What are the signs a shop needs to add another DTG printer?
Sign No. 1: Orders are slowing you down
Think about the kinds of orders that may be bogging your production down for a minute. Do you find yourself getting lots of requests for relatively small runs-maybe 1 to 250 shirts of the same design? Or are you getting larger orders?
As your business grows, you may find your order size has outgrown your DTG capacity. One contract DTG printer we spoke to recently is routinely getting orders of 1,000-3,000 pieces.
You’ll want not only to consider what kind of work you have now but also what you want to have. Be purposeful in how you grow your business.
Regardless, if you end up taking the plunge with more machines, there are additional benefits you’ll get that you can’t easily calculate. For one thing, you’ll have more time to focus on the jobs that make your business most profitable.
Sign No. 2: You’re bringing in a lot of smaller high-profit jobs
If your market niche has you taking on smaller, higher profit jobs, then what you need is more of what the DTG has to offer.
However, keep in mind, the newer DTG printers are getting much, much faster. Your next DTG is likely to be as much as two to three times faster, and have more features saving you even more time. Consider these advantages:
- Maintenance on some single-shirt DTG printers is easier
- It’s less time consuming and less frequent
- Wasted ink is becoming a thing of the past for the newest DTG printer models
These advantages mean your next DTG purchase will probably more than double your volume per printer. To maximize the benefit, you might have to explore other brands. Shopping around is a process all healthy and growing businesses are willing to explore, and it’s worth it.
The bottom line is the new improvements act like a force multiplier for your production, allowing you to see higher gains than with traditional machines. Often, it’s more than double the production, and in some cases, production triples or quadruples.
—ColDesi
OUR DIGITAL PARTNERS