Auto vs manual power shakers and curing ovens
Low-end DTF systems use just the powder and a tray and you have to put the powder on the print and shake it by hand to spread the powder, then either bake the powder until it fused with the inks under your heat press or more recently with an infrared oven. This process is very inefficient but is fine for a low-speed printer like the A4 unit. We do however recommend an infrared oven with a filter system so that you’re not breathing in the fumes as the powder cures on the print.
More advanced systems like the one pictured above automate the process. The print comes out of the printer and feeds directly into the auto shaker and curing unit ensuring an even layer of powder and perfect curing of the powder coupled to an auto take-up spooler so you can leave the printer to churn out prints while you do other work. Our units have an integrated air filter system with user-replaceable filters.
Are all DTF systems the same?
Sadly no. We have purchased numerous machines from different suppliers only to be disappointed every time due to poor print quality (or in most cases being unable to even make 1 print) and reliability issues. The Prestige (formerly known as Galaxy) are the only ones which we feel comfortable selling. They are designed by an American company and include technology not found on cheap units which reduces the maintenance required to keep the machine working and make no mistake, DTF printers do require ongoing maintenance. Should you not be a hands-on person we would recommend you stick with sublimation and let our partner produce your prints.
Just like the solar industry, the DTF industry is full of cowboys. Everyone is happy to sell you a machine but few are willing to support it in the long run. Often you get manuals written in bad English or no manual at all and if your machine breaks there are no spares or technical know-how to repair the issue.
JG Electronics supplies you with manuals, training videos, a maintenance kit for your printer and extensive tech support. We’ve been in the business of selling systems for over 3 3 years, so we’ve got the hang of it. JG Electronics stocks a wide range of spares including pumps, motors, logic boards, piping, and print heads so that if there’s an issue it can be resolved quickly. Despite our technical expertise and background we also got caught by early DTF machines where the sample units were perfect but the machines we ordered were not (and we only realised the issue after the machines were out in the field for some months). This is the reason we have been very cautious since and only release new models after extensive local testing to local conditions.
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