Special Report
The next generation DTG printer has landed
It’s faster, it’s got a bigger print area, it’s extremely user friendly, it’s the new Brother GTX. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey was invited to MHM Direct GB’s premises to view the cutting-edge DTG printer in action ahead of its official launch on September 1.
T
he GTX printer is the next generation DTG printer from Brother, and boy is it something else. At first glance, the printerʼs smooth, sleek and modern appearance gives little away, but when you look under the bonnet there is more to this DTG printer than first meets the eye. John Potter, managing director of MHM Direct GB, which is distributing the GTX, says itʼs clear that Brother has listened to customersʼ feedback and suggestions and as a result has built a printer which customers will desire. “Theyʼve done their homework. Theyʼve listened and thatʼs what really impresses me,” he adds.
But what has Brother done that’s different? The most obvious advancement is the lack of maintenance now required. One of the main issues that DTG printers face on a daily basis is the level of care required to keep a printer functioning at its best. “We see it all the time,” says John, “where an operator has not followed maintenance instructions and has damaged his printer resulting in downtime.” The GTX has solved this common complaint and has eliminated the need for much of the regular maintenance, which is bound to appeal.
The operator no longer has to flush the white tubes as often and there is also now a wet capping station. The GTX is equipped with a white ink circulation system for all four of the white ink channels. White ink circulation is carried out automatically every seven hours, but in order to do this the printer needs to be connected to the power, albeit in standby, 24/7. In addition, the two print heads are suspended in a wet capping station to avoid blockage of the nozzles. All the operator needs to do is carry out a four-minute auto-clean every morning while making a cup of tea – simple. The new Innobella Textile water-based pigment inks also raise the bar. They allow the creation of really high-quality prints that are bright, vivid and definitely not lacking in detail. Some simpler designs can be printed in as quick as 20 seconds, while full size prints that require more ink being laid down including white can take as little as 1 minute 30. After a quick heat press, garments are ready to wear straight away. The design of the ink pouches is also something new. Gone are the traditional ink cartridges and in their place are pouches of ink that roll up like a tube of toothpaste as the ink gets used. This results in less ink wastage and far less impact on the environment upon disposal. A complete novice can be up and running on the GTX after just a few hours of training, whereas a current operator of the GT-3 series can easily transition straight over as the user- interface is near enough identical. John says the most difficult part of using the printer for a novice is learning how to place the garments on the platen, ensuring the artwork is print ready and pre-treating – the bane of any garment decoratorʼs life. Given all of these factors and more, the GTX looks set to
| 60 | October 2017
Stunning detail can be seen on the prints produced
Luke Mitford, MHM’s DTG technician, using the Brother GTX
shake up the DTG printer market, and for those looking to target the print on-demand sector it is an ideal product. To sum it up, John says: “The GTX really is bullet proof and very simple to use. It really is a professional piece of kit. Customers who have already seen it have been so impressed by it and canʼt believe how fast it can print.” It appears that Brother really is at your side with this printer.
Standout features include: ● A 16x21in maximum print area, which is a similar size as
a standard screen printing platen. ● Platens used with the GT-3 series can also be used with
this printer. ● Each printer has two print heads and each print head contains 1,680 nozzles, allowing for prints at 1,200dpi in a single pass, making it up to three times faster than the
previous GT-381 model. ● A new design which stacks the white print head behind the CMYK, so when the platen comes out the design is
fully printed. ● The new white ink circulation system and wet capping
station results in less maintenance. ● A new pouch ink system, Innobella Textile, which is easier to recycle and results in less ink wastage. The inks have a larger colour gamut, have very high washability and are
Oeko-Tex Eco-Passport certified and CPSIA compliant. ● A built-in temperature and humidity sensor. If the sensors detect that the room has fallen below spec then the
machine will slow down to compensate. ● The ability to send and store up to 100 designs on the printerʼs hard drive, meaning there is no need to hook a laptop up to the printer. Designs can also be transferred via USB stick or sent remotely via a computer network.
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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