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FAQ's for
TEXMAC Direct Garment Printers |
| In this section,
you'll find answers to questions on operation and
troubleshooting for TEXMAC Direct Garment Printers. |
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List of Questions Last
update July 26, 2010 printing on 100% polyester and other
blends. See "Printing Capabilities" section.
New FAQ's added.
Click on the topic or directly on the question to
navigate to the answer.
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| Topic: |
Process,
Setup and Equipment |
| Q: |
What's
special about SOLO being able print on dark shirts? |
| Q: |
Why
can't every garment printer do this? |
| Q: |
What's
unique about SOLO and dark shirt printing? What else sets SOLO
apart from other garment printers? |
| Q: |
Are
there any other advantages to printing with SOLO? |
| Q: |
What
else do I need besides the SOLO garment printer and a computer to
print on shirts? |
| Q: |
I
hear that direct garment printers require a lot of cleaning.
How true is this with SOLO? |
| Topic: |
Printing
Capabilities |
| Q: |
What's
the maximum print area that TEXMAC SOLO can achieve? |
| Q: |
What
kind of garments can I print with TEXMAC SOLO? |
| Q: |
What
kind of pictures can I print with TEXMAC SOLO? |
| Q: |
What
flexibility do I have with optional attachments? |
| Topic: |
Operations |
| Q: |
Can
I adjust the ink output to suit my preferences? |
| Q: |
Can
I use my own custom underbase files? |
| Q: |
Can
I use a tunnel dryer to cure my prints or do I have to use a heat
press? |
| Topic: |
Troubleshooting |
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Error
Lights / Messages / Printer not printing |
| Q: |
I
tried to send a print job to the printer, but nothing happens, and I
get the message "Failed to Print" in the software. |
| Q: |
I
tried to send a print job to the printer, and the red BUSY light
flashes, and the pumps run, but it doesn't start printing.
What's wrong? |
| Q: |
I
keep trying to load the shirt into the printer by pressing the LOAD
button, but the printer keeps sending it back out. Why? |
| Q: |
There's
a red light on the control panel next to one of the ink colors (C,
M, Y, or K) and the printer won't print. What to do ? |
| Q: |
The
printer stopped in the middle of the print and the WAIT and INK
lights are flashing rapidly. What do I do? |
| Q: |
The
printer stopped in the middle of the print and the WAIT and INK
lights are flashing slowly. What do I do? |
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| Q: |
When
I wash the shirt, the print is partially washing out. Is this
normal? |
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| Q: |
Why
is it significant that SOLO can print on dark shirts? |
| A: |
SOLO
is one of a few garment printers significantly less than $20,000 that can print on both
dark and light-colored garments. To print on dark shirts, the
printer must be able to print white ink, which is printed first as a
base layer on the dark fabric and allows the colored ink, which
prints next, to stand out. |
| Q: |
Why
can't every garment printer do this? |
| A: |
White
ink is inherently problematic for inkjet garment printers: the
preferred tinting agent for white color is titanium dioxide, which
is a heavy solid that tends to settle out of solution from
water-based inks. Printers with white ink capability like SOLO
are able to keep the ink "stirred" to keep this from
happening, which otherwise degrades the look of the white layer,
and, worse, could clog the print head, causing potentially serious
damage. |
| Q: |
What's
unique about SOLO and dark shirt printing? What else sets SOLO
apart from other garment printers? |
| A: |
SOLO's
white ink circulation and feed system is developed from
Mastermind's experience over several generations of experience with
direct to garment printer product lines. Mastermind's
cumulative experience has, as a result, produced an ink circulation
system that is significantly improved over previous models in 2 key
areas: reliability and speed. The feed system is more robust
than the product that SOLO replaces, able to push more ink at higher
pressures. Additionally, better packaging and design (as a
result of years of field experience) of the feed system and the
surrounding electronics have made the printer more resistant to the
rigors of continuous operation. In short, SOLO's design
promises - and has delivered in the field - real-world productivity
and reliability - something that few garment printers can
offer. |
| Q: |
Any
other advantages that would make me consider printing with SOLO? |
| A: |
Ink:
When it comes to printers, ink is half of your arsenal for
success. And SOLO uses a very special brand of ink by INKMAX
- which uses Uni-Color textile inks, specially designed for direct
garment printers. Inkmax inks are very price-competitive,
giving the printer a cost advantage vs. comparable competitors.
However, Inkmax Ink's greatest advantage is actually the smallest
feature: their pigment particle design. Ground especially fine
down to about 70nm, the pigment particles are about a fourth the
size of standard garment printer ink particles, and additionally
coated with special binding polymers. What does this
mean? The result is a print that's soft to the hand without
any compromise in brilliance, contrast and sharpness of
detail. And with the aid of the binding polymers, the finer
particles embed themselves into the fabric for exceptional
color-fastness through many wash cycles. The inks also require
lower temperatures and and a shorter time span to cure (on a
standard clamshell heat press, about 75-90 seconds at 290
degrees). This cuts production time and saves energy - yet
another advantage for those printing with Texmac SOLO and Inkmax
inks!
Reliability: Having been now on the market for 2 years, SOLO
has proven itself over time just as easy to care for and as reliable
as we have found in our own extended testing. This isn't to
say that SOLO is magic: if you don't spend a few minutes (between 2
and 5 minutes, no more) cleaning at the end of a print day, the
printer will eventually begin printing unevenly and possibly lead to
some jams or clogs. There is NO need to clean the printer on
days when it isn't used, and the printer has proven forgiving if the
operator has forgotten to clean from time to time. To date, we
have yet to replace a head on a customer's machine (it will happen
eventually) - a testament to how well-designed this printer's ink
system is.
1440x1440 (color) dpi: This may not seem like a big deal, but
when printing fine detail (small detail) or detail that requires
fine shades of color, like faces, the printer produces photo-quality
images - something that some garment printers (limited to 600 color
dpi) simply cannot match. SOLO's print quality is at the
pinnacle of what direct to garment printing can achieve. |
| Q: |
What
else do I need besides the SOLO garment printer and a computer to
print on shirts? |
| A: |
Here's
the equipment setup:
- SOLO garment printer connected via USB 2.0 cable to
Windows PC (RIP software is included)
- Heat press for curing pre-treated shirts and prints (tunnel
dryer also acceptable at equivalent heat/time settings)
- For dark shirts: enough extra space to pre-treat garments
away from the printer. (Spray applicator included)
- Option for very high-volume dark shirt printing: basic power
paint sprayers or pre-treat machines can be purchased |
| Q: |
I
hear that direct garment printers require a lot of cleaning.
How true is this with SOLO? |
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SOLO
requires a 5-minute cleaning procedure at the end of each day that
it is used; this helps ensure trouble-free prints for the next use,
whether it's for the next day or the next week - a degree of
reliability not found in other garment printers. There are
additional cleaning intervals (a basic 5 minute procedure weekly and
a more thorough one 1-2 x per year) that also help maximize printer
life and minimize down-time. |
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| Q: |
What's
the maximum print area that TEXMAC SOLO can achieve? |
| A: |
TEXMAC
SOLO can print an area as large as 19.5" tall by 12.1"
wide. |
| Q: |
What
kind of garments can be printed with TEXMAC SOLO? |
| A: |
TEXMAC
SOLO can print on items made of cotton and poly-cotton blended
fabrics. Not limited to shirt printing, SOLO can print on
items up to about 1/2" thick, and has been used successfully to
print on items such as aprons, sweatshirts,
bags, and even some types of carpeting.
Update: SOLO can also print on many forms of 100% polyester /
popular moisture-wicking brands of athletic wear. |
| Q: |
What
kind of pictures can I print with TEXMAC SOLO? |
| A: |
You
can print just about any type of digital image. The included
RIP software accepts common formats like jpg, gif, and tif work, but
graphic artists will also be happy to know that the printer accepts
formats like psd, eps, png and ai. For the rest of us, as long
as you can get an image into digital format (like shooting a photo
with a cellphone camera, digital camera, or a scanner), you can print
it directly onto a shirt using TEXMAC SOLO! |
| Q: |
Are
there any optional attachments? |
| A: |
Actually,
the additional attachments come with the printer! In addition
to the standard adult-sized shirt platen, SOLO includes a child-size
platen, which works not only well with childrens' garments (like
onesies!), but also petite-sized tops for women, and other
similarly-small items. There's also a sleeve-shaped platen for
long sleeves and other narrow printable items. |
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| Q: |
Can
I adjust the ink output for both the color and white ink to suit my
preferences ? |
| A: |
Yes!
The included VARIO RIP software gives you a good deal of flexibility
in this way. Go to SOLO's
Support
page to learn more on how to do this. You can
adjust ink output to both minimize cost and maximize quality.
Amazingly, with SOLO, this goes hand-in-hand. |
| Q: |
Can
I print my own custom underbase files? |
| A: |
Yes!
The Vario RIP software lets you use 2 different graphics files to
let you create your own white underbase file under the color layer,
which (a) opens up creative possibilities and (b) lets you print
more efficiently (less ink) on medium-colored shirts (grey, red,
green, etc). |
| Q: |
Can
I use a tunnel dryer to cure my prints or do I have to use a heat
press? |
| A: |
You
can use either one. |
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| Q: |
I
tried to send a print job to the printer, but nothing happens, and I
get the message "Failed to Print" in the software. |
| A: |
Make
sure the Ready light is on and solid green, which indicates that the
garment hasn't been fully fed into the ready position. Press
(but do not hold) the LOAD button again, and look to see if the
platen continues to load to the final position (sometimes it's only
a tiny little movement.) The READY light should turn solid
green, and the printer will automatically begin
printing. |
| Q: |
I
send a job to the printer, and the BUSY light flashes red as normal,
but it doesn't start printing. What's wrong? |
| A: |
Make
sure the Ready light is on and solid green, which indicates that the
garment hasn't been fully fed into the ready position. Press
(but do not hold) the LOAD button again, and look to see if the
platen continues to load to the final position (sometimes it's only
a tiny little movement.) The READY light should turn solid
green, and the printer will automatically begin
printing. |
| Q: |
I
keep trying to load the shirt into the printer by pressing the LOAD
button, but the printer keeps sending it back out. Why? |
| A: |
The
Gap Sensor has detected that something on the surface of the shirt
or platen is sticking up high enough that it might block the
head. Re-check the garment, smoothing it out to ensure there
are no wrinkles, thick seams or anything else that might brush the
print head as it passes over. Alternately, you can temporarily
disable the gap sensor (warning! proceed with caution!) by pressing
the GAP SENS. DISABLE button. |
| Q: |
There's
a red light on the control panel next to one of the ink colors (C,
M, Y, or K) and the printer won't print. What to do ? |
| A: |
The
printer has paused automatically, detecting that one of the colors
has run out. To resume printing, press (do not hold) the INK
button - the printer will enter a mode allowing you to re-fill that
color. Then, swap cartridges (you can pull the cartridge out
without any fear of spilling. You can either insert a new
cartridge or refill that cartridge. Then, after replacing the
cartridge, press INK again. The error will clear itself, and
you can resume printing. |
| Q: |
The
printer stopped in the middle of the print and the WAIT and INK
lights are flashing rapidly. What do I do? |
| A: |
The
printer has paused automatically, detecting that something is
obstructing the path of the head. Typically, a part of the
garment may be bulging even slightly upwards off the platen
bed. You can continue the print where you left off by (1) a
quick visual check of the garment, removing any obvious obstructions
and then (2) pressing the LOAD button, which should allow the print
to continue immediately where it left off. If this doesn't
clear the error, you can (3) temporarily disable the sensor by
tapping the GAP SENS. DISABLE button and then press LOAD to continue
(just take extra care to make sure the path of the head is actually
clear of obstructions) |
| Q: |
The
printer stopped and the WAIT and INK lights are flashing slowly
(about once every half second). What do I do? |
| A: |
The
printer has reached its maintenance interval for checking. Use
the Counter Reset feature on the maintenance software to set the
counter back to zero, then clear the error by powering the head off
and back on again. |
| Q: |
When
I wash the shirt, the print is partially washing out. Is this
normal? |
| A: |
This
can happen if the shirt isn't properly cured after printing, or if
pretreatment was used, the pretreatment may not have been applied
correctly.
Curing: Curing times will be longer for dark shirts, as there is a
greater volume of ink in the print (white layer plus the color
layer). By learning and practicing the proper curing
techniques from the provided classroom training and the help
documents, you'll soon find yourself printing shirts with very good
durability through many washes. See the Support section for
tips on good curing technique.
Pre-Treat. Learning good technique here helps eliminate
the problem. Practice application to lay down just enough for
good coverage, and no more. Excessive pretreat can flake off
in the wash, carrying the ink away with it. Be sure that the
pretreat is also cured properly and completely dry before
printing. |
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