Images Magazine Digital Edition July 2018

www.images-magazine.com JULY 2018 images 23 TIPS & TECHNIQUES If the monitor shows that you have low humidity levels in your shop, then I would suggest using a humidifier. You can install a humidifier for the whole production room (remember to consider the room volume so as to choose the right size of humidifier) or instead position a humidifier near the machine. A good humidifier that can be used near the machine, such as the Vornado Evap3 1.5-Gal, will cost around €150. Some DTG printers even have a built-in humidifier; check with your supplier before going to the added expense of buying a standalone model. To keep the temperature under control, I would recommend using an air conditioning machine. A good ventilation system will help to move the hot air from the dryers to outside the building; this is not only better for your DTG machines, it’s better for your operators too. The GTX and some other DTG machines have a self-control system that checks the conditions and helps the operator to understand the environmental conditions at that exact point in time. As a result, if the conditions are not in the right range then the machine (or the operator) could choose to increase the cleaning frequency to ensure that the nozzles don’t get clogged. This may increase your maintenance costs, but it will save the print heads and the quality of the printed output, as well as reducing machine downtime. These small investments will help you to stabilise the print quality, save on repair costs and have fewer sleepless nights. Shopfloor layout Under ideal circumstances, you would set up your DTG printers in a controlled environment, away from other decoration processes, in a room (or rooms) that allows easy monitoring and control of the environmental conditions. Often, however, this is not practical or possible, in which case you’ll need to give some thought to how you arrange your production facilities to minimise the effect of other processes on your DTG operation. For example, it’s important to check the position of your dryer or heat press, as both increase the temperature in the production area, especially in summer time. Likewise, maintaining a clean environment is important: dust and fibres in the air that stem from other processes may result in a fluffy covering across the surfaces in the production room, which can disturb the moving parts of the DTG machine. Many other decoration processes require the use of chemicals; if these are aggressive, they also could have a negative impact on the print heads. In particular, positioning your DTG machine next to a screen printing carousel is far from ideal, as the adhesive pallet spray used for screen printing could easily damage the DTG printer. Whatever the layout of your shop, by following this advice you will be better able to control the production environment and run a successful and profitable DTG printing business. www.brother-industrial.com The Vornado Evap3 1.5-Gal humidifier No better return on investment! Handmade in Italy since 1972, Lotus offer Heat Press solutions from small formats for breast pockets to industrial size presses suited to large format DTG and Sublimation printing. • Over 40 years experience • Custom sizes available • A track record of reliability • 2 year warranty • Fast start up • Exceptional service • Handmade in Italy 10%OFF Lotus Heat Presses O f f e r e n d s 3 1 . 0 7 . 1 8 Finance options available! Dae Ha UK, 3 The Forum, Icknield Way Industrial Estate, Tring HP23 4JY See the full range: www.garmentfilms.co.uk or call 01442 899945