Impressions - Digital Decorator - Summer 2015 - 18

what you plan to print it on. Some types of
garments work better for DTG than others. You can have the best DTG printer and
software on the market, but if you have the
wrong shirt and pretreatment, it's all for
nothing and can derail the entire process.
Have the shirts you typically use on
hand to be evaluated for their suitability
and to get input on how to achieve the
best DTG prints on them, even if they're
not optimal for the process. It also helps
to have several brands or types of shirts
available so you can experiment on them
and get a feel for the difference they make.
The same goes for color. If you're going to
be printing both dark and white shirts, make
sure you have both on hand for testing.
Keep in mind that a practice print
should be just that. One of the worst training scenarios is for the printer to have presold an order and want to run it during the
session. It's important to allow yourself a
couple of weeks to become familiar with
the process and understand how to adjust
the artwork and machines for optimal
results.
It's hard to make sure you get proper
training if the installer has to focus on
getting a particular job done. You'll be
trained well on that job, but not be able to
cover a lot of other contingencies.

such as the shirt, can make the result
match a customer's expectations. It's
important to learn what to expect from
different scenarios and how to translate that to potential buyers. You need to
know what to expect if you're printing on
one shirt versus another or using different RIP settings.

You might boil it down to good, better
and best. Print the same design on the same
shirt using good, better and best settings,
then show the customer all three. Good
looks like this. Better costs more but looks
like this; and best is best and costs the most.
Most of your customers might be happy
with "better" or even "good" resolution

WHO SHOULD BE
TRAINED?
Who should participate in the training
besides the machine operator depends on
the individual shop. Other possibilities
could include graphic artists and salespeople. If an individual other than the
printer will be prepping the shirts, that
person would be another candidate.
It is always preferable to have anyone
who is involved in all or part of the process
to learn more about it. Ideally, staff should
be cross trained to a degree to give them
some familiarity with other aspects of the
process should they have to substitute for
someone else.
One of the reasons for including sales
reps in training is so they understand the
limitations of the process and don't have
unrealistic expectations of its capabilities that they then pass on to customers.
An understanding of the process also can
contribute to more effective marketing.
It makes everyone aware that there
are options and that changing a variable,
18 § SUMMER 2015

While the installer is there, it's ideal to run some typical types of jobs
your shop will do from start to finish. It's also a good idea to send
some artwork to the installer in advance to review and troubleshoot if
any modifications need to be made.
Photo courtesy of Stahls', St. Clair Shores, Mich.

Impressions - Digital Decorator - Summer 2015

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