Images Digital Edition March 2019

TIPS & TECHNIQUES www.images-magazine.com 26 images MARCH 2019 M any garment decorators that are starting out on their digital printing adventure focus primarily on one number: the purchase price of their direct-to-garment (DTG) system. In reality, this figure is only one cost factor to consider and, when compared with the total amount of money you are likely to spend on a DTG system over its lifecycle, it is likely to account for a much smaller proportion of the overall spend than you might imagine. Other factors to consider include: ink costs; the cost of consumables, such as purging and cleaning fluids; service contracts or time and material costs; and the cost of employing the staff members who will operate your systems. The financial term for this full view of costs over the lifespan of a production system is ‘total cost of ownership’ (TCO). Here’s a simple but realistic example that illustrates the importance of looking beyond just the price of the printer: DTG printer 1 costs £75,000 to buy, while DTG printer 2 costs £35,000 – a £40,000 ‘saving’ over DTG Printer 1. You could be forgiven for thinking that DTG printer 1 is the ‘expensive’ option and DTG printer 2 is the ‘cheaper’ Oliver Luedtke of Kornit delves into the TCO of DTG Calculate all costs, such as ink usage, before purchasing a DTG system [Picture credit: Kornit] Oliver Luedtke alternative. But before you choose to dive in and buy DTG printer 2, pause to factor in the number of shirts you are likely to be printing. Let’s say you print 200,000 garments over five years (that’s just 90 per shift using a two-shift model) and let’s assume the ink cost per print is 60 pence for DTG printer 1 and £1.20 for DTG printer 2: you will spend £120,000 on ink with DTG printer 1 and £240,000 on ink with DTG printer 2. By opting for DTG printer 1 you would benefit from £120,000 in ink savings – that’s three times the £40,000 difference between the purchase price of the ‘expensive’ and the ‘cheaper’ systems. Based on the purchase price and total ink costs in this example, the ‘expensive’ DTG printer 1 would cost £195,000 over five years, whereas the ‘cheaper’ DTG printer 2 would cost £275,000 over the same period. Calculating print costs So the first and most important rule is, ‘the higher your productivity, the more important it will be to check the cost per print’ – ie the millilitres of ink per shirt multiplied by the litre price. Don’t forget that not all ink may be used for printing as some systems consume ink when powering the system up and down, as well as for intermittent cleaning cycles. Most vendors will provide you with a tool that will help you to gauge the cost per print: these tools are based on the area coverage of each colour, which then gets multiplied by a certain factor that translates area coverage into ink consumption. Such tools can be a big help in calculating your cost Calculate all costs, such as ink usage, before purchasing a DTG system [Picture credit: Kornit]