Direct to Garment Printing Services: Technology Delivers Flexibility

The direct to garment printing services offer a more robust range now due to technological advancements.. Introduction of newer technology has served to expand their prospects. No longer tied down by restrictions imposed by CMYK, direct to garment (DTG) systems have improved, promising greater production capacities, expanded garment types and materials, and increased color range.

With such an enticing business prospect, introduction of the newest generation of printers into the workplace necessarily opens the door to more opportunities.

Cost is always a business consideration.

Users of the new technology report that ink consumption has decreased. As a major cost component of industry operations, this welcoming news meets open arms. Coupled with the decrease in a vital cost comes the increase in production. Print Week reports that, “Its re-circulation system reduces ink consumption, and optimizes reliability while double the number of nozzles increases throughput by up to 40% compared with its predecessors.”

Direct to garment printing services have concerns.

A constant concern of direct to garment printing services has always involved color brightness and range. The newer technology enables not just an increase in the possible range of colors, but it creates a new bar by incorporating red and green. Colors not achievable under the CMYK systems have come to fruition. As reported in the same article of Print Week, “With this kit we can get a Ferrari red, which is what everybody wants, but is almost impossible to hit with the CMYK process.”

The color advantage has also played out in an unexpected way. With the ability to offer greater color selections, DTG companies have learned they can match colors better. Creating the opportunity to offer services for specific brands or to meet corporate requirements excites the printer’s imaginations. As fulfillment garment printers, the opportunities expand exponentially.

Newer technology provides for higher volumes.

Production has also gained an advantage. Not only has throughput increased substantially, but the newer technology provides for higher mixed volumes and for heavy-duty production cycles. Avoidance of having to change production procedures hits right at cost. The old adage that time is money couldn’t ring more true for DTG’s.

Hoodies, jackets, t-shirts and more present no problem with the new systems. Any number of various garments, including changes to material, or color requirements no longer challenge DTG companies the way they once did. Changing material once demanded a change in the production process. Both before and after specialized treatment routines for certain materials always occurred. Now, cotton and mixes can run on the same cycle, saving DTG’s time and money while decreasing production times.

As most companies use CMYK, the new technology’s design supports the older technology. The reds and greens incorporate CMYK palettes.

What engineers have done is to focus on several key features of a printing machine to produce the newest technology aimed at medium-sized DTG’s. They designed a printer that increased the number of nozzles to substantially enhance production volume. Including a recirculating system in the design decreased ink consumption while improving the printer’s reliability. The color component expanded by incorporating red, green and white color components to the CMYK configuration. The expansion to multi-material processing allowed for processing of silk, cotton etc without the need to change the printing process.

Whatever the engineer’s devised, the industry truly enjoys the benefits and advantages of the new printers. From DTG’s perspective, the technology presents as a boon to business, but with the promise of stiffer competition as their markets widen. The need to incorporate marketing to match their new-found capabilities has become essential. Ultimately, as has all past innovations in technology, business change to meet the demands. Those changes, not always foreseeable, are yet to unfold.