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DTG Hold European Technical Conference for New Model
The M2 and interested onlookers
DTG and Impression Technology Europe (ITE) are rightly proud of the backup and support they provide to their customers and they ensure that all distributors have maximum information about all of the current and upcoming models. This is very often done by issuing technical bulletins but the new DTG M2 is so different from anything else on the market that a technical conference was thought the best way forward.
The conference took place in beautiful north Nottinghamshire near to Clumber Park and was co-hosted by ITE and UK and Ireland distributor Your Embroidery Services Ltd. It was led by Steve Richardson of DTG Australia who had flown in specifically for this event which, apart from anything else, demonstrates the importance of this new model. The M2 has seen major changes from the standard machines and it was crucial to the continued support for the product that all technicians were aware of these alterations. To demonstrate this we have outlined a few of the major differences between the M2 and other machines.
One of the key changes is the move away from building a garment printer around an existing print engine. Whilst still utilising a conventional print head the M2 is a completely vertical machine with the whole package being developed, manufactured and assembled by DTG. The print engine used in this model has been developed specifically for the task in hand and, because of that, is able to avoid some of the printing hurdles associated with this style of printing. Resolution for instance has always been one of the controlling factors where speed was concerned with faster low resolution prints shunned due to ‘banding’ (a common problem when ink jet printers print at low or draft resolutions). The unique firmware incorporating iQ Interweave, that forms part of the M2, removes that particular hurdle in a unique way. A traditional ink jet printer prints, as you would expect, in straight lines which at low resolutions can cause ‘banding’ whereas with iQ Interweave the M2 prints in waves thus eliminating this problem. Because of this high quality prints can be produced at 720dpi instead of the more regularly used 1440dpi.
The size of the print bed is another significant change with a possible print area of 1200mm x 600mm. The platen can accommodate two t-shirts side by side and can print them with either the same or different designs. Remarkably printing two shirts instead of one only adds about 12 seconds to the print cycle. This large print area also makes it possible to accommodate larger items such as denims, towels or panels. Incidentally you can also convert this machine into the larger M4 simply by adding the conversion kit so when the time comes for expansion you don’t have the capital outlay of an additional machine. These developments mean that you can achieve, up to, an incredible 70 shirts per hour putting this machine into the bulk production market as well as serving those wanting small quantities.
From a maintenance point of view they have made the machine more user friendly with many more parts being user changeable including the print head, capping station and encoder strip. They also use fewer PC boards making fault finding and correction easier and quicker with swap out boards.
This machine is not a reworking of a previous model. It is instead a complete redevelopment of the process using knowledge gained from all their years in the industry. With a design and development department that stays ahead of the game, DTG remain market leaders but developing new techniques etc. is only half the story. They, along with their master distributors, believe that having the best machines is not enough and that they also need to provide the best support and it was for that reason that a technical conference was held at such an early stage in the marketing of this machine. They firmly believe in the importance of knowledge and want to ensure that all of their distributors are as up to date as possible ensuring that all users, wherever they are, receive the same high standard of service and support.
For more information about the M2, any of the others machines in the DTG range, or to find your nearest distributor contact Impression Technology Europe on +44 1623 861173, e-mail info@impressiontechnologyeurope.com or visit www.dtgeurope.com
