Prestige DTF A4 System
Direct To Film Printing System
The Prestige A4 roll-fed DTF system is an ideal entry-level system for anyone wanting to get into DTF on a budget. It can transfer onto almost any porous substrate (which means a substrate that will absorb water) with some users telling us their success in printing items which they should not be able to, like diaries.
DTF is the best technology for printing on light and dark cotton materials with fantastic detail, bright colours, low costs, and amazing wash durability. Our test showed that after 50 washes the print still looks amazing with no signs of wear.
It’s even being used to replace heat transfer vinyl because there is no cutting, no weeding, no tracing of images, and it is much cheaper to do, even taking into consideration the maintenance these printers require.
This technology, however, is NOT suitable for people who will only do the odd print here and there. IT is not recommended to buy this technology if you don’t want to do daily maintenance and/or live in hot climates with no aircon. If your intended volumes are going to be low, we strongly suggest having the material printed for you.
This printer takes 5 minutes to print a full colour, full coverage A4 page, while the adding of the powder, curing and transferring takes a maximum of 2 minutes in total. Our systems include the best quality inks and film we can get, along with a high-definition powder with a particle size of under 80 microns to ensure all the fine detail in the print transfers. Fiery Cadlink DTF raster image processing (RIP) software is included with this system.
What Does It Cost To Print?
Film cost per 20cm x 30cm is R2.65. Ink cost is R3.65. Powder cost R 2.75. This equates to a total of R9.05 (Excluding VAT) with 65% coverage, and R12.60 (excluding VAT) with 100% coverage. Maintenance costs: To cover the costs of maintenance, including eventual print head replacement, we suggest adding R 2.00 to each print. This makes it the cheapest of all the transfer technologies especially when you factor in that it can also print white. Some bureaus are selling the print alone for over R65.00 without transferring it.
DTF does require some hands-on maintenance, so it is not suitable for individuals who prefer not to clean print heads, get ink on their hands, or change out ink pipes. Regular use of the printer helps prevent the head from blocking. In case it is not used frequently, the user can perform preventative maintenance to ensure the heads and pipes don’t block.
The automatic shaker oven is perfect for production volumes. If you are going to do small volumes you can shake the powder onto the print by hand and use the infrared curing oven (optional extras) which is essential to ensure even curing. Some people put the print into an oven or heat press to cure, but results are unpredictable and can result in the shirt being rejected.
The automatic shaker & curing unit offers the convenience of allowing you to set the printer to print while you focus on other tasks, as it efficiently prepares the print for transfer. This system should not be confused with UV-DTF which is a system that prints stickers primarily for hard surfaces. Some unscrupulous sellers are telling prospective customers that a UV DTF can also print for fabrics. This is NOT the case.
The System Includes
- Prestige A4 DTF roll printer.
- DTF premium powder - 1kg.
- Cadlink DTF RIP – Digital factory DTF edition RIP for desktop DTF printers (A3 & A4) - for windows only.
- DTF ink set CMYKWW starter pack – 1 x 240ml bottle of each colour (CMYK) and 2 x 240ml bottles of white premium DTF ink.
- DTF Film DS Roll – Prestige Premium DTF Film that is 20cm x 2500cm (25M) roll. Both sides are printable, Instant peel.
- DTF cleaning fluid – 100ml of cleaning fluid for DTF printer.
- DTF Maintenance Fluid – 100ml bottle of DTF maintenance fluid. Put on a waste ink pad when not using the printer to keep heads wet and reduce blockages.
- Trim tool – for cutting the print.
- Corel 2023 Technical Edition – Designing Software.
Upgrades Or Extras You Can Add To The System
- DTF Shaker Oven with Purifier.
- 50cm x 40cm infrared curing oven.
- Add a Muggit™ 38cm x 38cm high-pressure T-shirt press.