Wearing custom-designed clothes, personally designing decor items or merchandise is a growing trend among people today. And to get the best out of their designs, they take up a printing method. Here in this article today, we will discuss the three most popular fabric printers available and will help you find your perfect printer type.
Dye-Sublimation Printers:
The dye-sublimation method of printing is one of the most popular methods of printing t-shirts and merchandizes. This method involves printing your designs onto a special sublimation paper and then heat pressing it in the fabric. The final print of this type of printing is permanent and vibrant.
The printers used in the dye-sublimation printing process are specially designed to give high contrast and vibrant color to the final print. They also possess certain features to work efficiently with precision.
Features:
- Multiple Piezo inkjet Print Head – A top-quality sublimation printer will possess multiple Piezo inkjet print heads that contain nozzles of different sizes to allow finer details, high color density, and high-resolution vector outputs.
- Separate Color Section With Ink Modes – To get high-speed prints with great resolution, a good quality sublimation printer will have specific modes in which they can print according to the need. Also, in some printers, you will get to choose from a 4-color or 8-color option giving you the ability to reproduce Solid Coated colors.
- Prints On Special Papers and Compatibility – To obtain the perfect results, you will have to print on special sublimation papers using sublimation inks that are compatible with the sublimation printer.
- Replicates on-demand – These printers are very versatile, you will be able to make and print your custom design or simply send a print directly from the internet and they will replicate it on the special paper.
Best Sublimation Printers:
Some of the best sublimation printers can be:
- Epson EcoTank ET-15000
- Epson Surecolor F570
- SAWGRASS VIRTUOSO SG1000 T-Shirt Printer
- Epson ET-2720
- SAWGRASS VIRTUOSO SG500
DTG Printers:
Direct To Garment printing or DTG printing is a type of printing where you print your design directly on the garment. It is also one of the most popular types of printing due to its easy way of execution and fine result.
To get the perfect print on your t-shirt, you will need special DTG printers that are compatible with the fabric also produces high-resolution prints. A good DTG printer must have some special features, let’s have a look at them.
Features:
- High-Speed One Pass Printing – The DTG printers generally use high viscosity GT inks that allow them to print both the white base coating and the design above it with just one pass thereby reducing the speed and increasing productivity.
- Vivid And High-Quality Print – DTG printers generally possess precision print heads that allows them to print with great precision and resolution as high as 1200 dpi giving you a crisp and clear final design.
- Print Area Versatility – DTG printers give you the freedom to print over any type of substance. The print heads in the DTG printers generally have a large base area for printing that is perfect for printing on hoodies, caps, t-shirts, and other promotional goods.
- Easy Connectivity And Smooth Printing – You can connect these printers with the internet through a built-in LAN connection and command it to print any type of picture files from any system Windows or Mac.
Best DTG Printers:
Some of the best DTG printers can be:
- Sertec Eagle TX Series
- DTG M6 Industrial DTG Printer
- Brother GTX DTG Printer
- Epson SureColor F2100 DTG Printer
- NeoFlex 800 DTG printer
Screen Printing Printers:
Screen Printing is a different way of printing than the above two mentioned ways., you will need to make a print template and then place it on the screen printer and pour color over it to make your paint. This type of printing creates durable and vivid results.
The printers used in this type of printing are also different from the traditional printers and also have a different way of working and features.
Features:
- Silk Mesh Stencil – The Screen Printers use a silk mesh stencil to print the designs onto the fabric.
- Print on a variety of materials – Using the screen printers, you can easily print on different types of materials ranging from very flexible and thin to hard and thick materials.
- Print versatility – These printers can print the same design in different colors and textures maintaining the quality and resolution intact.
Best Screen Printing Printers:
Some of the best printers for Screen printing can be:
- Yudu Personal Screen Printer
- VEVOR Screen Printing Machine
- Mophorn Screen Printing Kit
- SHZOND Screen Printing Press
- Merchmakr All-in-One Screen Printing Kit
Comparison Between Sublimation Printers, DTG Printers, and Screen Printers
To understand the working and efficiency of the printers, it is necessary to compare them side by side on various factors and then have a clear picture about them and then go for the preferred one.
| Factors | Sublimation Printer | DTG Printer | Screen Printer |
| Print Surface | Sublimation Paper | Prints directly on the fabric | Prints directly on the fabric |
| Printing Method | Heat-press the ink from paper to the fabric | Heat-press the ink on the fabric directly. | Heat-press (if required) the ink on the fabric directly. |
| Print Quality | High-quality | High-quality | High quality |
| Print precision | Yes | Yes | No |
| Unlimited color combination | Yes | Yes | No |
| Print Durability | Highly durable and permanent | Highly durable | Not sustainable for a long time |
| Print Cost | Comparatively low | Comparatively High | High production cost |
| Initial investment | Heavy initial investment | Heavy initial investment | A comparatively low initial investment |
| Ink compatibility and usage | Specific sublimation ink is required and used | Special textile ink is used | Plastisol ink is directly poured on the printer. |
| Cost of printers | Starts from about $500 and extends up to $2500 | Starts from about $16,000 and go beyond | The average cost will be around $150 |
| Print speed | It can print in seconds | Takes comparatively more time to print. | Takes the highest time to print and dry. |
| Suitable material type | Light-colored | Light-colored | Can be used for both light and dark-colored clothes. |
| Compatible materials | Polyester and polymers | Cotton | Cotton, silk, wool |
Final Words:
Whether you want to start a clothes printing business or you are already into this industry, it always good to look for options to expand more. Hence, you must check these printers and choose the one that suits your business the most. All these printer types are the best in their respective segment, so get the one that can boost your business to new heights and take you to new roads of success.
