ImagesMagUK_December_2020

www.images-magazine.com 28 images DECEMBER 2020 If you’re thinking of buying a secondhand DTG printer, Colin Marsh of Resolute DTG has some straightforward advice to help you bag a bargain… and avoid a lemon The search criteria for a secondhand printer is very similar to when buying a new one, but with the added complication of finding out the printer’s history, its age, the cost of parts, how much work it has already done and what life expectancy it has left. All inkjet printers, not just DTG printers, have a life expectancy. Beyond this the printer could continue to work perfectly well for many more years, but it could also prove to be unreliable and expensive to maintain. The last thing you want in a new venture is a piece of equipment that has had a hard life, earned its money and should now be retired or broken for parts. So, how can you successfully seek out a bargain and avoid the pitfall of buying something that is past its best? As the process is quite lengthy, we’ll cover the research process this month, and focus on software and support and practical buying advice in following issues. Prints per day Entry-level and middle-market DTG printers vary in the amount of prints they can produce per hour. Realistic production numbers are easy to work out based on the print head technology that’s used in the printer – often this is similar across different brands with just a few exceptions. In order to get this first part right, you need to establish the maximum amount of prints per day you expect to be able to achieve. There is no point buying a printer that can only produce a handful of shirts per day if you expect to print more than that in the near future. You can use this simple calculation to work out your requirements – these are averages, so please change the figures if you expect more or less margin. Dark shirts: ink and pretreatment costs £1.20 and the T-shirt costs £1.50, giving a base cost of £2.70, a sell price of £11.00 and a gross margin of £8.30. This simple calculation multiplied will give you fairly accurate figures and show how many shirts you need to produce to meet your expectations financially. Printing 10 dark shirts an hour gives a gross margin (not turnover) of £83 per Colin Marsh Industry experts provide insight and guidance in all areas of digital garment and textile printing Digital helpdesk W hen considering a pre- owned DTG printer, price should not be your top priority. More important is how many T-shirts you intend to print on a daily basis, as this will help guide you towards the production level of the DTG printer you will require. Unfortunately, all too often the unknown factor in a new DTG venture is the production volume! Always ask to see a secondhand DTG printer in action before purchasing

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