Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is not new to you if youare in the industry of creating custom clothing, but you may not be familiarwith its full name. You may have seen videos on YouTube that promote its hugeprofit margin as if it were some sort of magical machine that prints money.However, the 'hidden costs that come along with owning a DTG machine aresomething that the vast majority of people who own businesses that specializein custom t-shirts and clothing printing do not take into consideration.
Let's get down to the bottom line and talk about how much it costs topurchase a DTG printer.
The First Contribution or Investment
Due to the high cost of the necessary equipment, the initialcosts associated with starting a DTG operation might be overwhelming for anewly established company. The cost of the printer itself is likely to rangeanywhere from $16,000 to $250,000, depending on the type of business you run.For this post, let us use the Epson F2100 as an example; the retail price ofthis product is 17,995 dollars.
In addition to that, you will also need to invest in thefollowing items: - a Pre-Treatment Machine (which will cost you approximately$3,500).
- a Heat Press (whichmay be purchased for approximately $1,500).
- a computer (withprices beginning at 1,200 dollars)
- the RIP program(which costs approximately 950 dollars).
Purchasing blanks, making a lease payment, paying bills, thecost of labor, and the cost of ink will not be included in the total upfrontcost of at least $25,145 that will be incurred. This brings us to the nextsubject that we were going to discuss.
The majority of shops begin with a more entry-leveldirect-to-garment (DTG) printer. Buying a used direct-to-garment (DTG) machineis generally not recommended because you won't know if the machine has beenproperly maintained or not. Immediately following the question "How MuchMoney Can I Make? ", The costs that they can charge for DTG printing arethe next thing that a new custom t-shirt shop wants to know about. Examiningthe "market price" for the commodity in question is one of themethods you can use to determine the price of the goods you sell.
The expense of ink as well as regular maintenance
It costs $220 for 20 ounces of DTG ink, which is asignificant amount of money (based on the Epson F2100 ink price). The CYMK inkstake a while to run out, but the white ink runs out significantly quicker; as aresult, it needs to have its reservoir replenished much sooner than you mayimagine.
However, before you go out and purchase large quantities ofwhite ink, you need to be aware that white ink needs to be shaken frequentlyfor the ink to maintain its emulsified state. If you force the emulsifiedpieces through your print heads, you will clog the print heads, and it willcost you hundreds of dollars to replace them if they are damaged. Your shirtswill come out with streaky printing as a result of this.
All that this entails are making a comparison between thepricing at which you sell your products and those at which others in yourregion or market offer their products. In the Pricing section, "you willbe responsible for defining the cost of your wholesale blank t-shirt."Because the cotton yarn that was woven more tightly and then ring-spun was less"fuzzy," you were able to produce an image that was smooth and even.Also, if you look closely at the picture, you'll notice that each of the shirtshas a "black" tint to them, but the shade is quite distinct from oneanother.
It can generate high-quality prints on t-shirts and textilesat one of the industry's lowest costs per print, making it one of the mostcompetitive options. Therefore, direct-to-garment printing (DTG), which doesnot require any setup costs, obtains a faster return on investment when chargedretail, and prints in a shorter amount of time are more cost-effective thanscreen printing for the production of small orders. The print speed can beincreased by up to 35% for photos that utilize white ink, and it can beincreased by twice as much when using a mode that does not use white ink. Thereare six different print modes. Advantages: The Brother GTX can print a T-shirtin 45 seconds without sacrificing print quality at a resolution of 1200 dpi x1200 dpi, and it has a maximum platen size of 16 x 21 inches.
Let's evaluate how much more expensive screen printing iscompared to direct-to-garment printing for an order of 50 shirts with fourdifferent colors. One of the most significant aspects that determine the priceof DTG Printing is the customer or location to which the product is marketedand sold. This is necessary to build a pricing structure for the market. As aconsequence of this, one method that is recommended for developing your DTGprinting pricing per t-shirt is, to begin with, market prices and then comparethem to cost prices. When compared to other DTG printers, this results in a 30%reduction in the amount of ink used for printing, which in turn lowers the costof printing.
If you put the chunks that have been emulsified through theprintheads, it will cause the printheads to become clogged, and if theprintheads are destroyed, it will cost you hundreds of dollars to replace them.With a maximum print resolution of 2400 x 2400 DPI and a native resolution of600 DPI, the Aeoon Kyo DTG printer can offer its customers a high-qualityproduct. It weighs 2000 kilograms and has dimensions of 4.1 meters by 1.5meters by 2.0 meters. In addition, its dimensions are as follows: You can printfive t-shirts at a time at a breakneck speed of 1280 prints per hour, which isequivalent to one t-shirt being printed every five seconds.
This piece of software is a printing utility that convertsthe image being fed into it into a format that direct-to-garment (DTG) printerscan process. With the assistance of DTG, there is a rising market forbusinesses that specialize in the production of customized clothing, and thesebusinesses are expected to thrive. DTG can readily meet this demand, even forrelatively small orders that require intricate artwork and a broad range ofcolor options to be printed on them. This service is geared toward clients whocreate their personalized clothing.
Calculating the return on investment (ROI) is difficultsince one must take into account the costs of labor and maintenance on thenecessary equipment in addition to those of the equipment itself. Because youwould need to charge a higher price for the items you sell, direct-to-garmentprinting is more suited for retail settings and the fulfillment of promotionalproducts rather than wholesale settings.
On the other hand, screen printing is more lucrative when itis used for large-volume orders of up to hundreds of thousands of items,although these items can still be offered at wholesale prices.
Once you have all of the information you need on the totalcost of owning a DTG, you will be able to make the appropriate choices for yourbusiness that will allow you to save money and increase your profits.