Print Equipment’s DTF experience: Honest insights and hard lessons

With the slogan “DTF transfer printing – the future is here!”, was Print Equipment one of the first dealers in the German-speaking market who enter the DTF printing system business in summer 2021. The past three years have been characterised by significant technical advances in the DTF sector. Print Equipment had to learn the hard way, especially in the initial phase, when the technology was still in its infancy. Despite initial challenges, the company has continued worked on further development of the DTF roll printing systems, securing a place in the industry.

The entry into the DTF roll-fed printing system business: Busy Bill

The entry into the DTF business began with the Busy Bill model: “DTF had its beginnings in Asia and the USA and was still relatively unknown in Europe. This completely new printing process sounded very promising to us,” says Mario Panter, Managing Director of Print Equipment. It quickly became clear that the company wanted to offer this new printing technology. The company joined forces with the world’s largest manufacturer in this field at the time. The test phase lasted around three months, during which time four machines were tested. The test machines and the first regularly ordered machines worked acceptably for the state of machine technology at the time. Serious difficulties only arose with further deliveries. The machines showed clear signs of corrosion after being shipped by sea, and the ink circulation and hose systems were not properly processed. In addition, the electronics were not designed for production operation. “Looking back, it can be said that the entire technology was simply too young to be able to survive,” says Tony Starke, Head of Technology at Print Equipment, summarising the experience with the first DTF Busy Bill web printing system.

The further development: Busy Bill 2.0

Just under six months after Busy Bill was delivered, there was a change of supplier. With Busy Bill 2.0, there was a clear leap in technological development. There was also an improvement in the technology/support area. However, the lack of reliability was a problem. Although the identical model was always ordered, different models were delivered. In addition, the inferior construction only became noticeable over time. Too many parts, especially in the electronic area, did not work as reliably as desired. After about half a year of operation at the customer’s premises, around 80% of the machines had problems. Similar to Busy Bill, the problem here was that the demo machines worked well. “We tested the 2nd generation extensively on site for six months. There were also 2 test phases at customers’ premises,” explains Tony Starke. As soon as the first regularly ordered machines were delivered, the first problems arose. These could not be solved permanently, even with the support of the manufacturer’s technicians. “As an importer, we are the distributor and therefore responsible for the warranty, maintenance, safety and function of the machines. There is no recourse against the manufacturer,” says Mario Panter, explaining the legal situation.
“As the number of problems, complaints, returns and negative feedback got out of hand, there came a point when we had to admit to ourselves that we couldn’t go on like this. It became increasingly obvious that this was not a reliable system for continuous operation. It was economically impossible to continue selling this system,” says Mario Panter, explaining how the decision was made to distance himself from the 1st and 2nd generation DTF web-fed printing systems.

Effects

The consequences of this “bad investment” were serious in many respects. On the one hand, massive financial damage was caused by unsuccessful installations, repairs and spare parts. The company’s reputation suffered as a result of the malfunctioning printing systems. Customers were rightly very displeased.
Employee motivation has also suffered as a result. Sales colleagues understandably no longer trusted the system. Technicians were frustrated by sometimes 4 to 5 unsuccessful rescue attempts with individual customers.

The 3rd generation: XP600-PRO

With the XP600-PRO, Print Equipment now has a DTF roll-to-roll printing system in its range which, in combination with inks from manufacturers such as DuPont and Kodak, impresses with its fail-safe operation. The machines are professionally set up and wired. High-quality transfers can be delivered in consistent quality. The technology runs flawlessly and the spare parts come from brand manufacturers. The printing system was tested intensively – both by Print Equipment technicians and with test installations at customer sites. The first printing systems were then delivered at the end of 2023.
With the experience of recent years, Print Equipment knows what customers need: Reliability in the printing system, low consumption costs, high printing speed with very good results, reliability, on-site service and maintenance contracts. All of this can be covered with the XP600-PRO printing system, including a suitable fusing unit in 450 mm and 600 mm pass-through widths and the support team at Print Equipment. The printing system delivers what it promises.
5 field service technicians and 3 office technicians take care of support, service, installation and repairs. In the 3rd generation, there are a very small number of support cases, which are usually solved within 10 to 20 minutes of telephone support. “These are often software problems that we can solve directly over the phone. If specified parameters such as humidity and temperature are not adhered to, this can lead to drying. It is very rare for a print head or pump to be defective. Now and again, for example, a cable can slip during transport,” explains Tony Starke Support Operations. These are all problems that can be solved in no time at all and are not associated with long downtimes as with the previous versions.

The common path with customers

The company’s reputation suffered greatly due to the poor performance of the 1st and 2nd generation printing systems. Nevertheless, there are customers who have travelled this path together with Print Equipment. A lot has been learnt from customer feedback and the current system has been perfectly adapted to the requirements of the market. If problems arose with the web-fed printing systems, attempts were always made to find solutions together with the customers – be it a conversion or a redemption of the system.
Mirko Böhmer from MB-Foliendesign is one of the customers who has used all three generations. “The support in case of problems was always excellent. Print Equipment took care of everything, be it replacements, troubleshooting or spare parts,” he says, describing his experiences. He is very satisfied with the third generation: “Two XP600-PROs were delivered at the same time. After the first system was set up and installed and the technician went on to set up the second system, we started production and everything went straight away. Once the second system had also been set up and installed, it also went straight into production and also ran straight away. We then fine-tuned the system with the technicians and it was perfect. Customer happy/technician happy.”

Findings

Looking back, it can be said that when we entered the DTF business, we relied too much on the reputation of the manufacturer at the time. In the meantime, much longer test phases have been carried out. In addition, the company now relies on a manufacturer that can guarantee reasonable support itself. Although you can cover a lot with your own technical team, the manufacturer still has a few extra tips in store.
Print Equipment also relies on well-known manufacturers for its consumables. These consumables enable low-maintenance production and are designed in particular for higher production volumes. With the Asian inks that were used in the first generation, the quality management of the basic materials in China did not meet the requirements of the European market. For example, the quality of the white ink used at the time fluctuated considerably due to the varying levels of pigmentation.
In terms of sales, the most important realisation is probably: no sale without a prior demo. DTF printing systems are purchased by customers with different requirements and very different levels of knowledge. During a demo appointment, the requirements of potential new customers can be individually checked. The requirements for using a DTF printing system can be discussed and demonstrated in detail, which can also significantly reduce the need for downstream support. “For customers who are already familiar with the machines or who have experienced the machine live at a trade fair, you can sometimes deviate from this rule. But otherwise, we believe that a demo appointment is essential before making a purchase,” says Bernard Hofer-von Hörsten, Head of Textile Printing Sales at Print Equipment.
Once a customer has decided in favour of a purchase following a demo appointment, the machine is prepared and tested at Print Equipment. Only then is an installation appointment arranged at the customer’s premises. A technician then spends at least 1 day, sometimes 2 days, at the customer’s premises for installation and training. The customer then receives another visit from the technician or sales representative after 1 to 2 weeks to clarify any unanswered questions. “Especially at the beginning, there are always minor questions that we can clarify in this way,” explains Tony Starke.

Outlook

Despite the bad experiences, Print Equipment always agreed that DTF was a very important pillar for the company. “As one of the first German dealers of DTF machines, we were overwhelmed by enquiries. The learning curve was quite long and quite steep. Due to the numerous problems in the early years, we were able to build up a level of expertise that is otherwise not available in the German market. We are now utilising this to take off with the third generation,” says Mario Panter, looking positively to the future. In recent years, DTF has become the new standard in textile processing and it is impossible to imagine the market without it.
In general, the aim is to see how the market is developing and to react accordingly at an early stage. While the focus was initially on machine development, it is now increasingly about optimising the systems. “Automated further processing is an important topic here. We are also receiving customer enquiries about 4-head systems. We are already testing this internally,” says Bernard Hofer-von Hörsten, describing possible further developments in the DTF area. Topics such as neon colours, combining several DTF systems in production lines, converting from a combination of cutting unit and pile cutter, as well as enquiries about print widths greater than 60 cm come up again and again in discussions with customers.
It will continue to be important to offer DTF customers appropriate support. With its maintenance contracts, Print Equipment is a reliable partner that can provide the promised service.
“Even though we got a bloody nose at the beginning, in retrospect, our entry into the DTF business was exactly right. We were able to build up an enormous amount of knowledge from our experience. With the XP600-PRO, we now have a system that is convincing across the board. I look forward to continuing to develop DTF-Business together with my team,” says Mario Panter, summarising the experiences of recent years. Print Equipment is also ideally positioned in the field of format printing systems with the EPSON SC-F2200, the EPSON SC-F1000 and the TexJet NG series. This means that the right printing system can be found for every requirement.