DTF Printer And DTF Printing Guide For Beginners

DTF Printer

DTF Printing is also referred to as Direct To Film Printing, and it works by printing transfers that are heat pressed to a variety of garments (and other substrates).

Heat Press Machine

The heat-press machine is mostly used for transferring the printed design from film to fabric.

As mentioned before, it can be also used as an alternative for melting the hot-melt adhesive powder on the DTF film.

Oven

The curing oven can basically be a normal small industrial oven or small portable kitchen oven.

Oven is used to melt the hot-melt adhesive powder that is applied over the film with the printed DTF ink on.

A heat-press machine can be used as an alternative, but it should be used in no contact mode.

Software for DTF Printing

The software is the most important part of the whole process.

A DTF printing requires a specialized RIP software that can handle CMYK and White colors.

The print characteristics, color performance of the inks as well as the overall print performance on the film are influenced by the RIP software.

Every aspect of the printing can be adjusted such as color profile, ink levels, drop sizes and other factors contributing to an optimized print results are all governed by the software.

DTF Ink

DTF is a printer that uses a specific type of water-based ink to print on a transfer film/ foil. These are specially designed pigment inks that are available in cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white colors.

Nevertheless, white ink is a special type of ink because the machine first prints the color inks on film, then with a few seconds delay it prints the white ink which creates a foundation on over the color inks.

This special order of the colors is very important since the hot melt adhesive powder sticks only to white ink and does not stick to color inks. This pigment ink formula has been formulated to reduce printhead clogging and drying.

However, the white ink pigment tends to settle down when not used frequently and therefore it should be shaken occasionally, preferably before every use.

DTF Films

When it comes to film PET films are used for this specific type of printing.

These films are different compared to once used in screen printing. The thickness is approximately around 0.75 mm and has better transfer properties than the screen prints.

DTF films are available in the form of cut sheets (can be used for smaller-scale use) and rolls (allows to print continuously and longer).

Moreover, they also have another classification based on the type of peeling which is done after the transfer. This is based on the temperature; films can be either hot-peel type films or cold peel type films.

Last but not least, films can be one-sided, meaning one side is shiny and one is mate or double-sided, meaning both sides are mate.

The cut film sheets commonly used are in A4 format or A3 format as the roll can be 30-33cm x 100m long. However, originally the L1800 Epson printer can print A3+ format.

DTF Powder

There are two different color types of the hot-melt adhesive powder currently on the market.

A white powder which is used for lighter colored fabrics and black powder which is used for darker colored fabrics.

This type of powder acts as an adhesive material that binds the colored pigments in the print to the fibers in the fabric.

There are also different grades of the hot-melt powder that are specified in microns. Based on the requirements and type of fabric an appropriate grade of hot-melt powder can be chosen.

Nevertheless, there is also a difference in finishes, for example, some have elastic properties which are better to use on t-shirts, sweatshirts, and so on, and some types have more plasticky properties which suit best for jackets and heavy materials where elasticity is not needed.

Dtf Inkt Cleaning

Because the DTF printer uses white ink, it is easy to block the print head. If you directly replace a new head, it will cost a lot of costs.

You can try this DTF cleaning liquid, which can clear the head blockage and allow you to continue to use the print head.

In addition to protection, it also moistens the nozzle, which prevents it from drying out. It has a longer expiration date, so it lasts longer.

It has super cleaning power and removes any unwanted residual ink.

Syringe To Clean Printhead

When cleaning the printing machine it is very essential to have a cleaning kit.

This kit should contain a smaller and bigger syringe and come additional parts which can be added to the syringe to prolonger it and makes it easier to reach some complicated parts.

A syringe is very necessary to have in order to clean the printer, especially all the pipes where inks go. It easily injects the cleaning solution into the pipes and all the necessary parts and helps to clean.

Print Head Cleaning

Before DTF printing, it is important to clean all tank pipes by clicking on “head cleaning”.

After completing the cleaning process, we will need to load the A4 film into the machine and print a color check sample to make sure that all the nozzles are working properly.

Once the nozzle check is successfully completed, we can start printing.

Instead of regular paper, we need to insert a PET film into the printer tray.

In the case of a roll, we must insert an A4 film and print a small sample of a white rectangle.

Then place the roll film on top of this A4 test film and slowly unwind it. As soon as the whole A4 film is out, we have to roll the piece of roll film back.

DTF Printing

When the film is ready, we need to open our RIP software, where we can adjust all the DTF printing properties.

We must first upload our PNG file to the software without a background. Size, color performance, drop size and other properties can be adjusted according to our desire.

The most important point to remember is that the design in the software must be a mirror design of the actual design that needs to appear on the fabric.

When we are satisfied, we are ready to print by sending it to the machine. DTF printing will begin

First of all, we need to upload our design as a PNG to the RIP software. Design parameters can be also adjusted.

One of the most important step is to mirror the design.

Every color parameter can be changed in this section.

This section allows to control the parameters of white color.

The droplet size of the colored + white inks can be adjusted.

Before starting to print all of the little boxes need to be marked.

One very common way to ensure that the powder is evenly spread is to hold the film at its short edges such that its long edges are parallel to the floor (landscape orientation) and pour the powder in the middle of the film from top to bottom such that it forms and a bit thick heap in the center (from top to bottom).

After we bend the film inwards such that it forms a slight U and move the powder from side to side until the whole printed surface is covered by the powder.

Lastly, we hold the film at one corner, and by flicking or we hold it at two corners and by small shaking movements we remove the access powder.

As an alternative, one can use automated shakers available for commercial setups.

If the design is too wet and we apply powder to it, the powder may move colors and they will get mix together

Melt The Adhesive Powder

The next step is to melt the adhesive powder by putting the film into the curing oven.

The curing over needs to have the temperature set around 160 to 170 degrees Celsius.

As soon as the oven is pre-heated, a film with printed design and powder can be put inside for about 2 to 5 minutes until all powder is melted.

In the case of using heat-press, there should be around a 4 to 7 mm gap between the film and heat press top plate.

Pre-press The Fabric Surface

Before we transfer the design onto fabric, we need to pre-press the fabric’s surface.

The fabric is kept in the heat press for about 2 to 5 seconds at 150 to 160 degrees Celsius temperature.

This step is taken in order to flatten the fabric and also ensure the de humidification of the fabric. It also helps in the proper transfer of the design from the film onto the fabric.

Transfer Design To Fabric

The film with printed design and melted powder is placed on top of the pre-pressed fabric according to our likings.

This process is also known as curing, and it is done at a temperature range of 150 to 160 degrees Celsius for approximately 15 to 20 seconds.

It can be secured by heat-resistant tape to ensure that the film won’t move during the transfer process.

Before removing the foil, we must make sure that it has cooled down to room temperature.

The hot melt has an amide-like nature, as it cools down, it acts as a binder that holds the color pigment in the attributes in firm adhesion to the fibers of the fabric.

Once the film is cooled, it can be peeled from the fabric and left with the desired design printed with ink on the fabric.

The film needs to be fully cooled down in order to be peeled off, otherwise, if it’s not cooled down properly parts of the design can be peeled off together with the film.

The final fabric with the transferred design is placed back in the heat press machine again to be pressed for approximately 10 to 15 seconds at the same temperature.

However, the printed design should be covered with greasy paper (this can be regular baking paper with greasy side facing the design) to prevent the design from being removed by the top plate of the heat press machine.

The last step is optional, but it is a very highly recommended step for best results and highperformance parameters like wash and rub fastness.

Suction Table

This table has special suction fans that help paper remain in place during printing which results in smooth printing.

This prevents rolling, sliding, or jamming the foils.

Printhead Cleaning And White Ink Management

This electronic system will have the function of automatic print head cleaning, white ink circulation and mix the white pigment color according to the set schedule.

This prevents the pigments from saddling on the bottom of the tank. in the ink tube. especially won’t clog the printhead of DTF printer.

Therefore, will ensure better DTF printing. Printhead has longer life.

DTF printer controller and converter

Automatic Feeding

Automatic feeding helps especially when using a roll. also known as DTF printer controller and converter.

This allows you to unwind the foil to cut the printed part of the foil and roll the rest of the foil back to prepare it for further printing.

This helps to save time and is a great innovation, as originally the machine does not even have a manual winding that would allow the user to wind the foil in or out.

However, the manual winding can be installed as well not only the automatic winding.

Dryer Fans

Another improvement that can be made on this printing machine is by dryer fans.

These fans are located on the top of the printer and help dry the print a little faster, especially when DTF printing full-color prints that require a bigger amount of colors.

This allows the hot melt powder to be applied immediately after printing without waiting for the ink to slightly dry.