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General DTF settings comments/questions


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As I'm playing around with the XP-15000, I've been coming across a few things here and there that I'm noticing and that I'm unsure of how it's supposed to be. If anyone has played around with DTF long enough, I'd appreciate if you can help me out with these questions.

1. Banding - I noticed some people printing setting the color to print at 1440x720. At this setting on my printer, I see banding when I select this resolution. Does anyone else notice banding on their printer when using this resolution?

2. Opacity - I've seen all types of suggestions for the opacity of the white underbase. On my end, if using 1440x1440, 75% is the absolute lowest I can go. Going any lower results in the shirt color showing through. A white on a blue shirt for example would look like a baby blue color. When using 1440x720, I have to use 100%. Do you all find these to be the same in your settings?

3. Choke settings - I use EKPrint which has less settings than Acrorip. For example, you can adjust the choke on all 4 sides on Acrorip while you can't do the same with EKPrint. Am I wrong here or is there a way to make better adjustments? On my printer, 4 is the absolute lowest I can go because the choke is closer to the edge on 1 side. Wish I could get it shifted a bit more in without having to use a larger choke.

4. White vs White Underbase - EKPrint seems to consider ANY white on my print as a white underbase. So if I have an image that has a solid white anywhere, I have to make sure to have "white underbase" selected or it completely omits the white part. Is this the same with Acrorip?

5. Acrorip vs EKPrint - Any reason you picked one over the other? So far the only functionality I wish EKPrint had over Acrorip was the extra choke settings.

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2 hours ago, Mdrake2016 said:

As I'm playing around with the XP-15000, I've been coming across a few things here and there that I'm noticing and that I'm unsure of how it's supposed to be. If anyone has played around with DTF long enough, I'd appreciate if you can help me out with these questions.

1. Banding - I noticed some people printing setting the color to print at 1440x720. At this setting on my printer, I see banding when I select this resolution. Does anyone else notice banding on their printer when using this resolution?

I ALWAYS get banding, with DTG or DTF with anything under 1440x1440, perfect nozzle checks. 

the way this works, is it’s 1440 ink droplets per inch. So 1440 is the printheads full resolution. For the feed direction, you can use 720( lowest setting) which prints at half the vertical resolution ( the printhead). This causes the banding, since it leaves a 720 droplet gap per inch. The 1440 resolution, equally matches the printhead, creating an equal resolution both ways. 
 

anything more in the feed direction is pointless, it just adds more ink per inch, and more time. since to get 2880 resolution, the printhead must pass twice before the feed direction advances once( which is why underbase plus color is so slow, it prints white and color at 1440=2880). 
 

people can achieve decent prints at a lower resolution by increasing the ink being put down kind of “ flooding” over into the unprinted area( the 720 pixel gap), but you’ll always see the quality difference in my opinion. 

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2. Opacity - I've seen all types of suggestions for the opacity of the white underbase. On my end, if using 1440x1440, 75% is the absolute lowest I can go. Going any lower results in the shirt color showing through. A white on a blue shirt for example would look like a baby blue color. When using 1440x720, I have to use 100%. Do you all find these to be the same in your settings?

again, the lower resolution creates gaps, instead of a solid print. I print my solid whites at 65% for best opacity and hand feel, even on a black shirt it looks 100% white. 

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3. Choke settings - I use EKPrint which has less settings than Acrorip. For example, you can adjust the choke on all 4 sides on Acrorip while you can't do the same with EKPrint. Am I wrong here or is there a way to make better adjustments? On my printer, 4 is the absolute lowest I can go because the choke is closer to the edge on 1 side. Wish I could get it shifted a bit more in without having to use a larger choke.

Not that I am aware of. Each choke is equivalent to one pixel and every direction. EKprints goal I think was to keep it simple. If this happens to me, generally it’s not noticeable when pressed.

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4. White vs White Underbase - EKPrint seems to consider ANY white on my print as a white underbase. So if I have an image that has a solid white anywhere, I have to make sure to have "white underbase" selected or it completely omits the white part. Is this the same with Acrorip?

any white in the design, is white. So if you don’t enable the white underbase, it only prints color. For pure white only, I use black graphics and print on the white only settings for all white. 
 

if you only want the white to print with an underbase, and not laying white on everything else, it’s a matter of changing the settings to match that. 

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5. Acrorip vs EKPrint - Any reason you picked one over the other? So far the only functionality I wish EKPrint had over Acrorip was the extra choke settings.

I picked EKprint because of its reliability and simplistic design. It was easy to learn in the beginning. They have great support, and send out updates all the time. The last two things Acro doesn’t have at all. I can talk to the guy who made EKprint, and ask for changes. I can’t do that with acro. From my standpoint, I tried acro first, and EKprint was the most expensive software I purchased at the time, so it was a long hard decision. I ended up with EKprint, because acro always fell short in my specific needs and quality was always subpar. Keep in mind, this was years ago when I first started.

Edited by johnson4
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On 6/3/2021 at 1:03 AM, johnson4 said:

I ALWAYS get banding, with DTG or DTF with anything under 1440x1440, perfect nozzle checks. 

the way this works, is it’s 1440 ink droplets per inch. So 1440 is the printheads full resolution. For the feed direction, you can use 720( lowest setting) which prints at half the vertical resolution ( the printhead). This causes the banding, since it leaves a 720 droplet gap per inch. The 1440 resolution, equally matches the printhead, creating an equal resolution both ways. 
 

anything more in the feed direction is pointless, it just adds more ink per inch, and more time. since to get 2880 resolution, the printhead must pass twice before the feed direction advances once( which is why underbase plus color is so slow, it prints white and color at 1440=2880). 
 

people can achieve decent prints at a lower resolution by increasing the ink being put down kind of “ flooding” over into the unprinted area( the 720 pixel gap), but you’ll always see the quality difference in my opinion. 

again, the lower resolution creates gaps, instead of a solid print. I print my solid whites at 65% for best opacity and hand feel, even on a black shirt it looks 100% white. 

Not that I am aware of. Each choke is equivalent to one pixel and every direction. EKprints goal I think was to keep it simple. If this happens to me, generally it’s not noticeable when pressed.

any white in the design, is white. So if you don’t enable the white underbase, it only prints color. For pure white only, I use black graphics and print on the white only settings for all white. 
 

if you only want the white to print with an underbase, and not laying white on everything else, it’s a matter of changing the settings to match that. 

I picked EKprint because of its reliability and simplistic design. It was easy to learn in the beginning. They have great support, and send out updates all the time. The last two things Acro doesn’t have at all. I can talk to the guy who made EKprint, and ask for changes. I can’t do that with acro. From my standpoint, I tried acro first, and EKprint was the most expensive software I purchased at the time, so it was a long hard decision. I ended up with EKprint, because acro always fell short in my specific needs and quality was always subpar. Keep in mind, this was years ago when I first started.

Thanks for the detailed info. The choke thing is unfortunately a bit off on my end. It's about 1-2 pixels too low so if I have a choke less than 5, the white pokes out from the top of the print. This is the main reason I'm considering Acrorip.

I also forgot to ask about this on my first post. Some of my cured prints end up looking like this image attached. It basically has tiny holes through the whole print and it does show on the final print. It seems pretty random on when this happens. Have you come across this issue?

IMG_9727.jpg

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4 minutes ago, Mdrake2016 said:

Thanks for the detailed info. The choke thing is unfortunately a bit off on my end. It's about 1-2 pixels too low so if I have a choke less than 5, the white pokes out from the top of the print. This is the main reason I'm considering Acrorip.

I also forgot to ask about this on my first post. Some of my cured prints end up looking like this image attached. It basically has tiny holes through the whole print and it does show on the final print. It seems pretty random on when this happens. Have you come across this issue?

IMG_9727.jpg

I haven't, It could be the ink has sat overnight or something like that. I use new carts every day.  Someone with experience with this particular issue might chime in though :)

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11 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

I haven't, It could be the ink has sat overnight or something like that. I use new carts every day.  Someone with experience with this particular issue might chime in though :)

Yea I refill my carts (I just leave them in the printer) at least 8 times a day. Colors probably 3-4.

I'll get this all figured out eventually. I don't give up lol. I am going to get the powder shaker machine and hopefully that will help me dial things in.

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1 hour ago, Mdrake2016 said:

Yea I refill my carts (I just leave them in the printer) at least 8 times a day. Colors probably 3-4.

I'll get this all figured out eventually. I don't give up lol. I am going to get the powder shaker machine and hopefully that will help me dial things in.

It’s definitely nice, I’ve printed a couple thousand prints on it so far. Yea for sure in the printer is what I did too. 

Edited by johnson4
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I think overall, The mini shaker is well worth the money though. I'm waiting for more to come back in stock so I can try and purchase a 2nd one. While my cart build works great, I like the convenience of the auto powder. Don't get me wrong, it's also a learning experience and takes trial and error. However, once you get it down, it works great. I like that I can walk away and do other things while it prints. The longest I've had it printing in one single " run" was about 14 hours. The only thing I don't like about it really is the Powder tray at the bottom, but that's me. I can't tell you why I don't like it, I instead use a disposable  Reynolds " turkey' pan. You still need to make sure the roller's stay in line, and keep the powder in the machine, but other than that after it's all " tuned" it's actually one of the easiest processes I have ever used. My customers prefer it over DTG by far ( so far, we'll see a few months down the road). the auto machines are able to remove more powder, and make for a perfectly cured transfer with the lightest possible "hand" ( the way it feels). 

Do know though, It needs to be on a 15A outlet at least, and you for sure need to ventilate it. I used a 6" variable speed fan on it's lowest setting, works great. you will get some " stray" powder so I would use it somewhere with a hard floor, or put some sort of mat down under it. 

Edited by johnson4
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11 hours ago, johnson4 said:

I think overall, The mini shaker is well worth the money though. I'm waiting for more to come back in stock so I can try and purchase a 2nd one. While my cart build works great, I like the convenience of the auto powder. Don't get me wrong, it's also a learning experience and takes trial and error. However, once you get it down, it works great. I like that I can walk away and do other things while it prints. The longest I've had it printing in one single " run" was about 14 hours. The only thing I don't like about it really is the Powder tray at the bottom, but that's me. I can't tell you why I don't like it, I instead use a disposable  Reynolds " turkey' pan. You still need to make sure the roller's stay in line, and keep the powder in the machine, but other than that after it's all " tuned" it's actually one of the easiest processes I have ever used. My customers prefer it over DTG by far ( so far, we'll see a few months down the road). the auto machines are able to remove more powder, and make for a perfectly cured transfer with the lightest possible "hand" ( the way it feels). 

Do know though, It needs to be on a 15A outlet at least, and you for sure need to ventilate it. I used a 6" variable speed fan on it's lowest setting, works great. you will get some " stray" powder so I would use it somewhere with a hard floor, or put some sort of mat down under it. 

So I've been looking at the mini shaker and trying to figure out how the take up reel works. Does it somehow sense the film moving and start rotating it it as the film moves? Or is it a speed adjustment knob that controls the rotation speed? I would think a knob controlling it would cause problems since every print speed is different.

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4 hours ago, Mdrake2016 said:

So I've been looking at the mini shaker and trying to figure out how the take up reel works. Does it somehow sense the film moving and start rotating it it as the film moves? Or is it a speed adjustment knob that controls the rotation speed? I would think a knob controlling it would cause problems since every print speed is different.

Yea, I’m Not going to lie a lot of that stuff is very vague. I like details, especially on expensive purchases. Asking just makes you feel like an annoying A hole after so many times about this detail and that etc. I had no idea until I received it honestly. But I knew either way I’d made it work. I wanted to make a review video on it actually for this reason, in any equipment purchase I made. Like a “ how I do it”.  So it’s simple and explained, kind of what I always look for before a purchase. 
 

it’s the same concept as my cart build. It uses an optical sensor, that when the beam is broken it takes up the film. It’s all adjustable. The direction, feed speed, the shaker speed the powder, all that. Even the sensor is adjustable. I use glossy film and had to adjust mine. 
 

basically, it’s fully adjustable and automatic. Personally I added a hopper to the powder ( which is already cut out perfectly to do so). I refill mine about once an hour.
 

For example, last night ( with the p400) I printed 146 13X10 prints while i was pressing 250 designs. It finished before I did. I keep an eye on it, sometimes the film will want to go sideways, ( think of rolling paper up on a roll, sometimes it will start taking up and slide over a little, like when you drop the toilet paper roll), or I’ll need to refill the hopper etc. 

you will need a bit of trial and error, but it works great. My video would cover all the “ trial and error” I did, and my overall experiences with it. When I received Mine they had forgotten the adapter for it, I thought it was an adapter to make it run on a 110V outlet like it was a multi voltage unit. Instead, it’s an adapter that coverts 110v to 220v, lol. 
 

overall, it works great and I want another one :) 

Edited by johnson4
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Something I do to prevent film waste, I take a roll that has very little left and use that on the take up roller side. I pull the film through and use spray adhesive to attach the film coming out of the printer to the take up film. This prevents that really long piece of waste. When it’s done printing, I pull it through the printer until my clear film is right at the powder, cut it and manually feed it for the last 3 designs, and then rewind the printer. Overall this avoids at least 10ft+ of film waste. I reuse the take up roller or “ lead film” at least 10-20 times until a cut off the “spray glue part” and do it again from the same roll. 

Edited by johnson4
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/7/2021 at 12:40 PM, Mdrake2016 said:

Thanks for the detailed info. The choke thing is unfortunately a bit off on my end. It's about 1-2 pixels too low so if I have a choke less than 5, the white pokes out from the top of the print. This is the main reason I'm considering Acrorip.

I also forgot to ask about this on my first post. Some of my cured prints end up looking like this image attached. It basically has tiny holes through the whole print and it does show on the final print. It seems pretty random on when this happens. Have you come across this issue?

IMG_9727.jpg

I have seen this.  Too hot on the cure.  Lower the temp and go longer on the time.   You can see bubbles on the other side right?  If you get out a high powered loupe you will see actual tearing of the ink.

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