AnaJet Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What kind of printing technology does AnaJet use?
Q. What kind of print heads and print engine does AnaJet use?
Q. Why do you call it Direct to Garment Digital Apparel Printer?
Q. What is the advantage of direct to garment digital apparel printing?
Q. Do the prints show details?
Q. How do you keep ink from bleeding on the garments?
Q. How many colors does AnaJet use?
Q. How are the inks supplied to the printer?
Q. How long does it take to print a shirt?
Q. Do the garments need any pretreatment before printing?
Q. Do the garments need any post treatment after printing?
Q. Can you print on White as well as Black garments?
Q. Will the prints withstand washing?
Q. How much does it cost to print a shirt?
Q. What is the machine's size and weight?
Q. Do we need any special software or a RIP programs?
Q. What kind of computer is needed?
Q. How does the printer connect to the computer?
Q. How much maintenance is required?
Q. What kind of inks are used in AnaJet?
Q. How is a garment loaded into the printer?
Q. Is financing available?
Q. Can you print on other fabric items besides shirts?
Q What kind of printing technology does AnaJet use?
A. AnaJet uses the latest drop-on-demand inkjet printing technology and garment handling system, specifically designed for garment printing. It prints directly on garments using a high speed print heads with 1,440 nozzles. Each nozzle can jet large volume ink drops at ultra high speed suitable for textile printing.
Q What kind of print heads and print engine does AnaJet use?
A. AnaJet uses Epson print heads and print engine. Much additional engineering efforts have gone into the system to assure the printer is optimized for textile and garment printing.
Q. Why do you call it Direct to Garment Digital Apparel Printer?
A. In the past there was an inkjet printing method which prints images on transfer paper, which then was transferred to garments with a heat press. This is called heat transfer or iron-on. As opposed to heat transfer or iron-on, AnaJet prints by jetting multi-color inks directly on garments, thus direct to garment digital apparel printing.
Q. What is the advantage of direct to garment digital apparel printing?
A. Heat transfer, or technically dye-sublimation, can only be used on 100% polyester or on poly-cotton with less bright images. Polyester, however, is a very warm material and is not suitable for many garments such as tees. AnaJet printer can print on a wide range of apparel fabrics, 100% cotton, poly-cotton, certain types of 100% polyester and others. Further, direct to garment printing costs much less compared to dye-sublimation method.
Q. Do the prints show details?
A. AnaJet prints in 720 DPI resolution. At this resolution, all the desired details will be vividly shown. Compared to this, screen-printing is approximately 72 DPI.
Q. How do you keep inks from bleeding on the garment?
A. AnaJet software has ink volume test pattern generator. A test pattern printed on the textile material you plan to use will show the optimal ink level you should specify in AnaJet software. It will not bleed but still give you sufficient ink saturation for color brilliance and good washability.
Q. How many colors does AnaJet use?
A. AnaJet is CMYK 4-color printing system, producing over 16 Million colors.
Q. How are the inks supplied to the printer?
A. From sealed Bulk Ink Cartridge Systems, which have many advantages compared to open ink bottles used by some other systems. The sealed cartridges become an integral part of our closed loop ink delivery system. Just to name a few of the advantages: (a) Superior ink flow, (b) Convenience, (c) No chance to contaminate inks, (d) The printer is easily movable.
Q. How long does it take to print a shirt?
A. For a 10"X10" design printed on a white or light colored shirt, it takes between 40 and 70 seconds. The printing time depends on the design, size, material and desired ink saturation level. Black shirt printing takes about three minutes per shirt for a typical design, not counting the time spent for pretreatment.
Q. Do the garments need any pretreatment before printing?
A. For white and light colored garments, no pretreatment is necessary. For black or dark-colored garments where a white base coating is necessary, you need to lightly spray pretreatment liquid to the printing area prior to printing.
Q. Do the garments need any post treatment after printing?
A. Yes. To insure washability, heat treatment is needed. You can use a textile oven, typically 305 degrees for 5 minutes. Most users use a heat press at 356 degree F and press for 40 seconds.
Q. Can you print on White as well as Black garments?
A. Yes. With the provided AnaJet Print Program, you can print on white and light or pastel color garments. When you use the optional RIP Program, you can print on white and black garments with the same printer. While printing on dark garment, you need to plug in white ink cartridges. You do not need to purchase a separate printer or conversion kits for black shirt printing. Please refer to the Printing On Black page for details.
Q. Will the prints withstand washing?
A. Yes, with the post-printing heat treatment. Extensive wash tests show, white shirt prints have as much durability as any screen-printed garments. With a strong bonding agent, our ink pigments bond deeply inside the fabric fibers. For black shirt printing, the performance of pretreament liquid and white ink is the key for print durability. Our black shirt prints will last without losing white inks, wash after wash, if the pretreatment is applied properly. Black shirt prints however will not last as long as white shirt prints.
Q. How much does it cost to print a shirt?
A. A tee shirt typically costs about a dollar and a half wholesale. Ink cost for a white tee is about $.60 to $.80, but this depends on the design and ink saturation level. For black garments, the ink cost will come to about $2.00 to $3.00 per shirt.
Q. What is the machine's size and weight?
A. The printer is approximately 30" wide, 32” deep, and 15" tall. It weighs about 72 lbs.
Q. Do we need any special software or a RIP programs?
A. AnaJet Print Program and Driver allows you to use any graphics produced by most of major Windows based graphic design software programs. PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements and CorelDraw are most popular.
For printing on black garments, it is necessary to use an optional RIP program supplied from AnaJet.
Q. What kind of computer is needed?
A. To run the AnaJet printer program, you need a PC on Windows XP or Vista platform (also see Mac info below). AnaJet Print Program does not require a high capacity computer, but the graphics program that generates the data to be sent to the printer usually requires a lot of computing power. If you are buying a new PC to run this printer, we recommend a computer with a Pentium 4 Processor, Intel Dual Core Processor or equivalent, with at least 1GB of memory. Please note that the AnaJet Print Program and AnaJet Print Program Pro do not support any operating system other than Windows XP or Vista. That means we do not support Win 98 or Win 2000.
About Mac Systems
In order to operate the printer from a Mac, you will need to be running Boot Camp or Parallels. Essentially these programs allow you to run the Windows environment from you Macintosh computer.
Q How does the printer connect to the computer?
A. The printer connects to the computer via a USB 2.0 port.
Q. How much maintenance is required?
A. Like any other commercial production equipment, all inkjet apparel printers require regular maintenace. You will need to perform print head cleaning (by clicking a button on a software Window) as needed to clear any clogged print head nozzles. You will also need to physically clean the maintenance station periodically to clear the ink residues built up over time with the provided cleaning applicators. The frequency of such cleaning varies on many factors, but usually it will take about half an hour per week on a cumulative basis. With closed loop ink delivery system, AnaJet probably requires lesser maintenance than other equipment in the same class.
Q. What kind of ink is used in AnaJet?
A. AnaJet's AnaBright inks are water-based pigment inks developed especially for printing on garments using an AnaJet printers. AnaJet distributors carry them for quick delivery.
Q. How is a garment loaded into the printer?
A. The garment is simply placed onto the printer printing table; an easy and quick method.
Q. Is financing available?
A. Yes. Many third party leasing companies offer leasing arrangements. Inquire with the AnaJet Marketing Dept or your local distributor. An approved leasing company is Omni Leasing. With a leasing program, the monthly payment can be as low as $220.
Q. Can you print on other fabric items besides shirts?
A. Yes, any garment or textile products that you can place on the flat printing table can be printed on. Examples are dresses, blouses, aprons, pillow cases, golf towels, etc. Truly imagination is the only limit. Visit the Beyond Tees page for some exemplary products
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