I bought the icolor 550 a couple of weeks ago after accidentally coming across it existence. I will receive it tomorrow. I am so happy I just watched this video to confirm the decision I made on buying it for my business! Thank you! I look forward to your future vids on using the printer itself.
Great vid! Awesome that you shared it with the Discord community as well. Love the discord community where you share and impart lots and lot of knowledge about the technologies.
I have to say you have a wonderful voice and a great commentary within excellent verbiage your, your thoughts are clear and concise and I'm going to watch the other two-thirds of the video now my only suggestion is I wish you guys would tell me what the price is or at least of your price range how the actual machine as I always find when something is expensive they hide the price and want to do a quotation after the fact
Hey J1rose, Thank you for your kind comment. I know what you mean. Embroidery machines and DTG's are super difficult to nail down a price for. I launched lasertransfersupplies.com late last year and the prices and packages are all out in the open for just that reason. Take care!
This is the best option. Many DTG people don't consider the waste in ink, if you don't do maintenance, then the head gets damaged. It was a total massive waste of money. Here i never worry about my inks drying up, or head clogging. As mentioned, higher end paper yields better results. You still make money.
You are a great presenter, giving off that vibe of intelligence combined with knowledge and oratory skill. One suggestion though: ditch the word "anyways." It may be technically correct, but it grates on the ear and is unprofessional. The proper word is "anyway." Anyway, you are talented beyond your chosen line of business, and I wish the best.
I was looking into heatfx a year back. They use an oki white toner printer with the same process. There are multiple companies doing the same. I had a sample shirt sent to me and it cracked all over after about 5 washes. This was after they applied the correct pressure, used the fancy hotronix press, and their choice of garment. Scared me away from a 10k purchase pretty quick. I had my loan approved and all. I dodged a bullet. Many people are selling their white toner printers now. The paper alone can be hundreds and many struggle getting to the end product. Good video by the way.
Disconcerting. I've heard some things about the OKI like they use a lot more white toner which is the least durable color. Certainly not a silver bullet, and I have a lot of questions about the transfer etc. That would put me off too. Good to see you again ILUMIN
Now 2 years later, could you advice on the best machine nowdays with regards to this video? Great work, you help me decide what to do and how to start. I subbed, liked and here is the comment! Keep it up.
I just purchased the I800 white tone printer and can’t help but want to cancel the order. Don’t get me wrong, your video was great but spending $10,000 on a I800 and another $3,000 on an Epson F570 for sublimation printing. Not to mention I also purchased a Ricoma MT-2001-8s for $19,000 to embroidering. Lol…any advised…what direction did you start at? Any regrets?
I'm currently in the market, so this was very helpful. The plan was to get an Oki then work up to DTG and finally, screen printing. I like the sound of your set up. You have all the bases covered. I subscribed and hit the bell.
Thanks Chris, If you're familiar with Discord our channel is a good place to get information from myself and others who are at various stages of their business. discord.gg/AEX9Zqf
thanks for the overview vid! Would you recommend this machine to someone who is starting out in the apparel space and want to launch a brand with t-shirts and hoodies? Since I'm a designer I do my art but don't know much about this tech part. Thanks for the vids and future ones too 😃
he probably would say no because when you're first starting out you don't want to do more than you can handle. To spend an expensive amount of money on this printer is a big mistake start off with the t shirt press simple labels once you start becoming good enough and you have made sales because remember the hardest part about running a t-shirt business or any business is getting traffic to your website or platform if you don't know how to do all that how are you supposed to make money. But t shirt pressfirst thing you should do and then do the inkjet stuff I will believe that would be the best way but never start off with an expensivemachine because what if you don't like it in the beginning you're just wasting your money
@@tonim8669 hey Toni, thanks for the feedback. To be honest I don't understand your point. I don't have problems with paid advertising like Facebook for example or Google Ads. The thing that I have problem with is the quality of POD companies, shipping, etc. So I would want that in-house if that make sense.
I wish you talked about the washability. I was told that using there premium paper you get maybe 40 washes before the design starts break down. With DTG prints you get over a 100 washes or more. I wanted to buy a Uninet 800 but I can't sell my customer something that isn't going to last.
From experience anything over 50 is a moot point, as the garment is faded and aged in most real world wash scenarios. And this is coming from a screen printer where we anticipate the print outliving any garment we sell. Wash wise iColor has a premium paper, and I'll get into it in another video, that lasts 100 washes. It is the brightest, softest, print I've seen. Once I saw it, I said, this can hang with DTG/simulated process. It isnt cheap, but it exists and competes with all existing processes. It played a big roll in my verdict.
I don't think people understand what 40 or 100 washes look like. If you wear a shirt once a week, after 40 weeks the shirt is faded. Most people don't wear the same shirt more than once a week unless its a work shirt. Custom shirts are worn like 1-2 times a month. 40 washes can mean like 1-2 years of durability. Work shirts for construction, lawn care, painting and any other type of actual work, are stained and torn before washing off. 40 washes is more than enough for any type of shirt. Ask yourself this.. do you have any shirts in your closet that you have washed more than 40 times? Most people are going to say no...
Great video, I have been thinking about buying this IColor 550 as I was going to go with DTG but many people say DTG isn't all its made out to be and the cost is heaps for what you get unless you have $200k to $300k all the ones under $100k seem more like toys, liked & subbed
Show us the wash test! I foresee fading and cracking before 10 washes. When I print four color plus white on dark and cure correctly, my DTG tees only get softer and with minimal to no signs of fade/color loss. DTG customers are purchasing quality, so with that said I print on Roland Heatsoft satin for my customers who are willing to sacrifice quality for price. Personally, I dont see this technology catching on. I see advancements in DTG making this obsolete.
NIC NIK NICKO Yes, in addition I can buy a Ricoh Ri100 that prints on light color shirts for $3100. That s less than this low range white ink laser. DTG machines can print in as little as 1 minute. Where are you getting 6 mins from that you mentioned in the video?
Hey nic... deciding on whether to get this or the roland bn20 which is a print and cut... what do you think in terms of quality. The price is basically the same in south africa
@@ToddBizCoach The Toner prints crack but buying a ricoh ri100 is cutting out a large portion of your market. Most people like colored shirts and dark shirts. Don't do that to yourself if you can't afford $15k for a printer then have it outsourced there are plenty of fulfillment shops that will print and ship for you for a reasonable price some as low as $3.50 per garment printed + shipping.
thank you for the in-depth opinion regarding this printer. Thank you for the business approach discussion that covers hidden costs and potential issues. With an entry-level cost so low I would imagine that purchase with the idea of covering cost would be a good way for someone to start out. I have been considering to purchase one of these for awhile now.
Found your video informative. I always hesitated to get into DTG due to maintenance issues. My question is do you think this system is worth investing into instead of a screen printing set up? I have a small business that hires a local screen printer for my large jobs. The small jobsI use HTV and transfers. Thanks
I enjoyed your video. I have been doing commercial embroidery for years, and have also seen the same sales problems in the embroidery industry. Lots of false promises and half truths. Especially about the learning curve for different processes, and actual profit margins.
I'm just starting my clothing brand I'm getting killed with paying my outsourcing company to much for print 🖨 or embroidery which machine should I buy to start off
Ha, I'm still around! I've been working on a few projects that have kept me from posting new videos for the past several months. That'll be changing soon!
I have an Ri3000 DTG printer and I am tired of the white ink issues. This printer sounds like it could be a solution for my shop. Thnx! I will look into this white toner printer.
Hey! I just found this vid and very informative. We are trying to upgrade from old school transfer paper and vinyl heat press. Just came upon Uninet Icolorprinter just a few days ago and trying to find out if this a a right choice for us with small volume orders. When I say small volume, we are ranging from 10 shirts a week to about 100. Sometimes we get large order of 200 upto 400 at a time. Hoping you to get more information to help us decide.
Entry level for a beginner is Heat Press $400 and Quality Plastisol Transfers through F&M Expressions range from 15 cents to 45 cents a transfer. That is the most cost efficient way to go for jobs 1 to 50 shirts. Anything over 50 shirts supply the Tshirts to a screen printer would be more cost efficient. I like the Omniprint 330 TX Plus DTG because it eliminates all the middle men and that is why it is so expensive. One product, no ordering transfers, no learning curve about an A or B sheet transfer, no issues with peeling a transfer, and can print on dark, light, cotton, cotton poly blends, and 100% poly garments. You did an excellent video but it is clear that the Omniprint 330 TX Plus is definitely cutting into the profits of the multi-step print and transfer markets. It can handle both small and large volume jobs. Good luck, keep the content coming, but I am sold on the Omniprint DTG.
great video glad you put this, have you heard of ColDesi digital heat fx 9541. Cause I'm getting close into investing into one and it looks similar to what you got. now I Want to wait and see how good your printer does.
Hey Luis, I'm aware of both. In my research I dug into the 800 vs their machine, a rebadged OKI, and I found some really important key differences. The operating costs, vibrance of white, and a few other metrics lean heavily in favor of icolor. I'll get into the specifics in an upcoming video most certainly.
Hi watch all your videos on the new icolor printer. A have a question. Me and my son's want to start a small t shirt company and we are thinking of purchasing it but it's not available in Canada. Would you know . Of a Canadian supplier on the west coast . That would ship to Canada .and what other option would you know of for blank t shirts as a supplier . Good quality t shirts at a reasonable price thanks keep up the videos
I"m glad I stumbled across this video. I was just searching the icolor 800 machine vs the i550 yesterday. I wish thee was a way I could get samples of the feel of the transfers to see exactly what the feel is. this video did help a lot. thanks
I've seen some of your other videos. Am assuming that you havent tried the sawgrass sg800 I dnt have one . Been looking in to one. Am thinking it would be a great printer to go with. At a price of 1500 maybe you know more being in the print business. Am look to get one just to do my own shirts.
Hi, I have an OKI 941 which is CMYK+W, what would be your comments of this equipment vs Uninet. And what about Uninet transfer paper is it worth it vs Magic Touch, Forever, etc.
I've seen these type of printers that print in a rectangular area. I actually have a shirt where the front half has full graphic and is 100% cotton so not sublimation. Seems like it was half sewn printed on then finished. I'm like how they do this??
So $7 per blank. I'm assuming you have to purchase 50+ Blanks around $350 in Blanks. DTG .85 in material cost vs $7 Blank + the ink cost. Estimating the ink cost is about the same as a DTG it makes it cost $7 more per shirt. You keep mentioning high production. A $7 per shirt will drastically cut into your profit 📈 margin. I can only see this printer being profitable in low production one off shirts. You would have to sell a shirt at $20+ to turn a profit.
Hey Rick, Let me see if I can clear this up a bit. Shirt cost we'll say $3 for a decent blank with any print method. With DTG on light shirts $0.85-$1.25, the white ink causes the price to spike up to $3-5 and the speed to slow down considerably depending on the model. On our iColor I've been using Select and Standard exclusively, those run between $1.85-$3.70 a print depending on the size of media - the same sheet is used on light and dark shirts. The upkeep with DTG is always an issue, so down days can cost time and money that aren't obvious at first glance on a print cost analysis. We ran a Mother's Day job, 1500 pieces, mommy shirt and a onesie that we drop shipped for our customer at $22 shipped per pair. We were able to print an A3 sheet of select media for 3.25 that held both pieces of art, get a $2 onesie and a $3 bella shirt. Hard cost 8.25 + $3 shipping. We doubled the cost of the blanks, doubled the cost of the media and added several dollars for fulfillment of the project. It was still profitable for us to sell at $7-9 a unit. I hope that helps clear it up!
Man, I’m interested on more information about this technology!! The DTG printer market is full of sharks and I got penalized by a lender because the company trying to sell me the equipment, used this lender as second best! Are you going to post more information about it? My business has contracts with a few local schools and I do different graphics and almost never they use the same graphic! I will love to see more content and information, let me know, we’ll let us know!!!
My personal opinion is anything you do you must take seriously.is it really trying to do this the right way save up money and make sure you have enough money to buy the right products does your first impression always makes a big difference. I've tried with a t-shirt presses and while it does work it's time-consuming and it's more expensive than it's worth. But you know everything is worth it if you put your time and effort into it and you believe it's going to work and you do it right you'll make good money. Always upfront costs six months before you start seeing profit.
If you're just starting out I would say try the cheaper stuff first thing jet printer with a t-shirt pressand see how that goes if you jump into that you might just be throwing your money away because you know you don't you got to have baby steps first don't waste your money unless you know you're ready for that
Uninet has some great vids up now, including with the newest xfer paper that almost feels just like screen printing. This was a great vid for someone that has more than 1 type of production going and wanting to add more. Not a beginner vid but even a great start.... even after a year!
What are you thoughts on how this compares to something like a VersaStudio BN-20 Desktop Inkjet Printer/Cutter? I am looking at the following for providing stickers and am thinking that it would also suffice for one offs for shirts and other garments, but the white toner laser really has me interested in if I should instead invest in one of these instead. Would LOVE to get your thoughts.
I took a look at the BN 20 because I wasn't familiar with it. The shirts produced on one of those wouldn't be pleasant to wear, thick solid vinyl patches. On the other hand if you have a huge demand for stickers and decals, a machine like that may be an option! Full color printed decals is a huge step up from cut vinyl. However the 20 inch roll limit edges you out of being able to use common commercial vinyl roll sizes. I say, prioritize your equipment purchases as first second third and go for the most profit initially. After 10 years, I have an automatic screen printing press, 2 manuals, 3 embroidery machines, a vinyl plotter, a laser toner printer, a sublimation printer, heat presses, hat presses, etc etc etc. Apparel tends to be invoices of 200-1000 for retail orders. Our sticker and decal business has usually been less money and less frequent, your market may be different though! Your first purchase won't be your last, for my first dollars invested I went with a manual screen printing press and added the rest over time. If you havent already, joinnthe discord and we can dial in on your specific needs!
BN-20 is a great machine! I've owned one for over 12 months now, have zero interest in being a sign shop and use it as an extension of my screen printing business, lot's of customers will get shirts done and make matching printed sticker designs, i'd say 40% of my customers will add stickers to shirt order. I also do heat transfer for low quantity orders, use a matte vinyl to make it look less like a vinyl sticker, theres a number of very thin vinyl options out there and feel isn't much worse than a plastisol print, dont be scared to do a printed and die cut on heat transfers, once you dial in your cut settings they are super easy to weed. 20" roll is a non issue, you can order 1.5m rolls and get your supplier to cut them down into 500mm to put into your BN20. FWIW I paid my BN20 off in about 10 months. Super cheap entry into the printed sticker market.
so what do you think you would be better so move to after hitting that limitation wall of htv? Moving to sublimation like with the sawgrass using the easysubli hd inks with forever flex paper or jump to white toner printing? I still consider myself a novice in the t-shirt design but I do have a nice growing base. its just like you said screen printing and screen printed transfers a re just to costly for only a few designs especially since you really have to know that design will sell like hot cakes or charge a higher price to someone wanting multiples just to make a realistic profit. right now I have the means to go either route I'm just still uncertain which would be better for giving me more freedom to create the expanding my potential customer base. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
@@brandsandempires Really? that's great to hear because sublimation seem ok but not really my speed and Laser started talking to me instantly. Have you ever heard of the impressions expo? I saw Stan Banks go on his channel and my eyes lit up I never knew t-shirt design had a con too. hopefully I get to go to the one in August in Texas, because I really want to learn as much as I can about the industry. thanks again for the insight
Please suggest any other printer for forever heat transfer paper instead of oki data ..... Because we don't have those products in our Indian market Please suggest .... It's urgent
So I'm looking at this course over here like 🤔 did you say that you made a course for 7 hours and I'm about to take a course for 7 hours did you make this 😂🤣 and you did and you did make this 💪🏾 I was so happy to see that you really pitched this idea to them and they took you up on your proposition. Whatever you get paid for it it was worth it. I think you would be a great person to do there video sessions. I will be watching it now unless you know what I think.
Ha, thanks Marcus. I'm glad you're getting training for the machine and I really hope you get a lot of value out of the course. Thanks for letting me know. It's hard to know who's been along for the ride!
Thank you for the information. You have provided a lot of answers, and let me know about the product options that is available as an add-on to this printer. I’m looking forward to making my investment in this style of printer. Thank you again.
Lisa, if you do decide on a laser printer We launched lasertransfersupplies.com a few weeks ago. I'd be happy to work with you to get you set up if it's a good fit for your business.
I’d have to know more about your business, volume, etc. Everything has a place! White toner is a reliable tool, until you’ve experienced the pain of maintenance and print head damage it’s hard to fully appreciate something that you can turn on and use when you’re ready. The perceived quality is higher on DTG because it feels softer for large wide open designs. Color gamut, wash fastness, non-plastic stretching are both very similar in reality though. If you’d like you can send me an email at brandsandempires@gmail.com and I’d be happy to help.
I really appreciated everything you said, however I have a few questions, my cousin and I are looking to start a shirt, cups mugs etc personalized business, we want to go all in with the quality, no one I. Our country or city at least has this, would you suggest we go for this? The main goal of our business will be to either have a come and get your own shirt done in minutes or have unique art designs to sell. Price I've seen around is 3695 for the i550
My thoughts exactly. I cut that whole segment from this video and I will be breaking it down per transfer on the most popular transfers in an upcoming video.
That's true, ProRIP doesn't run on Mac. I would say even a $350 laptop can run the software easily, so it's not a massive barrier to entry, still its definitely an unexpected setback if you find out once the printer arrives.
but but but Apple/Mac .... there is almost always a void, but as he said - it will run on a 300.00 laptop.... but not a Mac LOL!!! Mac is a brand, not a god 😋😎
I am looking to buy uninet icolor 540 . Will I be able to print 400 units of Tshirt with the same? How many heat press would I be required to install to achieve the same? I am starting as a fresher in this business and your help would be highly appreciated! Can a print last around 40-50 washes if we rasterize it ?
How quickly are we talking? I'd say 4 heatpresses would make producing 400 pieces a day or two process pretty easily. And yes even the standard paper is supposed to last 60 washes with rasterization.
Peace bro.!! Thank you soooomUch for the education!!! We are jumping into the T-shirt business. We have the capital to purchase this i550. Would you advise a new business to start with this model? We only have 3 consistent contract customers currently. We were looking at a DTG machine. Thank you again!!
He Eye2eye, shoot me an e-mail at richard@lasertransfersupplies.com. With just three contract customers I'm hesitant to say yes or no. Everyone's situation is different!
Good video, have a white toner printer and it's sitting under my table doing nothing, as it is CMYW there is no black so it mixes all of the colours to make a muddy brown instead of a solid black, Also red tones are off and there are no colour profiles for my printer OKI, Also the process is so hit and miss you would have to have a heat press dedicated once you get lucky with a good print as changing the pressure can offset any results that you finally managed to get going. I have bought a non-frankinstien DTG printer ( Ricoh Ri1000 ) which is built for DTG from the ground up And its a beast, I have also seen the Epson F2100 DTG and it is also a beast with very low mantaince and the prints are very consistent once you master the pre treat process.
I'm glad you have a working solution in that Ricoh! At the same time that's so frustrating to hear you ended up with a bad apple. I take the color profiles and RIP software for granted on my iColor, but that's exactly why I discounted laser transfers for so many years.
@@brandsandempires Thanks for the reply, Does your white toner laser printer have a black cartridge? IE CMYK W Or does it also mix CMY to make K ( Black )?
This is the same as the OKI with forever flex? I have just invested into sublimation with the SG800 using sublijet HD. I have already been asked about cotton options which looks like OKI or Unijet (if in the UK)
FOREVER Flex-Soft is entry level. Great Wash-fastness, no weeding, very cheap entry level with 100 Dollar printers - only downside is: it is single colors (including white only).
@@chrishd84 Thanks, Chris! What would be the best solution in this case? I don't want to be hindered by sublimation onto any fabric and need a good solution.
@@CryptoChangingTheWorld depends on what you want to do. There are options that can do almost everything, but that involves investing up to 13K into a printer. And solutions that only need 100 dollars to start. All are self weeding, all work on dark and light cotton and polyester and more. Send an email to the paper producers, they don't profit from printer sales and want satisfied customers (=continuous business Vs one time printer sales like you often see it with DTG)
Danny, from what I've uncovered so far, the UniNet colors seem to have a big edge over OKI on nearly all fronts, especially operating costs, vibrance of their white toner, and the secondary capabilities.
I'm a new starter and just invested in a SG800. I want a good cotton option that is quality through n through and will get customers to trust my brand.
I'm a graphic designer I cartoon stuff and sell sell shirts as an upsell. Does this do good with photo images as well? Trying to branch out to custom photo shirts.
@@brandsandempires I have an Oki 920WT. Most transfer printers use the same types of paper there mostly rebranded. Transfers don't last in the wash and they fade and crack. Transfers do not compare to DTG. Plus you're limited in size and you waste tons of paper at $4 (11x16) per sheet. I have a whole drawer full of unused transfers. I wasn't spending $600 for a rip software that wouldn't make a difference in the print. I can put the circles in the artwork from corel, but when you do that you dull the print. Like I said I own then both and I'm speaking from experience. Transfers are good to start with but the end product isn't retail ready. The biggest complaint is the feel and the cracking and fading after washing.
Hmm wonder why he had no comeback...most if not all of these youtubers are paid informants with free printers etc to make a vid on how so called great they are
dark it's a conspiracy. In all seriousness, If you're curious why I didnt respond, it's because Dalton had valid and real experience with laser toner printing that differs from mine. I know what it's like to be frustrated with no one to share it with, so I wanted to let him have the last word out of respect. I don't have any interest in discounting his points or forcing an agenda. My goal is to present my findings, and open the floor for others to share their honest experience and feelings. He also didn't ask for me to change his mind or give him a state of the industry update either.
@@brandsandempires Dalton has valid points like cracking but I also have a OKI920WT and have also seen a lot of users not like it for reasons that are sometimes their fault… 1. the TransferRIP does make a difference in print… 2. iColor does offer some great paper that wash very well & have a decent hand 3. people don't follow wash instruction 4. people are expecting screen printing and DTG type feel but even they have heavy hand with certain types of prints
The problem with laser printer transfers is . . . There is no one step process, like screen printed transfers. . . All these companies are using OKi laser printers, what they need to do is put the adhesive polymer into the white toner so it fuses the ‘glue’ into and with the base colour for a true one step transfer onto light and dark colour garments, what they fail to say is that you need to press each transfer A+B for 2 minutes to actually make the transfer, if you calculate this time its not much different than DTG @ 6 minutes of print . . . As for longevity I have a Tshirt which was printed with a xerox transfer paper in 1995 so I really dont know why people say laser transfers wash out . . . Maybe it got to do with crappy toner or something or crappy ‘polymer glue’ on the B paper . . . Ether way if they have a 5 colour printer CMYK+W with the white ( base toner ) containing the binding glue then THAT would be actual high level production
For black shirts, and designs where you can put more than one image on a sheet the numbers quickly skew in favor of laser since there is no pretreatment step and the A+B gets divided by the number of images on each sheet. Running 2+ heatpresses comes in cheaper, and further multiplies the speed per employee. We're running 10k a month and growing, just in our laser department, with a single part time employee. That's around 450 orders including folding, bagging, and labeling. I think a true one step method would be great, but running adhesive through a laser is a technical impossibility with current hardware. Im excited to see what the next 10 years brings though!
You're freaking awesome! Best videos on truth in printing industry. I got turned off on dtg and dtf because of TH-cam videos and the headache I see on the FB dtf groups. I'm gravitating towards a white toner printer. 1 question. Can you print out designs and file them to press on a later date? Sorry for the ignorance. I only screen print at the moment. Haven't delved into any heat transferring. Thank you for the video. Subscribed
Hey James, yes sir. So with white toner, you'll print them out, and A+B them so that the glue is in place. After that they are shelf stable pretty indefinitely if the humidity and temperature are under control. If you join the discord channel (link in most of the videos) shoot me a message on there and I'd be happy to answer questions from a screen printer turned transfer printers perspective.
@@brandsandempires I will definitely join after I purchase the printer. I'm about to purchase a commercial grade embroidery machine by next week. Do my hustle with that and screen printing then end goal get the white toner printer. I look forward to joining the discord. Thank you. I hope all is well with you and your family
I have a small scale apparel company and have recently had in increase in sales, which is great however has been expensive due to having to outsource my the printing to a local printer. My designs vary from minimal and single color to multiple color and intricate. I have a website and social media presence so I’ve really Thought about taking in production myself and even offering printing services to other businesses in my area. Would you or anyone here recommend this as a viable option or would a screen printer still be best? I don’t currently have a retail or work space that could accommodate the silkscreen set up so that has been my biggest deterrent. Thanks in advance!
Joshua, you might want to join our discord. A lot of people there are in the startup phase as well. Personally I'd need more specifics about sales volume, art style, distribution options, and time budgets before I could take a stab at a recommendation for you. Every situation is different and I am hesitant to diagnose without understanding yours.
I've printed photographs on it with no problems, they look great. For transfers though, a wide open area of art isn't the best case scenario, you do want negative space.
Sounds and looks exactly like the digital heat fx line, who actually makes the printers and ehich company is just slapping thier label on it? Is one a knock off of the other?
I just purchased mine and I'm stuck because I have no idea how to operate the rip software, can anyone lead me to a support group or something because the guy that was supposedly helping me it's doing a terrible job. I'm so frustrated right now. 😫
Hey plaid, I'm running production at scale like I never anticipated. 1400 shirts this month on laser. It's unreal, and yes after a lot of research between the two to confirm my early thoughts, the OKI is miles behind.
I have been warning people to stay away from DTG for the past 15 + years. I was in industry selling Screen print, Pad print, Hot Stamp, Heat press, etc.. equipment when we started selling the first T-Jet's and then the companies own brand. As soon as I saw all the issues with the earluer machines I was done with DTG. I knew these DTG was only going to steal peoples (End users) money. I was a top sales person at the company I worked for at the time, but when it came to the DTG I was the worst. Not that I could not move them. I did sell a few but after I would pull the buyers aside and informed them of all the draw backs of owning a DTG. My boss would say to me you know you sell a lot of equipment and products but you hardly ever sell a DTG. Its not like they were difficult to sell but my consious would not allow me with what I knew. I am not a fan of the DTG, but I figured by now more then 15 years later they would have gotten all the kinks out of then. All of the issue you pointed out were there back then also.
I think as long as you schedule in advance and take care of travel and lodging expenses they offer the training for free. That is my outside understanding anyways, as while I was there other people were receiving training on a different line of commercial equipment.
Uninet doesn't make anything. It's a relabeled Oki printer. Oki Data has been around for YEARS.......and white toner has been around for almost as long as DTG also. It's just getting some focus now because people have a hard go of DTG because of the need to keep the machine running, OR are looking for a cheaper in. DTF or white toner prints are still junk. Your depending on the adhesion of the inks to the tee....putting ink DIRECT to the garments are always going to be far superior.
DTG is solid in most cases. Every process has its strengths and weaknesses. I think most people need more runway to scale their business before getting their first DTG. Laser bridges that maintenance gap while providing a solid finished product. I found that UniNet does more than rebadge printers though. They hold dozens of patents for their modifications, some make for a generational improvement over baseline OKI's if we're talking 8432wt vs iColor 600. Now that oir shop is running 150k and growing on the laser alone, I can say that it holds its own just fine. I'd still consider getting a GTX pro bulk for certain print jobs and white garment production. But that's the beauty of the industry we're in. You start somewhere and add equipment to plug gaps in your capabilities as you grow.
Brian, not sure if you ever got a solution to that question. I'd reach out to UniNet Imaging directly. They'll send you one without being aggressive about putting you into a sales funnel.
Love the unbiased honesty and your ability to educate (not only on the printing machines and techniques) but on wise business decisions as well.
You are very articulate. I have purchased the Uninet 560 because of your review. So excited to unbox it.
I bought the icolor 550 a couple of weeks ago after accidentally coming across it existence. I will receive it tomorrow. I am so happy I just watched this video to confirm the decision I made on buying it for my business! Thank you! I look forward to your future vids on using the printer itself.
How isbit going after a year? Any issues with it ?
So what's the cost???
Great vid! Awesome that you shared it with the Discord community as well.
Love the discord community where you share and impart lots and lot of knowledge about the technologies.
Thank you, glad you're part of the gang!
I have to say you have a wonderful voice and a great commentary within excellent verbiage your, your thoughts are clear and concise and I'm going to watch the other two-thirds of the video now my only suggestion is I wish you guys would tell me what the price is or at least of your price range how the actual machine as I always find when something is expensive they hide the price and want to do a quotation after the fact
Hey J1rose, Thank you for your kind comment. I know what you mean. Embroidery machines and DTG's are super difficult to nail down a price for. I launched lasertransfersupplies.com late last year and the prices and packages are all out in the open for just that reason. Take care!
WATCHING YOUR BLOGS IT'S LIKE TRAINING DAY... MY MAN... I LIKE IT, YOU SAID IT AS IT IS..... GOOD VIDEO HELPS A LOT. THUMS UP.
Very intelligent.
I appreciate your thorough reviews.
This is the best option. Many DTG people don't consider the waste in ink, if you don't do maintenance, then the head gets damaged. It was a total massive waste of money. Here i never worry about my inks drying up, or head clogging. As mentioned, higher end paper yields better results. You still make money.
You are a great presenter, giving off that vibe of intelligence combined with knowledge and oratory skill. One suggestion though: ditch the word "anyways." It may be technically correct, but it grates on the ear and is unprofessional. The proper word is "anyway." Anyway, you are talented beyond your chosen line of business, and I wish the best.
This was really helpful for me! I've been looking at getting into DTG, but I like this pricepoint better!
Good luck Kelly. Any update on how that's going?
I was looking into heatfx a year back. They use an oki white toner printer with the same process. There are multiple companies doing the same. I had a sample shirt sent to me and it cracked all over after about 5 washes. This was after they applied the correct pressure, used the fancy hotronix press, and their choice of garment. Scared me away from a 10k purchase pretty quick. I had my loan approved and all. I dodged a bullet. Many people are selling their white toner printers now. The paper alone can be hundreds and many struggle getting to the end product. Good video by the way.
Disconcerting. I've heard some things about the OKI like they use a lot more white toner which is the least durable color. Certainly not a silver bullet, and I have a lot of questions about the transfer etc. That would put me off too. Good to see you again ILUMIN
Now 2 years later, could you advice on the best machine nowdays with regards to this video?
Great work, you help me decide what to do and how to start. I subbed, liked and here is the comment!
Keep it up.
Great information. This have been so helpful for me.
I like this guy...Straight forward and accurate...
I just purchased the I800 white tone printer and can’t help but want to cancel the order. Don’t get me wrong, your video was great but spending $10,000 on a I800 and another $3,000 on an Epson F570 for sublimation printing. Not to mention I also purchased a Ricoma MT-2001-8s for $19,000 to embroidering. Lol…any advised…what direction did you start at? Any regrets?
I'm currently in the market, so this was very helpful. The plan was to get an Oki then work up to DTG and finally, screen printing. I like the sound of your set up. You have all the bases covered. I subscribed and hit the bell.
Thanks Chris, If you're familiar with Discord our channel is a good place to get information from myself and others who are at various stages of their business. discord.gg/AEX9Zqf
@@brandsandempires I'll check out. Thanks again .
thanks for the overview vid! Would you recommend this machine to someone who is starting out in the apparel space and want to launch a brand with t-shirts and hoodies? Since I'm a designer I do my art but don't know much about this tech part. Thanks for the vids and future ones too 😃
he probably would say no because when you're first starting out you don't want to do more than you can handle. To spend an expensive amount of money on this printer is a big mistake start off with the t shirt press simple labels once you start becoming good enough and you have made sales because remember the hardest part about running a t-shirt business or any business is getting traffic to your website or platform if you don't know how to do all that how are you supposed to make money. But t shirt pressfirst thing you should do and then do the inkjet stuff I will believe that would be the best way but never start off with an expensivemachine because what if you don't like it in the beginning you're just wasting your money
@@tonim8669 hey Toni, thanks for the feedback. To be honest I don't understand your point. I don't have problems with paid advertising like Facebook for example or Google Ads. The thing that I have problem with is the quality of POD companies, shipping, etc. So I would want that in-house if that make sense.
I wish you talked about the washability. I was told that using there premium paper you get maybe 40 washes before the design starts break down. With DTG prints you get over a 100 washes or more. I wanted to buy a Uninet 800 but I can't sell my customer something that isn't going to last.
From experience anything over 50 is a moot point, as the garment is faded and aged in most real world wash scenarios. And this is coming from a screen printer where we anticipate the print outliving any garment we sell. Wash wise iColor has a premium paper, and I'll get into it in another video, that lasts 100 washes. It is the brightest, softest, print I've seen. Once I saw it, I said, this can hang with DTG/simulated process. It isnt cheap, but it exists and competes with all existing processes. It played a big roll in my verdict.
I don't think people understand what 40 or 100 washes look like.
If you wear a shirt once a week, after 40 weeks the shirt is faded.
Most people don't wear the same shirt more than once a week unless its a work shirt. Custom shirts are worn like 1-2 times a month. 40 washes can mean like 1-2 years of durability.
Work shirts for construction, lawn care, painting and any other type of actual work, are stained and torn before washing off.
40 washes is more than enough for any type of shirt. Ask yourself this.. do you have any shirts in your closet that you have washed more than 40 times? Most people are going to say no...
Great video, I have been thinking about buying this IColor 550 as I was going to go with DTG but many people say DTG isn't all its made out to be and the cost is heaps for what you get unless you have $200k to $300k all the ones under $100k seem more like toys, liked & subbed
Show us the wash test! I foresee fading and cracking before 10 washes. When I print four color plus white on dark and cure correctly, my DTG tees only get softer and with minimal to no signs of fade/color loss. DTG customers are purchasing quality, so with that said I print on Roland Heatsoft satin for my customers who are willing to sacrifice quality for price. Personally, I dont see this technology catching on. I see advancements in DTG making this obsolete.
Yes, I have the Oki. The transfers will crack and fade
NIC NIK NICKO Yes, in addition I can buy a Ricoh Ri100 that prints on light color shirts for $3100. That s less than this low range white ink laser. DTG machines can print in as little as 1 minute. Where are you getting 6 mins from that you mentioned in the video?
What is the cost for ink and papers for a high grade photo quality print/ shirt if doing one or two offs?
Hey nic... deciding on whether to get this or the roland bn20 which is a print and cut... what do you think in terms of quality. The price is basically the same in south africa
@@ToddBizCoach The Toner prints crack but buying a ricoh ri100 is cutting out a large portion of your market. Most people like colored shirts and dark shirts. Don't do that to yourself if you can't afford $15k for a printer then have it outsourced there are plenty of fulfillment shops that will print and ship for you for a reasonable price some as low as $3.50 per garment printed + shipping.
This is very informative. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
thank you for the in-depth opinion regarding this printer. Thank you for the business approach discussion that covers hidden costs and potential issues. With an entry-level cost so low I would imagine that purchase with the idea of covering cost would be a good way for someone to start out. I have been considering to purchase one of these for awhile now.
Wow we were looking into DTG for our shop. Thanks for the video!
Found your video informative. I always hesitated to get into DTG due to maintenance issues. My question is do you think this system is worth investing into instead of a screen printing set up? I have a small business that hires a local screen printer for my large jobs. The small jobsI use HTV and transfers. Thanks
I enjoyed your video. I have been doing commercial embroidery for years, and have also seen the same sales problems in the embroidery industry. Lots of false promises and half truths. Especially about the learning curve for different processes, and actual profit margins.
I'm just starting my clothing brand I'm getting killed with paying my outsourcing company to much for print 🖨 or embroidery which machine should I buy to start off
Pretty cool Vid... Helping me make the deciding on which Heat Transfer printer to get
Talk is cheap show the product with testing.
I think that is a pretty common sentiment. I'm working on a wash test and a print video.
@@brandsandempires Sounds great! I am all about product, testing, and R&D. Can't wait!
Waiting on the wash test video... it's the same price as the roland bn20 in southafrica and cant decide which to take between the two
@@monitizedCode BN 20
@@brandsandempires lookin forward to drability test, i really considering this system .
So glad I found your channel, even if it’s a little late! Just subscribed!
Ha, I'm still around! I've been working on a few projects that have kept me from posting new videos for the past several months. That'll be changing soon!
I have an Ri3000 DTG printer and I am tired of the white ink issues. This printer sounds like it could be a solution for my shop. Thnx! I will look into this white toner printer.
Love your content! 👏🏾
Subscribed!!!!
This sounds like a perfect portable-possible industry for the holidays at the mall.
I dug into that a bit in the latest video. I think it would shine in a kiosk environment too.
appreciate your content very acknowledged
Thank you for the review...I'm new to the printing business though I've started with an iron to sublimate and heat transfer
Thank you so much for this. Could you do All Over Print With this? Not all over but designs that go from the back till the front?
Appreciate your information as I am considering DTG or laser white printer.
YESS, NEW VIDEO, NICE
Haha, glad you made it out tonight sir!
Where can I find that 2.30 sec video on the uninet support site?
Hey! I just found this vid and very informative. We are trying to upgrade from old school transfer paper and vinyl heat press. Just came upon Uninet Icolorprinter just a few days ago and trying to find out if this a a right choice for us with small volume orders. When I say small volume, we are ranging from 10 shirts a week to about 100. Sometimes we get large order of 200 upto 400 at a time. Hoping you to get more information to help us decide.
Entry level for a beginner is Heat Press $400 and Quality Plastisol Transfers through F&M Expressions range from 15 cents to 45 cents a transfer. That is the most cost efficient way to go for jobs 1 to 50 shirts. Anything over 50 shirts supply the Tshirts to a screen printer would be more cost efficient. I like the Omniprint 330 TX Plus DTG because it eliminates all the middle men and that is why it is so expensive. One product, no ordering transfers, no learning curve about an A or B sheet transfer, no issues with peeling a transfer, and can print on dark, light, cotton, cotton poly blends, and 100% poly garments. You did an excellent video but it is clear that the Omniprint 330 TX Plus is definitely cutting into the profits of the multi-step print and transfer markets. It can handle both small and large volume jobs. Good luck, keep the content coming, but I am sold on the Omniprint DTG.
Great video, very informative. My company is in a similar situation, mainly screen print but been looking into DTG.
Thank you for this ... a very honest review of a product I've been looking to get.
this is cool just cool CAN'T STOP LEARNING.
Thanks again Levite! Glad you're growing too man.
great video glad you put this, have you heard of ColDesi digital heat fx 9541. Cause I'm getting close into investing into one and it looks similar to what you got. now I Want to wait and see how good your printer does.
Hey Luis, I'm aware of both. In my research I dug into the 800 vs their machine, a rebadged OKI, and I found some really important key differences. The operating costs, vibrance of white, and a few other metrics lean heavily in favor of icolor. I'll get into the specifics in an upcoming video most certainly.
Do You know what and where are the cheapest papers to get for white printers?
Hi watch all your videos on the new icolor printer. A have a question. Me and my son's want to start a small t shirt company and we are thinking of purchasing it but it's not available in Canada. Would you know . Of a Canadian supplier on the west coast . That would ship to Canada .and what other option would you know of for blank t shirts as a supplier . Good quality t shirts at a reasonable price thanks keep up the videos
Thank you mi hermano last video I'm just made up my mind, thank you for the knowledge and the inspiration God bless you
Did you get one? How has it been?
Should I get the epson we 7720 and convert it to a sublimation printer or just buy the oki printer I can’t do sublimation with it
But how does DTF transfers feel on tshirts being a toner vs DTG being inkjet.
I"m glad I stumbled across this video. I was just searching the icolor 800 machine vs the i550 yesterday. I wish thee was a way I could get samples of the feel of the transfers to see exactly what the feel is. this video did help a lot. thanks
Find some one who prints using that and pay for a shirt to test. $20 may save you $3500
@@veeanon2238 good idea...thanks
Now Yuo Gotta Try Supacolor
I've seen some of your other videos. Am assuming that you havent tried the sawgrass sg800 I dnt have one . Been looking in to one. Am thinking it would be a great printer to go with. At a price of 1500 maybe you know more being in the print business. Am look to get one just to do my own shirts.
that is only for white 100% polyester. Not cotton or darks
Cant wait for the updates
Starting to roll them out a little at a time. I'll keep them coming though!
Hi, I have an OKI 941 which is CMYK+W, what would be your comments of this equipment vs Uninet.
And what about Uninet transfer paper is it worth it vs Magic Touch, Forever, etc.
I've seen these type of printers that print in a rectangular area. I actually have a shirt where the front half has full graphic and is 100% cotton so not sublimation. Seems like it was half sewn printed on then finished. I'm like how they do this??
So $7 per blank. I'm assuming you have to purchase 50+ Blanks around $350 in Blanks.
DTG .85 in material cost vs $7 Blank + the ink cost. Estimating the ink cost is about the same as a DTG it makes it cost $7 more per shirt. You keep mentioning high production. A $7 per shirt will drastically cut into your profit 📈 margin. I can only see this printer being profitable in low production one off shirts. You would have to sell a shirt at $20+ to turn a profit.
Hey Rick, Let me see if I can clear this up a bit. Shirt cost we'll say $3 for a decent blank with any print method. With DTG on light shirts $0.85-$1.25, the white ink causes the price to spike up to $3-5 and the speed to slow down considerably depending on the model. On our iColor I've been using Select and Standard exclusively, those run between $1.85-$3.70 a print depending on the size of media - the same sheet is used on light and dark shirts. The upkeep with DTG is always an issue, so down days can cost time and money that aren't obvious at first glance on a print cost analysis.
We ran a Mother's Day job, 1500 pieces, mommy shirt and a onesie that we drop shipped for our customer at $22 shipped per pair. We were able to print an A3 sheet of select media for 3.25 that held both pieces of art, get a $2 onesie and a $3 bella shirt. Hard cost 8.25 + $3 shipping. We doubled the cost of the blanks, doubled the cost of the media and added several dollars for fulfillment of the project. It was still profitable for us to sell at $7-9 a unit. I hope that helps clear it up!
Man, I’m interested on more information about this technology!! The DTG printer market is full of sharks and I got penalized by a lender because the company trying to sell me the equipment, used this lender as second best! Are you going to post more information about it? My business has contracts with a few local schools and I do different graphics and almost never they use the same graphic! I will love to see more content and information, let me know, we’ll let us know!!!
I certainly will be posting more information in the coming weeks. More hands on stuff too, which isn't my normal!
Very Helpful vedio mate. I have concern about the A and B paper cost used in this process. Could you please help me out?
Great video, however I am just starting out. Would you recommend this machine or something simple as in a inkjet printer?
My personal opinion is anything you do you must take seriously.is it really trying to do this the right way save up money and make sure you have enough money to buy the right products does your first impression always makes a big difference. I've tried with a t-shirt presses and while it does work it's time-consuming and it's more expensive than it's worth. But you know everything is worth it if you put your time and effort into it and you believe it's going to work and you do it right you'll make good money. Always upfront costs six months before you start seeing profit.
If you're just starting out I would say try the cheaper stuff first thing jet printer with a t-shirt pressand see how that goes if you jump into that you might just be throwing your money away because you know you don't you got to have baby steps first don't waste your money unless you know you're ready for that
I appreciate the video. As someone searching around trying to learn about this, some visual examples would be appreciated.
Uninet has some great vids up now, including with the newest xfer paper that almost feels just like screen printing. This was a great vid for someone that has more than 1 type of production going and wanting to add more. Not a beginner vid but even a great start.... even after a year!
What are you thoughts on how this compares to something like a VersaStudio BN-20 Desktop Inkjet Printer/Cutter? I am looking at the following for providing stickers and am thinking that it would also suffice for one offs for shirts and other garments, but the white toner laser really has me interested in if I should instead invest in one of these instead. Would LOVE to get your thoughts.
I took a look at the BN 20 because I wasn't familiar with it. The shirts produced on one of those wouldn't be pleasant to wear, thick solid vinyl patches. On the other hand if you have a huge demand for stickers and decals, a machine like that may be an option! Full color printed decals is a huge step up from cut vinyl. However the 20 inch roll limit edges you out of being able to use common commercial vinyl roll sizes. I say, prioritize your equipment purchases as first second third and go for the most profit initially. After 10 years, I have an automatic screen printing press, 2 manuals, 3 embroidery machines, a vinyl plotter, a laser toner printer, a sublimation printer, heat presses, hat presses, etc etc etc. Apparel tends to be invoices of 200-1000 for retail orders. Our sticker and decal business has usually been less money and less frequent, your market may be different though! Your first purchase won't be your last, for my first dollars invested I went with a manual screen printing press and added the rest over time. If you havent already, joinnthe discord and we can dial in on your specific needs!
BN-20 is a great machine! I've owned one for over 12 months now, have zero interest in being a sign shop and use it as an extension of my screen printing business, lot's of customers will get shirts done and make matching printed sticker designs, i'd say 40% of my customers will add stickers to shirt order. I also do heat transfer for low quantity orders, use a matte vinyl to make it look less like a vinyl sticker, theres a number of very thin vinyl options out there and feel isn't much worse than a plastisol print, dont be scared to do a printed and die cut on heat transfers, once you dial in your cut settings they are super easy to weed. 20" roll is a non issue, you can order 1.5m rolls and get your supplier to cut them down into 500mm to put into your BN20. FWIW I paid my BN20 off in about 10 months. Super cheap entry into the printed sticker market.
so what do you think you would be better so move to after hitting that limitation wall of htv? Moving to sublimation like with the sawgrass using the easysubli hd inks with forever flex paper or jump to white toner printing? I still consider myself a novice in the t-shirt design but I do have a nice growing base. its just like you said screen printing and screen printed transfers a re just to costly for only a few designs especially since you really have to know that design will sell like hot cakes or charge a higher price to someone wanting multiples just to make a realistic profit. right now I have the means to go either route I'm just still uncertain which would be better for giving me more freedom to create the expanding my potential customer base. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
I moved into laser this year. Its working out amazingly well.
@@brandsandempires Really? that's great to hear because sublimation seem ok but not really my speed and Laser started talking to me instantly. Have you ever heard of the impressions expo? I saw Stan Banks go on his channel and my eyes lit up I never knew t-shirt design had a con too. hopefully I get to go to the one in August in Texas, because I really want to learn as much as I can about the industry. thanks again for the insight
Please suggest any other printer for forever heat transfer paper instead of oki data ..... Because we don't have those products in our Indian market
Please suggest .... It's urgent
iColor is the only brand I'd recommend. But that's likely to be just as difficult to source as OKI!
So I'm looking at this course over here like 🤔 did you say that you made a course for 7 hours and I'm about to take a course for 7 hours did you make this 😂🤣 and you did and you did make this 💪🏾 I was so happy to see that you really pitched this idea to them and they took you up on your proposition. Whatever you get paid for it it was worth it. I think you would be a great person to do there video sessions. I will be watching it now unless you know what I think.
Ha, thanks Marcus. I'm glad you're getting training for the machine and I really hope you get a lot of value out of the course. Thanks for letting me know. It's hard to know who's been along for the ride!
Can you use the rip software with a Mac?
Thank you for the information. You have provided a lot of answers, and let me know about the product options that is available as an add-on to this printer. I’m looking forward to making my investment in this style of printer. Thank you again.
Lisa, if you do decide on a laser printer We launched lasertransfersupplies.com a few weeks ago. I'd be happy to work with you to get you set up if it's a good fit for your business.
Hi, is it possible to print Cyan, Magenta, yellow, black and white on gry background fabric?? Please can someone answer...at one go...
Do you still feel this way? Trying to decide between white toner or Epson dtg-
I’d have to know more about your business, volume, etc. Everything has a place! White toner is a reliable tool, until you’ve experienced the pain of maintenance and print head damage it’s hard to fully appreciate something that you can turn on and use when you’re ready. The perceived quality is higher on DTG because it feels softer for large wide open designs. Color gamut, wash fastness, non-plastic stretching are both very similar in reality though. If you’d like you can send me an email at brandsandempires@gmail.com and I’d be happy to help.
I really appreciated everything you said, however I have a few questions, my cousin and I are looking to start a shirt, cups mugs etc personalized business, we want to go all in with the quality, no one I. Our country or city at least has this, would you suggest we go for this? The main goal of our business will be to either have a come and get your own shirt done in minutes or have unique art designs to sell. Price I've seen around is 3695 for the i550
What about the cost of ink ? Does that pose an issue with profit ?
Would really be interested in a cost per print analysis
My thoughts exactly. I cut that whole segment from this video and I will be breaking it down per transfer on the most popular transfers in an upcoming video.
@@brandsandempires Thanks! Gave me a whole new avenue to look into!
What abouut printing over zippers? thats my concern.
It might be good to add that Uninet software is not compatible with Mac/Apple. Windows only. I’m so glad I read this before purchasing!
That's true, ProRIP doesn't run on Mac. I would say even a $350 laptop can run the software easily, so it's not a massive barrier to entry, still its definitely an unexpected setback if you find out once the printer arrives.
but but but Apple/Mac .... there is almost always a void, but as he said - it will run on a 300.00 laptop.... but not a Mac LOL!!!
Mac is a brand, not a god 😋😎
What extra features do the icolor 800 have over the 550
I am looking to buy uninet icolor 540 . Will I be able to print 400 units of Tshirt with the same? How many heat press would I be required to install to achieve the same? I am starting as a fresher in this business and your help would be highly appreciated!
Can a print last around 40-50 washes if we rasterize it ?
How quickly are we talking? I'd say 4 heatpresses would make producing 400 pieces a day or two process pretty easily. And yes even the standard paper is supposed to last 60 washes with rasterization.
Peace bro.!!
Thank you soooomUch for the education!!!
We are jumping into the T-shirt business. We have the capital to purchase this i550. Would you advise a new business to start with this model? We only have 3 consistent contract customers currently.
We were looking at a DTG machine.
Thank you again!!
He Eye2eye, shoot me an e-mail at richard@lasertransfersupplies.com. With just three contract customers I'm hesitant to say yes or no. Everyone's situation is different!
Good video, have a white toner printer and it's sitting under my table doing nothing, as it is CMYW there is no black so it mixes all of the colours to make a muddy brown instead of a solid black, Also red tones are off and there are no colour profiles for my printer OKI, Also the process is so hit and miss you would have to have a heat press dedicated once you get lucky with a good print as changing the pressure can offset any results that you finally managed to get going. I have bought a non-frankinstien DTG printer ( Ricoh Ri1000 ) which is built for DTG from the ground up And its a beast, I have also seen the Epson F2100 DTG and it is also a beast with very low mantaince and the prints are very consistent once you master the pre treat process.
I'm glad you have a working solution in that Ricoh! At the same time that's so frustrating to hear you ended up with a bad apple. I take the color profiles and RIP software for granted on my iColor, but that's exactly why I discounted laser transfers for so many years.
@@brandsandempires Thanks for the reply, Does your white toner laser printer have a black cartridge? IE CMYK W Or does it also mix CMY to make K ( Black )?
Great insight on the technology. Thanks
What's the difference with okidata white tone laser printer?
This is the same as the OKI with forever flex? I have just invested into sublimation with the SG800 using sublijet HD. I have already been asked about cotton options which looks like OKI or Unijet (if in the UK)
FOREVER Flex-Soft is entry level. Great Wash-fastness, no weeding, very cheap entry level with 100 Dollar printers - only downside is: it is single colors (including white only).
@@chrishd84 Thanks, Chris! What would be the best solution in this case? I don't want to be hindered by sublimation onto any fabric and need a good solution.
@@CryptoChangingTheWorld depends on what you want to do. There are options that can do almost everything, but that involves investing up to 13K into a printer. And solutions that only need 100 dollars to start.
All are self weeding, all work on dark and light cotton and polyester and more.
Send an email to the paper producers, they don't profit from printer sales and want satisfied customers (=continuous business Vs one time printer sales like you often see it with DTG)
Danny, from what I've uncovered so far, the UniNet colors seem to have a big edge over OKI on nearly all fronts, especially operating costs, vibrance of their white toner, and the secondary capabilities.
I'm a new starter and just invested in a SG800. I want a good cotton option that is quality through n through and will get customers to trust my brand.
I'm a graphic designer I cartoon stuff and sell sell shirts as an upsell. Does this do good with photo images as well? Trying to branch out to custom photo shirts.
I'm going to show some examples of work and color gamut in the coming videos. It definitely needs to be a good fit before you jump in.
I own a laser transfer printer and upgraded to DTG. Transfers are crap compared to DTG .
Dalton, what kind of printer did you have? Also what transfers did you see poor results with, and were you using a rip software?
@@brandsandempires I have an Oki 920WT. Most transfer printers use the same types of paper there mostly rebranded. Transfers don't last in the wash and they fade and crack. Transfers do not compare to DTG. Plus you're limited in size and you waste tons of paper at $4 (11x16) per sheet. I have a whole drawer full of unused transfers. I wasn't spending $600 for a rip software that wouldn't make a difference in the print. I can put the circles in the artwork from corel, but when you do that you dull the print. Like I said I own then both and I'm speaking from experience. Transfers are good to start with but the end product isn't retail ready. The biggest complaint is the feel and the cracking and fading after washing.
Hmm wonder why he had no comeback...most if not all of these youtubers are paid informants with free printers etc to make a vid on how so called great they are
dark it's a conspiracy. In all seriousness, If you're curious why I didnt respond, it's because Dalton had valid and real experience with laser toner printing that differs from mine. I know what it's like to be frustrated with no one to share it with, so I wanted to let him have the last word out of respect. I don't have any interest in discounting his points or forcing an agenda. My goal is to present my findings, and open the floor for others to share their honest experience and feelings. He also didn't ask for me to change his mind or give him a state of the industry update either.
@@brandsandempires Dalton has valid points like cracking but I also have a OKI920WT and have also seen a lot of users not like it for reasons that are sometimes their fault… 1. the TransferRIP does make a difference in print… 2. iColor does offer some great paper that wash very well & have a decent hand 3. people don't follow wash instruction 4. people are expecting screen printing and DTG type feel but even they have heavy hand with certain types of prints
The problem with laser printer transfers is . . . There is no one step process, like screen printed transfers. . . All these companies are using OKi laser printers, what they need to do is put the adhesive polymer into the white toner so it fuses the ‘glue’ into and with the base colour for a true one step transfer onto light and dark colour garments, what they fail to say is that you need to press each transfer A+B for 2 minutes to actually make the transfer, if you calculate this time its not much different than DTG @ 6 minutes of print . . . As for longevity I have a Tshirt which was printed with a xerox transfer paper in 1995 so I really dont know why people say laser transfers wash out . . . Maybe it got to do with crappy toner or something or crappy ‘polymer glue’ on the B paper . . . Ether way if they have a 5 colour printer CMYK+W with the white ( base toner ) containing the binding glue then THAT would be actual high level production
For black shirts, and designs where you can put more than one image on a sheet the numbers quickly skew in favor of laser since there is no pretreatment step and the A+B gets divided by the number of images on each sheet. Running 2+ heatpresses comes in cheaper, and further multiplies the speed per employee. We're running 10k a month and growing, just in our laser department, with a single part time employee. That's around 450 orders including folding, bagging, and labeling. I think a true one step method would be great, but running adhesive through a laser is a technical impossibility with current hardware. Im excited to see what the next 10 years brings though!
You're freaking awesome! Best videos on truth in printing industry. I got turned off on dtg and dtf because of TH-cam videos and the headache I see on the FB dtf groups. I'm gravitating towards a white toner printer. 1 question. Can you print out designs and file them to press on a later date? Sorry for the ignorance. I only screen print at the moment. Haven't delved into any heat transferring. Thank you for the video. Subscribed
Hey James, yes sir. So with white toner, you'll print them out, and A+B them so that the glue is in place. After that they are shelf stable pretty indefinitely if the humidity and temperature are under control. If you join the discord channel (link in most of the videos) shoot me a message on there and I'd be happy to answer questions from a screen printer turned transfer printers perspective.
@@brandsandempires I will definitely join after I purchase the printer. I'm about to purchase a commercial grade embroidery machine by next week. Do my hustle with that and screen printing then end goal get the white toner printer. I look forward to joining the discord. Thank you. I hope all is well with you and your family
How much did they pay you to make this video
Great video ✌️😎
I just bought a dtg printer. Future me couldnt be happier
I have a small scale apparel company and have recently had in increase in sales, which is great however has been expensive due to having to outsource my the printing to a local printer. My designs vary from minimal and single color to multiple color and intricate. I have a website and social media presence so I’ve really
Thought about taking in production myself and even offering printing services to other businesses in my area. Would you or anyone here recommend this as a viable option or would a screen printer still be best? I don’t currently have a retail or work space that could accommodate the silkscreen set up so that has been my biggest deterrent. Thanks in advance!
Joshua, you might want to join our discord. A lot of people there are in the startup phase as well. Personally I'd need more specifics about sales volume, art style, distribution options, and time budgets before I could take a stab at a recommendation for you. Every situation is different and I am hesitant to diagnose without understanding yours.
Can this print a photograph with a good outcome?
I've printed photographs on it with no problems, they look great. For transfers though, a wide open area of art isn't the best case scenario, you do want negative space.
What is the price we would like to buy in india
Sounds and looks exactly like the digital heat fx line, who actually makes the printers and ehich company is just slapping thier label on it? Is one a knock off of the other?
Not even close. A premium DTG print is so much better in every way if you value a quality t shirt. I tried laser transfers, they’re junk.
Where is the demo of the unit?
I'm glad you asked. th-cam.com/video/d6DAeJyy84Q/w-d-xo.html
How long does t shirts last for
I just purchased mine and I'm stuck because I have no idea how to operate the rip software, can anyone lead me to a support group or something because the guy that was supposedly helping me it's doing a terrible job. I'm so frustrated right now. 😫
Goldie, did you ever discover the white toner laser support group on facebook?
@@brandsandempires yes I did, thanks a lot. 😎👍🏾
Any update?? You like it? And is it better than the oki? Thanks
Hey plaid, I'm running production at scale like I never anticipated. 1400 shirts this month on laser. It's unreal, and yes after a lot of research between the two to confirm my early thoughts, the OKI is miles behind.
I have been warning people to stay away from DTG for the past 15 + years. I was in industry selling Screen print, Pad print, Hot Stamp, Heat press, etc.. equipment when we started selling the first T-Jet's and then the companies own brand. As soon as I saw all the issues with the earluer machines I was done with DTG. I knew these DTG was only going to steal peoples (End users) money. I was a top sales person at the company I worked for at the time, but when it came to the DTG I was the worst. Not that I could not move them. I did sell a few but after I would pull the buyers aside and informed them of all the draw backs of owning a DTG. My boss would say to me you know you sell a lot of equipment and products but you hardly ever sell a DTG. Its not like they were difficult to sell but my consious would not allow me with what I knew. I am not a fan of the DTG, but I figured by now more then 15 years later they would have gotten all the kinks out of then.
All of the issue you pointed out were there back then also.
Thank you for sharing.
thank you so much!!!! I was about to buy a DTG Epson printer and you opened my eyes!!!! I do appreciate your honesty.
Is the training something they are willing to do for anyone interested? Or is that a one off thing they did for you?
I think as long as you schedule in advance and take care of travel and lodging expenses they offer the training for free. That is my outside understanding anyways, as while I was there other people were receiving training on a different line of commercial equipment.
Uninet doesn't make anything. It's a relabeled Oki printer. Oki Data has been around for YEARS.......and white toner has been around for almost as long as DTG also. It's just getting some focus now because people have a hard go of DTG because of the need to keep the machine running, OR are looking for a cheaper in. DTF or white toner prints are still junk. Your depending on the adhesion of the inks to the tee....putting ink DIRECT to the garments are always going to be far superior.
DTG is solid in most cases. Every process has its strengths and weaknesses. I think most people need more runway to scale their business before getting their first DTG. Laser bridges that maintenance gap while providing a solid finished product.
I found that UniNet does more than rebadge printers though. They hold dozens of patents for their modifications, some make for a generational improvement over baseline OKI's if we're talking 8432wt vs iColor 600. Now that oir shop is running 150k and growing on the laser alone, I can say that it holds its own just fine. I'd still consider getting a GTX pro bulk for certain print jobs and white garment production. But that's the beauty of the industry we're in. You start somewhere and add equipment to plug gaps in your capabilities as you grow.
Hi there.
Great video
Where can I get a sample to press?
Brian, not sure if you ever got a solution to that question. I'd reach out to UniNet Imaging directly. They'll send you one without being aggressive about putting you into a sales funnel.