Many of you have seen the photo of the crate I received a few weeks ago. It contained a DTF printer and curing oven. DTF is Direct to Film, and is one way graphic decals are printed for t-shirts and other substrates. I did my research before investing (it's a good chunk of money for the equipment I bought), so I was aware there could be a few "challenges" to getting the setup done. There were, but honestly part of the difficulty was my own fault. Sit back, have a laugh, grit your teeth, and enjoy the story (or not) while I share.
Like I said, I did my research. Most of the videos and reviews clearly stated to be ready to call Customer Service for help setting up the software. RIP software is a conversion program that allows printers to "see" colors and receive the command to print theses colors, including white. Regular printers don't print white, they ignore the white spaces and your paper acts as the color there. This software is high dollar and ranges from $350 to over $1,000 if you buy it as a separate program. It really isn't hard to install. What throws people off is the need to use a "dongle" to start the program, and most of us think of a dongle as an extension plug or adapter plug. In the case of RIP software, it's a USB flash drive that holds the software key. The key is never installed to your computer, so it's necessary to have this flash drive to start the program.
The next thing you have to know is that most RIP software out there does not play well with anti-virus software. This has to be disabled completely to do the initial installation. Some RIP software may even require you leave it turned off permanently, so have a dedication computer or laptop for the printer, if possible. You will also need to add exceptions for the folder and main app file so your computer will allow the program to run once installed.
Yes, getting the software loaded and running was the easy part for me. Like I said, I did my research.
The first few test prints I did came out really nice, and I was excited! Until the printhead carriage lock stopped releasing. After a couple of hours trying to figure this out, I sent an email asking for assistance. Here's the downside - ALL of these printers are made in China. There is NO support elsewhere. There is NO manual. There is, however, a 12 to 15 hour time zone difference, so be prepared for WhatsApp messaging, and AnyDesk requests for the technicians to access your computer for the software aspect. No, they didn't download any virus or trojans. No, they didn't add any spyware. They simply went into the RIP software and configured it, then did a few test prints themselves. I sent photos and videos as requested so they could see the issues and results.
Turned out that the waste ink pump assembly (it has several names, depending on which YouTube video you watch) was damaged or defective, so a new one was sent out immediately. I got it just 7 days later. A few more YouTube videos, and assistance from my husband, meant we had that part changed out and the carriage was again running smoothly 2 days before my next scheduled tech call.
The next problem I had was entirely my own fault. During our initial testing and troubleshooting, I was asked to loosen an adjustment screw and raise the printhead off the print surface. I didn't realize this also raised the rollers that feed the print film, but it did. So once I got the pump assembly replaced, the film wasn't feeding. This was just a couple of days before Christmas and they offered to contact me on Christmas Eve day but I postponed until after the holiday.
Again with the help of my wonderful husband, we disassembled the printer in case we had something misaligned from installing the pump. Double-checked everything, and reassembled the printer. Then it hit me. That little adjustment screw. I went back to it, turned it a few times, and those rollers dropped right down into position. Time for a test print.
One thing you need to be aware of is that the white ink contains titanium oxide, which will settle in the tubes and at the printhead if the machine sits for any length of time. By the time I got my printer up and running again, I had not done any printing for about 10 days. End result is my colors were all printing, but the white was not. Now, this is a simple fix. Just clean the printheads and do a couple of test prints to get it flowing again. Only I couldn't find the menu for this.
On my printer, the status monitor has to be disabled inside the printer's main menu options in order for the RIP software to do its job. Easy click of the mouse. But I spent an unnecessary amount of time trying to find the maintenance commands. Hello, Tech Support. Inside the RIP software, you just right click and it pulls up the menu to access what I needed. Running the printhead clean cycle, a few more adjustments inside the software, and some test prints, and I'm back up and running!
NOTE: If you're thinking about buying into DTF printing, be aware that you must do a daily maintenance routine to prevent the white ink from settling and clogging the works. If you're going to be gone for a few days, it will probably be ok to skip, but if you're gone a week or longer, you're probably going to need to flush the printhead when you return, so have solution on hand.
I will also say this - no matter how you feel politically about China, they have excellent customer support when it comes to their products. Even though we didn't speak the same language, they used videos and had a verbal translator at hand so we were able to easily communicate. And my printer came with a full 1-year warranty, so I can contact them again if I need to.
