The Hard Truth About DTF Printers—and Most Digital Printers

There is a question almost every person shopping for a DTF printer eventually asks:

“What happens if it breaks?”

It is a fair question.

A DTF printer can represent a serious investment. Depending on the size and production capability of the machine, a printer can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. When you are buying equipment that is supposed to make money for your business, it is natural to assume that a warranty will protect you if something goes wrong.

But there is an important reality that every prospective digital-printing business owner needs to understand:

A printer warranty is not the same thing as a promise that the printer will never cost you money when it breaks.

In fact, with DTF and other digital inkjet printers, there is a very good chance that at some point in the life of the machine, you are going to have to troubleshoot it, maintain it, replace parts, or pay someone to fix it.

That isn't necessarily because the printer is poorly made.

It is because of what a digital printer actually is.

A Digital Printer Isn't Just a Machine

If you have ever owned a car, you understand the basic concept.

You can have a warranty on the engine, but that doesn't mean the manufacturer is going to replace your tires every time they wear out.

You don't expect a warranty to cover an oil change. Or cover your engine replacement because you forgot to check the oil.

You don't expect it to cover damage caused by putting the wrong fuel in the tank.

Digital printers operate under a surprisingly similar principle—but the distinction can be much harder to see.

A DTF printer contains mechanical components, electronics, software, ink-delivery systems and extremely precise printing components. It also depends on consumables and maintenance.

And unlike many pieces of industrial equipment, the thing that actually puts the ink on the film—the printhead—is itself a precision consumable in many manufacturers' service models.

That changes everything.

So What Does the Warranty Actually Cover?

The word “warranty” can create an expectation that is much broader than what the manufacturer actually promises.

Generally, a manufacturer's warranty is designed to protect you against defects in materials and workmanship under specified conditions.

In other words:

The warranty protects the machine from certain problems. It does not protect the owner from the realities of owning the machine.

The Printhead Changes the Game

If you are new to digital printing, this is probably the most important thing you can learn.

The printhead isn't like a piece of steel bolted inside the printer that you expect to last forever. It is an incredibly precise component that is constantly exposed to ink, cleaning solutions, heat, air, dust and the printing environment.

It has microscopic ink channels and nozzles that have to remain functional.

And the printer depends on those nozzles behaving correctly.

That means maintenance isn't optional.

If ink dries where it shouldn't, if the machine isn't cleaned properly, if the printer sits unused, if the wrong ink is introduced, if the media contacts the head, or if maintenance is neglected, you can end up with a problem that the manufacturer considers outside the warranty.

That should tell prospective printer owners something important:

Manufacturers understand that printheads are a different category of component.

In most shops we walk into the first thing we find is a digital printer sitting in an environment that will eventually be the demise of the printhead & digital components. Yes, we've said it before too hot or cold, too dry or too humid - all things that digital printers do not perform well in.

Take for example you buy a four-wheel drive bad-ass truck, because you want good traction in the winter time.  The first snow comes and you take your truck out, and it just eats through that snow!  Then a few weeks later you have an ice storm and your truck is spinning all over the place and you crash.  Is this because of the inefficiency of the truck?  Should the truck manufacturer cover the crash in a warranty? Of course not, you drove it in conditions that everyone knows that no vehicle will perform well.  If you are putting a printer in a hot, non-ventilated, dry room,  we can almost guarantee that printer is going to crash and burn on you - first to go? your printheads.

The Warranty Doesn't Replace Maintenance

This is where new DTF owners sometimes get into trouble.

They buy a printer. They hear that it has a warranty. They assume the warranty means they don't have to worry about the machine for a year. That is exactly the wrong mindset.

A DTF printer should be treated more like a production machine than a desktop printer.

• It requires attention.
• It needs cleaning.
• It needs regular inspection.
• It needs the correct ink.
• It needs the correct film.
• It needs proper environmental conditions.
• It needs maintenance.

And perhaps most importantly, someone needs to know what normal looks like.

If your machine normally produces a certain nozzle check and suddenly begins producing something different, that is information. If the capping station isn't functioning correctly, that's information. If ink isn't flowing properly, that's information. If the machine begins producing banding, color shifts or inconsistent output, that's information.

The earlier you recognize a problem, the better your chances of preventing a small problem from becoming an expensive one.

Digital Printing Has a Second Reality: Downtime

There is another part of the warranty conversation that doesn't get enough attention.

Downtime. Even if you had something break on your printer and it is covered in the warranty.  Does this mean that the technician from the company you bought from needs to be at your facility the next day. Most likely you'll have to wait days if not weeks.  Can you afford to be without your printer for weeks?

NO!

That's an important distinction for a business owner:

A warranty protects equipment. Your business still has to protect itself.

This Is Why Learning to Fix Your Printer Matters

You don't necessarily need to become a printer technician.

But you should understand your printer.

You should know how to:

• Perform a nozzle check.
• Recognize common print-quality problems.
• Perform the manufacturer's recommended maintenance.
• Identify basic ink-flow problems.
• Replace routine maintenance components when the manufacturer permits it.
• Understand what the warning messages mean.
• Know when to stop troubleshooting and call a technician.
• Keep commonly needed replacement parts available.
• Document problems before they become emergencies.

Although Imperial DTF and DTF Tech Gurus are not manufacturers of the machine we continue to build a self-service support model for the X5 DTF. Every week we post articles and videos that not only help you understand the technology, but help you produce better transfers - consistently - every day.

Absolutely. I think this section is stronger if we move away from simply “cheap vs. expensive” and focus on the hidden complexity of running multiple printers. The key point is that three printers don't necessarily equal one larger, more expensive production system.

The Cheapest Printer Can Become the Most Expensive Printer

This is where buyers need to be careful.

When comparing DTF printers, it is tempting to look at the purchase price first. You start doing quick math in your head:

“If I buy three of these machines, I can produce as much as that one more expensive machine—and I still have money left over.”

On paper, the math can look great.

There is a flaw with that thought process.

Three printers don't simply give you three times the production. They also give you three times the equipment to maintain, monitor, troubleshoot, clean, calibrate and eventually repair.

Every additional printer adds another set of printheads, dampers, pumps, capping stations, wipers, ink lines, sensors, electronics and other components that can eventually require attention.

And it isn't just the number of parts that increases.

The number of variables increases, too.

If you are running three identical printers, you might assume that all three will produce exactly the same result. In reality, that isn't always the case. One machine may have slightly different nozzle performance. Another may require more frequent cleaning. One may produce a slightly different color or density. Another may have a printhead that is beginning to show signs of wear.

Now you have three machines that need to be kept in agreement.

That can create a whole new set of problems.

More Printers Means More Maintenance

One printer has a maintenance schedule. Three printers have three maintenance schedules.

One printer needs a daily cleaning routine. Three printers need three machines checked every day.

One printer develops a problem and you troubleshoot it. Three printers can potentially develop three different problems at three different times.

And while none of these individual tasks may seem overwhelming, they add up.

The more equipment you have, the more time your employees—or you—spend taking care of equipment instead of producing orders.

That time has a cost.

More Printers Means More Things That Can Break

This is the part that is easy to overlook when doing the initial purchase-price calculation.

If you have one printer, you have one set of major components that can fail.

If you have three printers, you have three sets.

That doesn't mean all three will fail at once. In fact, they probably won't.

But over the life of the equipment, you have increased the number of components, moving parts and electronic systems that could eventually require repair or replacement.

And when something does fail, you now have another decision to make:

Do you stop production on that machine, or do you keep running the other two?

Sometimes having multiple printers provides valuable redundancy.

But redundancy only helps if the machines are reliable, properly maintained and capable of producing consistent output.

Then There Is Consistency

This is one of the biggest issues that gets missed in the simple “three printers equals one big printer” calculation.

Imagine receiving an order for 500 shirts.

You divide the production between three printers.

Sounds efficient.

But what happens if the prints coming from Printer #1 don't look exactly like the prints coming from Printer #2?

What happens if Printer #3 has slightly different color density?

What happens if one machine has a partially clogged nozzle pattern?

Now someone has to notice the difference, figure out why it is happening and correct it.

And if the differences are significant enough, you may end up adjusting RIP settings, ink flow, profiles, maintenance or other variables to get the machines as close to one another as possible.

That takes time.

And time is money.

More Printers Require More Attention

This may ultimately be the biggest hidden cost.

A printer that sits unattended is not necessarily a printer that is saving you money.

• Someone has to watch it.
• Someone has to maintain it.
• Someone has to catch problems before they become failures.
• Someone has to perform nozzle checks.
• Someone has to clean it.
• Someone has to troubleshoot it.
• Someone has to order parts.
• Someone has to document what was done.

And when you multiply the number of printers, you multiply the amount of attention required.

At some point, you may discover that the money you saved by purchasing several less-expensive machines has simply been converted into labor, maintenance, troubleshooting and management time.

Ready for this?

The Best DTF Printer Owner Is Prepared for Failure

This might sound pessimistic.

It isn't.

It is actually the opposite.

The best printer owner isn't the person who believes their machine will never break.

The best printer owner is the person who knows:

“Eventually, something will break. And I know what I'm going to do when it happens.”

They have a relationship with their dealer. They know where parts come from. They know, or have staff that know how to perform basic maintenance. They understand the consumables and the importance of the "recipe" in the final output. They keep maintenance records, minimum print nozzle checks every shift, and have parts like dampers, ink lines, filters, and printheads in stock.

The Bottom Line

A DTF printer is not a desk-top printer.

You don't plug it in, push a button and forget about it.

It is a precision production system with a complex chemistry behind it and this is what makes it sometimes challenging.

The warranty is there to protect you from certain failures. It isn't there to eliminate the responsibility of owning and learning the equipment.

That distinction becomes even more important as the printer gets older. Then the warranty expires.

• A printhead eventually reaches the end of its useful life. Can you replace it?  if not add technician expenses to the repair.
• A pump wears out.  Can you replace it?  if not add technician expenses to the repair.
• The dampers needs replacement. Can you replace it?  if not add technician expenses.
• The capping station needs attention.  Can you diagnose, recondition it, or replace it?  if not add technician expenses.
• The headboard fails. Can you replace it?  if not add technician expenses.

I'm sure you get the picture. Because sooner or later, something on almost every digital printer will need attention. And when that day comes, the businesses that survive aren't necessarily the ones with the most expensive printers, or the largest inventory of printers.

They're the ones that planned for the printer to break before it ever broke.

That's not a reason not to buy a DTF printer. It's one of the most important reasons to understand what you're buying.