Impressions - Digital Decorator - Summer 2015 - 28

Using an automatic pretreatment machine will give you
consistency from shirt-to-shirt.
Which means, once you've
dialed in your ideal spray time/
lay down amount, you have
repeatability. Plus, if the
machine is enclosed,
you can operate it near
your direct-to-garment
printer.

Hand spraying can
achieve good pretreatment results, but it takes
some additional time
practicing to achieve an
even spray across the garment. There is a tendency
to spray just more when hand
spraying. In addition, it can be
messy, have inconsistent application, and cannot be performed near
your machine.

Just as with other garment
decorating methods, dark fabric
printing in direct-to-garment
is where the complications
and level of expertise reveal
themselves. Based on personal
experience with countless end
users, pretreating is the singular area of confusion and cause
of poor printing results.

28 § SUMMER 2015

applications, the garment selection has
little impact upon the fi nished print. Th is
is not true for DTG printing.
Since we are printing a water-based
CMYK + white ink system through a
very fine inkjet print head, the substrate we are printing on will define the
quality of the final graphic. No amount
of switching out pretreat solution, varying the amount of pretreatment applied,
or manipulating the quantity of white ink
laid down as an underbase will fix this
problem. In the end, the truth is "not all
garments are created equal."
Of further frustration, many of the traditionally standard garments used in other
decoration methods do not measure up to
the requirements of a quality finished directto-garment print. Translation: Just because
it's on sale does not mean it will work well
with your DTG system. Some of your favorite and well-known industry brands will not
produce an acceptable result for you.
There is good news here, too. With the
proliferation of direct-to-garment printing,
we are now discovering which garments
work best. Second, more manufacturers are
addressing the need for specific garments for
this decoration method. Further good news is
that these garments specifically made for our
process are similarly priced to the garments
you are already using for other applications.
In direct-to-garment printing, 100%
cotton garments are the absolute best substrate. This is true of all machines across the
spectrum of manufacture and price. While
we can get away with the lower end of garment quality with most other decoration
methods, DTG will require you to buy better-quality garments for an acceptable and
salable end result.
Can I print blends, down to a 50% cotton/50% polyester? Yes, but the result will
not be as bright and will not wash quite as
well as 100% cotton. If you're comparing
a print on 100% cotton with a 50/50, the
blended fabric print will never be as bright
and crisp as 100% cotton.
When selecting the right garment for
printing, the fi rst choice always will be a
ring-spun, combed cotton. You're looking
for a tight weave and a smooth surface for
printing. Very fi ne detail can be achieved
in direct-to-garment printing, and a
smooth surface will allow for that detail to
be better seen.
Impressions - Digital Decorator - Summer 2015

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