How To Choose The Best DTG Printer On The Market In 2021

DTG printing developments have offered an opportunity in recent years for an excellent path towards a successful small business enterprise. And even if your business’s main focus isn’t garment manufacturing, the addition of affordable DTG printing technology has allowed for small run production of merchandise on a scale that was previously unheard of. DTG is on a serious upward trend and the general consensus is that this popularity will only increase in the coming year. 

The quality of output and performance that DTG printing offers the clothing industry, decorating industry, and the ability for this affordable and available technology to centralize merch production has all revolutionized how clothing production works in 2021. So let’s take a closer look at what DTG printing is, what it offers, and how to choose the best performing models on the market today. 

 

What Is DTG Printing And How Can It Be Beneficial?

DTG stands for Direct To Garment. This is a special printing method that allows for printing directly onto a garment as a much more convenient and potentially cost effective alternative to screen printing. In reality, the function of these machines is quite similar to a home computer printer, only instead of paper, you can print directly to fabric. For printing custom designs, there is really no parallel now. 

 

    Advantages: 

• Much wider colour range options than a sublimation printer.
• Can print on a wide selection of products including T-shirts, sweats, canvas, hats, bags, shoes, etc. 
• Printing quality is photo realistic. This makes unique designs with extreme levels of detail translate very well. 
• Very fast and efficient, with some models even allowing for multiple garments printed at once.
• Relatively low setup cost with minimal maintenance requirements. 
• Most ink is water-based which makes DTG printing very environmentally friendly. 
• Large community of design templates for quick and easy start-up with software-based design that can be performed on basically any operating system. 
• Reduced cost for smaller runs than traditional screen printing, and no minimums or design limits. 

 

    Drawbacks:

• These machines work mostly with cotton fabrics. Cotton being one of the most popular fabric options makes this still cover a vast amount of garment production, but depending on your goals,this could be limiting. 
• Mass production with a DTG printing setup is absolutely possible, but at a certain production scale, there starts to be a diminishing return on cost efficiency. 
• Speed is quite impressive, but typically it cannot compete with the quickness of sublimation printers. That being said, by offering larger printable areas and the possibility of multiple garments being printed at once, this gets largely mitigated. 
• There can be some limits with precise and specific placement of printing on garments. Not everywhere on a garment will be accessible. 
• There is a substantial upfront cost that won’t be suitable for every operation. 

 

Picking The Right Fit, And Recommendations

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a DTG printer. These machines come at a substantial investment that can range from $10,000 - $500,000. Evaluating what you need and why is crucial. 

So what kinds of questions can you ask yourself before choosing a DTG printer?

• What potential is indeed for volume? How much do you want to be able to print for your needs?
• How fast will you need to be able to produce?
• How much can you invest upfront, and how quickly can that investment pay off?
• What type of work is needed and how does that relate to the printer in question’s features?
• Is the product quality what you need for the level of detail and precision required?
• What features are needed and what are not? Do you need white layering options? Is colour matching going to be integral? What does maintenance look like?
• How quickly can this be up and running?

And one other really important question to consider is, what will the associated costs look like? Additional expenses can drastically change a printer’s value. 

 

Our Top Pick For The MVP Of DTG Printing In 2021:

The options for DTG printing are by no means minimal. There are so many brands and designs to consider, and depending on your answers to the questions above, the right printer for you may be wildly different from another business. That being said, considering all those previous questions, there is one printer that can be recommended as a bit of a Swiss Army Knife for DTG printing without running into dropping $100,000+. With an industry that is growing over 10% annually, finding the right choice is essential. 

 

Epson SureColor F2100 DTG Printer: $17,995 USD

This is simply one of the best and most versatile and accommodating printers on the market for DTG production. This best selling printer checks so many important boxes and should absolutely be considered by most businesses looking for a DTG setup. 

With exceptional quality and color performance, and the use of high quality Epson UltraChrome DG Inks, extreme detail and quality can be achieved at 1 minute and 40 seconds per T-shirt. 

Another key feature of this machine is that by using a white ink filter, nozzle clogging is greatly reduced. Any minimization of maintenance costs can really pay off in the long term. 

Adjustable speeds can be used depending on ink application types, and the integrated self-cleaning system allows for much less downtime and lower operational costs.

Keeping costs low and maintenance minimal, all while maintaining speed and high quality levels is really what it’s all about. The Epson F2100 ink prices may run a little higher than some, but the reduced maintenance costs and operational expenses definitely help balance this out, and the overall quality and bang for your buck really can’t be beat right now. 

Knowing your needs is very important, but in most cases, a great machine will pay off very quickly. This growing lane in garment production is one that should be considered carefully. If you can afford the upfront investment, and have the space, smaller run products will be very well suited to DTG printing.