Looking for a new DTG printer?
We’ve compiled the top 7 printers of the moment to help you find your next favorite. From high-quality prints to speedy turnaround times, these are some of the best options on the market today:
- Epson SureColor P400
- M&R Maverick
- Roland GS-24
- Brother GTX Pro & Pro Bulk
- Kodak DTG Printer
- Mimaki CJV300 Series
- Ricoh Ri 6000
Whether you’re looking for a printer that can handle large orders or one with an affordable price tag, we have something for everyone here!
Check out our list and wait until the end for our top choice.
You won’t regret it!
What is a DTG Printer?
DTG stands for “direct to garment.” These printers heat t-shirts and other garments with a variety of inks, which they then print onto using either a flatbed or inkjet printer.
This technology is perfect for printing on cotton t-shirts because it gives you the ability to get deep, rich colors that won’t fade or crack.
The heat from the printer penetrates through the material and creates a very durable, long-lasting print. DTG printers are also known for being environmentally friendly because they don’t use harmful inks that could harm your garments or the environment.
Our experience with DTG printers was absolutely great!
We printed on cotton and polyester t-shirts using both white ink and black ink. The colors were vibrant, the images came out very sharp, and they didn’t fade at all after washing them a few times.
Is DTG Better than Screen Printing?
DTG printers are better than screen printing because they give you deep rich colors that won’t fade or crack.
They also use a more environmentally-friendly process, which is great for those who care about the environment and sustainability. DTG printers are perfect for printing cotton T-shirts because they can get so many vibrant prints without sacrificing durability.
Screen printing instead has a high cost and low quality. It’s also an old-school process that is slow, messy, and requires a lot of time to complete one design.
Today, many companies are switching to DTG because it’s the future of printing and design.
Top 7 DTG Printers – Our Choice
One of the first things that you will want to do when printing t-shirts is to find a quality DTG printer.
A DTG printer can be used for any type of print job, and they are known for being reliable and durable. There are many out there, so it might be difficult to choose one!
We will list you 7 printers that according to us are some of the best on the market right now:
1. Epson SureColor P400
Epson SureColor P400 printer is a wide format printer that prints everything from t-shirts to large posters.
Sometimes it can be hard to find one of these printers because they are typically heavy and bulky, but this Epson printer has been designed for portability with its lightweight and slim profile.
It is built with a rugged steel frame and has an automatic feeder for printing long sheets of material, so you won’t have to worry about manually feeding the paper in by hand.
The P400 Designjet model also features a dual-head design that allows it to print on both sides of a white t-shirt with the same ink color.
It is also equipped with an easy-to-use touchscreen interface and WiFI connection for wireless printing, so once you get it set up all you have to do is send your design files over from Photoshop or Illustrator and start printing!
2. M&R Maverick
M&R is a company that manufactures and sells digital textile printers. They’re among the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial-sized digital textile printers, with over 100 employees in their factory and headquarters at Alsip, Illinois.
The M&R Maverick is a printer that has the ability to print up to 15″ x 19″ on a wide variety of materials. It features an automated cutter and punch, automatic loading for continuous roll paper, and an optional automatic document feeder. The M&R Maverick prints at speeds up to 200 inches per second in full color or monochrome!
We had the opportunity to use it and the results were so vivid and beautiful that we had to take a picture! We used both white ink and black ink prints this time around, and the colors came out beautiful.
The printer has a wide format so it can print on large sheets of fabric, which is ideal for printing custom flags or very long drapes.
3. Roland GS-24
The Roland GS-24 is a high-quality printer that offers an excellent print resolution of up to 1440 dpi.
This gives you the ability to create sharp images and text, as well as detailed designs like halftones and lines. The ease of use on this machine is also really impressive because it comes with touchscreen capabilities that are a cinch to use.
This is perfect for beginners who are just starting with DTG printing, as it’s also easy-to-use and comes equipped with an LED screen that makes viewing your work in progress very simple.
The GS-24 printer offers many great features at one affordable price point! The feature to create up to 1440 dpi quality prints is one of the best benefits. This machine is designed to handle all types of fabric, paper, and vinyl so you can be sure that it will work with any type of material you need.
4. Brother GTX Pro & Pro Bulk
The Brother GTX Pro is a professional, high-quality printer perfect for the office or at home. This printer offers many of the same features as more expensive printers, but without the hefty price tag.
The Brother GTX Pro has a large touchscreen control panel that makes navigating through settings and printing faster than ever before. It also includes NFC technology so you can quickly print from your smartphone by simply tapping it on the touch screen!
You can print your t-shirt designs, albums for your brand, business cards, and more!
The Brother GTX Pro Bulk Ink System allows you to save up to 70% on ink costs. The printer is designed with a unique, airtight system that ensures the colors will not mix and it’s almost impossible for any leakage to occur. This also reduces your risk of having an issue or needing replacement cartridges!
5. Kodak DTG Printer
Kodak is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, eco-friendly, and cost-effective printing solutions for the retail industry.
The company provides an excellent variety of durable, reliable machines that are designed to produce large quantities with fast turnaround times.
Kodiak has two great lines of DTG printers: the PROSPER ULTRA 520 Press and the PROSPER 6000 Press.
- The PROSPER ULTRA 520 Press is a great solution for retail stores that want to print on-demand images and graphics for t-shirts, mugs, or other personal items while maintaining an excellent profit margin and minimizing their business risk. With this machine, you can produce up to 2.148 pages per minute, using eco-friendly inks and a wide range of paper choices, including standard uncoated, coated, and even glossy papers.
- The PROSPER 6000 Press is the perfect machine for retailers that have demanding requirements, such as printing large volume orders in short periods or meeting strict deadlines while maintaining an excellent profit margin. This machine produces up to 4,364 pages per minute and has a production capacity of up to 90 million pages per month!
6. Mimaki CJV300 Series
The Mimaki CJV300 is a great printer for those that are looking to print on cotton t-shirts. The colors look so vivid and the images are very sharp.
The design is excellent, but you must have a computer that can handle it or your printer will not work correctly.
It’s capable of printing on different types of fabrics which gives it versatility in what kind of project you want to print on. The only downside to this machine is that because it’s heavy, it can be hard to set up.
You can purchase the Mimaki CJV300 from their website; this printer has a lot of great features that make it one of our top picks!
7. Ricoh Ri 6000
The Ricoh Ri 6000 is a great entry-level printer if you’re looking for something affordable without sacrificing quality.
It has the capability of printing both black and white prints, which makes it perfect for those who need to print on light fabrics as well as darker ones like cotton or polyester. With its eco-friendly features and durability, this is a printer that will last for years.
The Ricoh Ri 6000 has an outstanding print resolution of 1440×720 dpi (dots per inch), which means your prints are going to be crisp and clear without any lines or fuzzy details on the fabric being printed. 2400×600 dpi is also available as an upgrade if you’re looking to print on heavier and thicker fabrics like wool.
It comes with an auto-leveling system that provides a stable printing surface, which means your prints will be better aligned and more precise than ever before.
It also has two paper feed slots for different types of fabric including cotton or polyester so you’re able to print with ease.
Which is the Best DTG Printer?
Well, all the ones mentioned are well-known and high-quality printers.
But among these, our choice goes to the M&R Maverick printer.
M&R Maverick is a reliable, high-quality printer for the production floor or in-house workshop. Their proprietary Rip Software is one of the most reliable in the industry and ensures full-color print capability with CMYK process printing that delivers vibrant prints at high speeds.
You can print on different types of materials, such as cotton, linen, polyester fabric, and TPU (thermoplastic urethane), which makes it a very versatile printer. M&R Maverick’s temperature-controlled printing environment ensures that prints stay crisp and vivid, even on long runs of large banners or signs.
This printer is the perfect solution for printing banners, posters, signs, backdrops or other signage where you need high-quality color graphics delivered quickly and affordably.
You can purchase this printer through M&R’s website or an authorized dealer. M&R offers a three-year warranty on all electrical components, as well as software updates for up to three years.
How Much Does a DTG Printer Cost?
DTG printers are more expensive than other types of inkjet printers.
A DTG printer can cost anywhere from thousands to one hundred of thousand. It all depends on what features you want and how much quality you need for your print jobs.
A DTG printer is worth the investment though because it prints high-quality images that won’t fade and cost less to operate than a traditional inkjet printer.
With this type of printer, you don’t need to change the cartridges as frequently. You can also print more often without worrying about running out of ink because it is water-based and doesn’t evaporate like traditional inks do when they dry up.
The cost per printed shirt will be significantly less too!
How Long Does a DTG Print Last?
DTG prints typically last up to 500 washes.
They won’t fade, crack, or peel off like some other printing methods can do – and they will never bleed ink onto the fabric so you don’t have to worry about any extra care after your garment is finished with washing!
The hot press method in DTG printers penetrates the fabric with ink, so there is no need for a pre-treatment. The color remains vibrant and unchanged throughout its lifetime as long as you wash it in cold water – which we recommend doing anyway!
Conclusion
The DTG printer is a great option for those looking to print their own t-shirts.
They are affordable, easy to use, and offer many different customization options such as the ability to add text or graphics onto your shirts before you sew them together.
To help you find the right one for your needs, we’ve compiled a list of seven of our favorite DTG printers on the market today.
We hope this article has given you a good idea of which DTG printer will work best for your needs.
If it’s not one on our list, feel free to reach out and we can find the perfect match.
