How to convert an Epson printer to (DTF) Direct to Film Printer

[FreshGrafx]

would I have to get a CISS for my artisan 1430? What would the ink sequence be? thanks for the help

[johnson4]

1 hour ago, FreshGrafx said:

would I have to get a CISS for my artisan 1430? What would the ink sequence be? thanks for the help

A ciss system would induce settling issues with the ink. I would just keep multiple sets of refillable carts ready to swap out instead. Easier to shake and maintain. That sequence greatly depends on the software you choose.

Edited December 8, 2020 by johnson4

[therui]

hi people

sorry for the question, like the answer seems to be always the same

but since we are never sure enough

for the epson r3000 is the system the same?

just remove the rollers?

thank you in advance

[johnson4]

53 minutes ago, therui said:

hi people

sorry for the question, like the answer seems to be always the same

but since we are never sure enough

for the epson r3000 is the system the same?

just remove the rollers?

thank you in advance

It’s basically always, remove the rollers. 
 

everything else is up to you and how you want to do it. Waste tank, carts, Chipless, rip program etc etc. 

[therui]

Thank you Johnson4

For the quick reply, I ordered the ciss kit.

Want to use the r3000 for the dtf

I have 3 1500w that I want to convert to dtg and to uv print 

The r3000 seems to be quite easy for the dtf, compared to the 1500w 

Thanks 

[johnson4]

8 hours ago, therui said:

Thank you Johnson4

For the quick reply, I ordered the ciss kit.

Want to use the r3000 for the dtf

I have 3 1500w that I want to convert to dtg and to uv print 

The r3000 seems to be quite easy for the dtf, compared to the 1500w 

Thanks 

No problem. 
Yea, it is. DTG does the same thing as DTF ink in terms of settling. I found it hard to remove the ciss and shake it without making a mess and mixing the ink adequately, on top of the ciss lines that come with most ciss kits are too small/restrictive for heavy flows like head cleanings/purges on the larger printers. 
 

I started with two 1430’s for dtg, I tried everything, and ended up throwing them in the trash after a few months. The ciss was what I hated the most. For standard printers they are awesome though. For my level of printing they ? The 1430s) are too slow with only 2 white ink channels ( which are 90 nozzles each) and white ink is basically a far cry from acceptable unless it’s only spot white( like a small tree or “add-on” for light colored shirts). They work and I made profit from them, but if you intend on using them for business purposes/sales that exceed more than 20 orders a day, you’ll end up moving forward from them rather quickly. 
 

one p600 can do that job of 4 1430’s, minus the hassles that came with them from my experience. If it were me, I would have done that the other way around. ( 3000 for dtg,  1500 for dtf). Dtf requires so little ink it’s crazy, and a 6 channel printer would be totally acceptable for low/medium use. 
 

anyway, not knocking you or your decision in anyway, just stating what I went through. I thought I could make something “cheap” and work, as I always have done my entire life. My experience with this whole idea ( DTG/DTF) has proven otherwise to me, which has cost me quite a bit of unnecessary time and money. They’ll all work for it, but at the end of the day you’ll probably change your mind at some point into the future once you as well experience these issues and mistakes.  

[therui]

hi johnson4

thank you for all these informations

all my printers are still unmodified, so all possibilities are still open

i know how messy it can be with the ink and the clogs

i used to own a brother gt3 and it was a real pain in the a..

it is good for bigger production but the maintenance and the supplies are a nuisance

so i will use the r3000 for the dtg and 2 of the 3 1500w for dtf and uv printing

do you happen to know if i need to use opendtg ultimate board for any of these projects?

i have been looking for plans, dont want to spend any excessive money on kits, want to understand the concept so i can fix it as soon as there is a problem, plus i live in luxemburg,small country in europe, where i have to order most parts in foreign countries, since we dont produce that much

anyway johnson4 thank you very much for all your time and infos, i really appreciate it

 

[johnson4]

No worries and if it helps any at all, that’s good enough for me. 
 

you don’t have to use any of the kits for DTF, Andy has adruino code for an UNO listed as well if you want to wire it up yourself. I did my p800 DTG that way. you’ll need the adruino, a stepper, etc. I did use his base on 4 of mine, I made my own for the p800, based off of his base( hey it’s simple and it works). 

it’s not hard, just annoying when an issue occurs and you get stuck, however that happens to anyone and anything new. 
 

I know I have 4 active DTG printers and I have less than $2500 in the bases/conversions. The printers I have about $2500 in the actual 3 p600’s and 1 P800, so all in all around $5,000 in the four, minus supplies. I can and do produce more than one name brand printer with less effort per hour in my opinion, as long as my conversion was good( I really cheaped out on how I mounted the electronics and wish I hadn’t ). I can do 4” all the way up to 16.5” prints wide, so that’s nice. Originally I was considering the DTG M2 but it was 20k, expensive ink, head etc. i can easily do 100 CMYK prints an hour, and recently got them down to 2 pass white so the white is about 50 an hour. The only thing that sucks is down time, but I just flush the white ink at that point in 2 of them. I don’t think I would ever go with an OEM printer, is my point  

 

Good luck! 

Edited December 10, 2020 by johnson4

[therui]

thats the same way i want to go

i want to understand the process and not have to rely on a machine that i dont understand
i want to be able to use dtg on the R3000 and dtf on the 1500w
i want to have dtf as well,i own a roland bn-20 but since its a plotter,certain design are not easy to cut out or too thin, so dtf will probably do a better job

i will try to find the plans for both printers
do you happen to know how the quality of UV printed on garment is, compared to DTG?

thank you

 

[johnson4]

1 hour ago, therui said:

thats the same way i want to go

i want to understand the process and not have to rely on a machine that i dont understand
i want to be able to use dtg on the R3000 and dtf on the 1500w
i want to have dtf as well,i own a roland bn-20 but since its a plotter,certain design are not easy to cut out or too thin, so dtf will probably do a better job

i will try to find the plans for both printers
do you happen to know how the quality of UV printed on garment is, compared to DTG?

thank you

 

I have no experience with UV whatsoever, with that said, everything I have tried, DTG is king next to just plain old screen printing. 

Edited December 11, 2020 by johnson4

[therui]

thank you johnson4

lets get started

[Bbritaz]

Tengo una pregunta, una vez que remueves las ruedas, como configuras la impresora para que imprima con cmyk y blanco ? 

[johnson4]

50 minutes ago, Bbritaz said:

Tengo una pregunta, una vez que remueves las ruedas, como configuras la impresora para que imprima con cmyk y blanco ? 

necesita comprar y utilizar un programa RIP como EKPrint o Acrorip.

[Jillian]

I’m watching the video and trying to follow along. I am (attempting) to convert an Artisan 1430. I  am at the 5:30 mark in the video. His printer has no wires connected to the panel , however mine does. What do I do? Can’t detach it with the wires connected. Please help! Thank you ❤️

[johnson4]

10 minutes ago, Jillian said:

I’m watching the video and trying to follow along. I am (attempting) to convert an Artisan 1430. I  am at the 5:30 mark in the video. His printer has no wires connected to the panel , however mine does. What do I do? Can’t detach it with the wires connected. Please help! Thank you ❤️

Those are sensors, probably the sensor for the front paper tray to be open, and one for the lid to be open.

 

I was unaware that he made a video to convert the printer to DTF. Are you converting it to DTF or DTG?

Edited December 16, 2020 by johnson4

[Jillian]

9 hours ago, johnson4 said:

Those are sensors, probably the sensor for the front paper tray to be open, and one for the lid to be open.

 

I was unaware that he made a video to convert the printer to DTF. Are you converting it to DTF or DTG?

It’s a video he shared that shows how to remove the front rollers. I was able to work past the wires and get the rollers removed though! 

[Jillian]

9 hours ago, Jillian said:

I’m watching the video and trying to follow along. I am (attempting) to convert an Artisan 1430. I  am at the 5:30 mark in the video. His printer has no wires connected to the panel , however mine does. What do I do? Can’t detach it with the wires connected. Please help! Thank you ❤️

Never mind, I figured it out and have removed the front rollers. Can you tell me what I need to purchase to be able to use it for dtf printing? Or, if there is anything else I need to do first? Thank you in advance!! 

[SML87]

Hello, sorry for my english

After removing all the front rolls, I have a problem with printing at the end of a3 sheet, the print comes apart. How can I fix it? Will the Epson L1800 handle the roll of film when I build the stand?

[jaypeeyam]

On 12/16/2020 at 10:10 PM, Jillian said:

I’m watching the video and trying to follow along. I am (attempting) to convert an Artisan 1430. I  am at the 5:30 mark in the video. His printer has no wires connected to the panel , however mine does. What do I do? Can’t detach it with the wires connected. Please help! Thank you ❤️

Hi, did you managed to finish your convertion? im on it right now

[Lamifa]

I got an opportunity to get a converted R2000 or R2880. The gent is very supportive on the process so I’ll probably go for it but just would like an opinion on those 2 printers?

 

Thank you

[Jillian]

On 12/25/2020 at 7:53 PM, jaypeeyam said:

Hi, did you managed to finish your convertion? im on it right now

Yes, just trying to figure out the rip settings now!

I removed front rollers, bought refillable cartridges from Cobra Inks, and using the demo version of EK print studios RIP. The Acrorip is cheaper but I hear many say it’s a hassle and causes a lot of problems because it’s pirated software. 

[therui]

hi Jillian

trying to convert my epson 1500w to dtf

which should the same as your artisan 1430

so far so good, almost done

but one silly question

do u know if  i need to remove this part of the printer or must it stay attached to the printer?

any help is appreciated

thanx and a good evening

[johnson4]

37 minutes ago, therui said:

hi Jillian

trying to convert my epson 1500w to dtf

which should the same as your artisan 1430

so far so good, almost done

but one silly question

do u know if  i need to remove this part of the printer or must it stay attached to the printer?

any help is appreciated

thanx and a good evening

That’s the paper tray for the front loading paper. No you don’t need it, but you will need to make a paper tray for the film. 

[therui]

hi johnson4

thanks for the reply

if i take it off do i need this part?

[johnson4]

3 minutes ago, therui said:

hi johnson4

thanks for the reply

if i take it off do i need this part?

No, all of that stuff is for the paper tray. Generally, I just reach in and pull the rollers off and leave the printer be, it’s less difficult. But if your already removing it- you know what I mean.