttering about the sale of goods act (in the UK), quite legitimately to my mind.

They are improving but I dont think they will last for 30 to 40 washes. Neither will DTG. I have a t-shirt with around 20 washes and its still ok with the laser print. 30 to 40, wait and see.
The best is the good old screen print. I have a sweat from about 1997 and the print looks as good as the day it was printed. The sweat is falling apart and only used in the garden but the print is great.

[willd]

They are improving but I dont think they will last for 30 to 40 washes. Neither will DTG. I have a t-shirt with around 20 washes and its still ok with the laser print. 30 to 40, wait and see.
The best is the good old screen print. I have a sweat from about 1997 and the print looks as good as the day it was printed. The sweat is falling apart and only used in the garden but the print is great.

We have printed leaver's hoodies and t shirts for a few years now, originally using cut vinyl for the rather large and intricate motif containing the leavers' names, which was a bit of a bore, but nothing more.

Until we received a rogue roll of vinyl which was much more flexible than standard, and it appeared that on the final cut of most letters the last corner to be cut wasn't fully cut, as it seemed that the vinyl was pushed away rather than cut.

Since we were on a very tight deadline, we had no option but to persevere, weeding each motif took 40 minutes, and most of them also needed repairs too.

Never again said I, and we moved to a no weed two paper laser system thereafter.

We still have an early t shirt in the family, "printed" with cut vinyl, which we think has probably been washed 150 plus times, and the motif still looks as new.

In all of the discussions that we had with the suppliers of the two part laser paper system before we purchased it, they never raised the issue of print failure, which I find hard to believe.

We've had no complaints at all, but we are presently tracing some people who have purchased the hoodies/shirts to get some feedback, and we have made the decision to go back to cut vinyl...

[IrishPrint]

So everyone, listen - the information in this thread is absolute gold to a newbie, thank you so much for sharing all this insight.

So we went across to the uk and visited some shops, got some demos, and the real multi-functional value of the Printer Cutter won hands down and we were shopping in the pre-owned market to see what we could pick up.

Then something happened.

We get a call from the same guys that prompted this post in the first place, looking to order 5000 pc of quite a specific t shirt design for a martial arts tour they'll be co promoting at the end of this year.

Now this is where it gets tricky - we have the design, and I'm not going to post it - but I'll post something very very similar in terms of shirt real estate so you catch our dilemma - the design covers, in a continuous and fluid motion, not only the chest but the shoulders and sleeves and rib area in a large spread across the seams.

Now I've taken the order - learned in business a long time ago when the big cash is dangling, you say no problem and get it signed - figure the rest out later. Worst case scenario, we chop right into the profit margin and outsource - but I'm not ready to give up yet.

Just before we part with the money for the Printer Cutter, I'm now reconsidering using the money for a DTG with a large enough box to cover this.

I'm hoping you guys can jump in here and tell me if that sort of design is do-able in a DTG or if it would be screen only - something we're not looking to get involved in doing, so would need to outsource.

Welcome all your thoughts and thankful always.

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[Earl Smith]

Hi. Congrates on the order.
With my limited knowledge of DTG Id say that it is too large a design to print. Unless your looking at a Kornit or maybe the large Brother machines. Mucho money needed.
For that quantity Id say to look at getting a Screen print setup. Much much cheaper. The cost per print would be minimal , cents for each print.
THe real problem with screen print is the space you will need to set it up. You will also need a dark room and a wet room for washing the screens. Dont use your bathroom, the wife will kill you. The printer could be a one arm, one colour setup so you wont need too much space.
Or you could have transfers made. Again the quantity is to your advantage for a good price. The only problem would be the need for a very large heat press.
Good luck. Im sure there are more knowledgable peeps on here who will have ideas too.

[Quinsfan]

Do they have to be cotton t shirts? How about getting them made as a whole item? Find a manufacturer with a wide format textile printer and get them to make the tshirts. I am sure at that large volume there should be enough wiggle room for you all to make a bit of money.

[Stitch Up]

Zoti Sports http://www.zotisports.com/ may be an option?

[Dalbag123]

How did you get on with this job? Did you go dtg or print and cut in the end?

[logobear]

I would have thought for 5000 off that screen print would be the best way ?

[Stitch Up]

I would have thought for 5000 off that screen print would be the best way ?

No doubt about that! 5000 on a DTG - impossible.