Topics: OmniDTF

Quickly find the things you’ll want to have on hand to keep your OmniDTF system running at full capacity from the below set of links to our web store!

Accessories

DTF Air Purifier
Heat Presses, various models

Gamut Plus Hybrid Inks

Cyan, various sizes
Magenta, various sizes
Yellow, various sizes
Black, various sizes

Supplies

Hot Peel Film Roll, 50 or 100 meters
Cold Peel Film Roll, 50 or 100 meters
DTF Powder Adhesive
DTF Starter Kit: 50m cold peel film roll and 1kg of DTF Powder Adhesive
Super Cleaner, various sizes
Super Nozzle Cleaner, 4 oz.
Carriage Rail Grease (Freejet Grease), 14ml
Foam Cleaning Swabs
Stahl’s Kraft Sheets, various counts
Silicone heat press sheets, various counts
Painter’s Tape, 10m
Painter’s Tape, 50m

About Print Pro Environments

The Print Pro DTF Environments are used to select the resolution and an associated collection of presets for use to set up & print a layout. The different presets, at each resolution, are for working with different types of designs and color profiles, along with quality, speed, and cost requirements.

This knowledge base article provides details about the intended use case for each of OmniPrint’s Environments for using Print Pro DTF with the OmniDTF system.

720 x 2400 Resolution Environments

720 x 2400

This environment can be considered the base environment we recommend for printing on light or medium-color garments. Color accuracy is optimized rather than vibrancy. This Environment is recommended for all sorts of designs, including single-color text, muted tones, or any prints where details aren’t as important as printing speed, low production cost, and high volume output.

720 x 2400 HQ

This Environment is used for prints that require a more saturated color profile. It is also recommended for darker color garments (blacks, navy blues, grays) if the garment’s color is showing through on prints using the standard 720×2400 Environment.

720 x 2400 – Full Underbase

In this Environment a full white underbase layer is printed, even on black parts of the image. The other 720 x 2400 Environments print a relatively thin white underbase on black parts of the design, which is normally desired since the black and white inks can interact with each other causing undesirable results.

This environment is intended only for edge cases and shouldn’t be used unless black ink on prints is drying before the DTF Powder is applied to it, making it difficult for the transfer to properly adhere to a garment.

This Environment should only be used if you are personally transferring the film prints onto garments. It is not recommended for use when shipping prints on film to clients to transfer themselves. As referenced above, we have seen issues with black & white ink interacting and causing issues with separation from film & ink bubbling, so the use of this Environment requires careful analysis of the transfer to ensure suitable quality.

720 x 3600 Resolution Environments

These higher-resolution Environments are suited for printing more intricate designs where quality and fine detail is preferred over production speed, despite the slightly higher ink cost.

720 x 3600 – Light

This Light Environment version is designed for white or light-colored garments that can work well with less ink in the white underbase since there is less need to mask the underlying garment color.

720 x 3600

This standard high-resolution Environment is for use with the entire color range of garments. This Environment is recommended when color accuracy is preferred over color saturation, along with the greatest level of detail reproduction from design to print.

720 x 3600 HQ

This high-resolution Environment is for generating prints when a more saturated color profile is desired. This Environment is also recommended for darker color garments (blacks, navy blues, grays) if a garment’s color is showing through the print when using the standard 720 x 3600 Environment.

720 x 3600 – Full Underbase

In this Environment a full white underbase layer is printed, even on black parts of the image. The other 720 x 3600 Environments print a relatively thin white underbase on black parts of the design, which is normally desired since the black and white inks can interact with each other causing undesirable results.

This environment is intended only for edge cases and shouldn’t be used unless black ink on prints is drying before the DTF Powder is applied to it, making it difficult for the transfer to properly adhere to a garment.

This Environment should only be used if you are personally transferring the film prints onto garments. It is not recommended for use when shipping prints on film to clients to transfer themselves. As referenced above, we have seen issues with black & white ink interacting and causing issues with separation from film & ink bubbling, so the use of this Environment requires careful analysis of the transfer to ensure suitable quality.

The OmniDTF has a robust set of hardware controls, making it simple and convenient to operate most routine functions directly from the printer itself. Here’s a brief rundown on the position and function of each of these controls.

Printer Controls

Control Pad

This is the set of pressure-sensitive buttons on the front of the printer, to the right of the platen.

Feed Adjustment: Adjust vertical feed between print passes (use only as directed by Omniprint staff.)

Printhead Cleaning: Run a Light printhead cleaning on both printheads.

Nozzle Check: Print a test pattern to confirm that ink flow is optimal and ready to deliver quality prints.

Cancel Print: Stop printing and remove the remaining print job from the printer’s memory.

Pause: Temporarily stop printing. Pushing Pause a second time will prompt you to continue printing.

Margin Reset: Change the right margin from the default of 10mm (use only as directed by Omniprint staff.)

Carriage Left / Carriage Right: Move the printhead carriage to the left or to the right of its current position. Hold the button for continual movement.

Reverse Feed / Forward Feed: Feed film forward (toward the front of the printer) or backward.

Enter: Submit responses to prompts on the display panel or move the printhead carriage to the Home position (above the capping stations) if there is no prompt

Front Panel Switches

There are three switches positioned directly below the Control Pad. Two of these can generally be thought of as set it and forget it, and the third is essentially an emergency kill-switch. Here are the details.

White Ink Circulation: When toggled to the ON (1) position, white ink is circulated for 1-3 minutes.

Vacuum: This rotary switch turns on and adjusts the suction of the platen’s vacuum. We recommend turning it on and adjusting it to its lowest level for optimal film feeding and platen temperature stability.

Emergency: This red “kill” switch immediately shuts off power to the printer’s electronics when depressed. Once depressed this latching switch will remain engaged and prevent the printer from operating until it is rotated clockwise about ¼ of a turn. It will then pop out and normal operation will be restored.

Heater Controller

The Heater Controller is used to adjust and provide status of the OmniDTF printer’s two film heaters. One heater sits behind the platen, to preheat the film as it enters the printer chassis. The second one is under the platen, to keep the film warm as it is being printed on. Heating the film helps the ink set quickly, so the white layer can be applied just seconds after the color layer.

Front Heater & Back Heater: The Front Heater and Back Heater numeric displays report each heater’s current temperature in Celsius. When changing the temperature setting, the displays show the changes being selected.

Power: The Power button turns both heaters ON or OFF, toggling their current status. The heaters automatically turn off when the printer is switched off. If the heaters were on when the printer was switched off then they will automatically turn back on when the printer’s power is turned on.

Select: To change a temperature setting for a heater, that heater must first be selected by pushing the Select button, after which the numeric display of the currently selected heater will flash. The first press of the Select button selects the Front Heater. A second press selects the Back Heater. A third press of the Select button exits the temperature adjustment mode.

Temp:  The Temp (+) and Temp (-) buttons are used to raise or lower the temperature setting of the currently selected heater.

Dust-Curing Machine Controls

The Dust-Curing Machine has its own power cord and switch, so is plugged into a separate outlet from the printer. While the two pieces of equipment are powered and controlled independently, they form a single, complementary system.

Most of the controls on the Dust-Curing Machine are found on a single control panel on the right side of the equipment. We’ll detail each of those first and then move on to the exceptions.

Control Panel

Here you’ll find switches for Power, Dusting, Shaking, Curing, and an Emergency off switch. In addition to these switches, there are also granular controls for setting the dusting speed, shaking speed, and curing oven temperature.

Power Switch

The Power switch in the lower-left corner of the Control Panel is the master power for all other switches and functions of the Dust-Curing Machine. When this switch is OFF, all other switches and controls of the Dust-Curing Machine are inoperable because there is no power being supplied to any part of the unit.

Emergency Switch

The round, red Emergency button above the Power switch will immediately shut off power to the Dust-Curing Machine when depressed.

This is a “latching” switch which, once depressed, will prevent the Dust-Curing Machine from operating until the switch is released. If you ever find that the Dust-Curing Machine won’t turn on from it’s power switch, make sure this switch is not depressed.

To release the switch, rotate the handle clockwise for approximately ¼ turn. Once the switch is rotated clockwise, a spring will push it back out and power will then be restored to the Dust-Curing Machine if, or as soon as the Power switch is in the ON position.

Dusting Switch & Speed control

There are two Dusting controls used to add DTF Powder onto the film as it passes through the powder application chamber.

Dusting switch: This switch toggles the power to the rotating Dusting blades in the DTF Powder Feeder to sweep powder into position to cascade onto the film through narrow slits in the bottom of the powder feeder.

Dusting Speed dial: This dial is used to adjust the rotational speed of the DTF Powder Feeder. The further it is turned clockwise the faster the feeder will rotate and sweep DTF Powder into position to be dusted onto the film.

Shaking Switch & Speed control

There are two Shaking controls used to remove excess DTF Powder from the film after it has been applied by the Dusting feature.

Shaking switch: This switch toggles power to the rotating Shaking spindle with short plastic straps that shake the film as they rotate, shaking any excess DTF Powder back onto wet ink or into the Powder Recycle Bin.

Shaking Speed dial: This dial is used to adjust the rotational speed of the Shaking spindle. The further it is turned clockwise the faster the straps will shake the firm to knock excess DTF Powder loose.

Curing Oven Temperature

There are two controls for the Curing Oven. Remember that using a temperature that will effectively cure the ink and melt the DTF Powder is an important part of the DTF production process. We recommend starting with a setting of 120 Celsius and adjusting from there as needed.

Curing switch: The curing switch turns power for the Curing Oven and the Curing Temp Controller ON and OFF.

Curing Temp Controller: The Curing Temp Controller is used to set and monitor the oven temperature, using four buttons and two numeric displays.

When the Curing power is switched on, the upper display shows the current oven temperature, and the lower display shows the temperature setting.

Changing the temp setting

Set button: Push and hold the Set button until the lower numeric display begins to flash.

◄ button: When in the temperature setting mode (having been activated by the Set button), the temperature setting display shows a cursor in the rightmost column of the setting number.

We recommend making temperature adjustment in 5-degree increments, so for most temperature changes you’ll want to adjust from this rightmost position. To change the setting in increments of 10’s, use this button to move the cursor one digit to the left – to the 10’s position.

▼ button: Use this button to reduce the temperature setting at the cursor position.

▲ button: Use this button to increase the temperature setting at the cursor position.

Take-up Roll Motor Switch

This 3-position switch is set to the down position to enable the motor to rotate the take-up roll counter-clockwise (from the perspective of the side of the Dust-Curing Machine controls.) The center position turns the motor off, and the top position is for reverse feeding film backwards, toward the oven and printer.

You will occasionally want to adjust the printhead alignment of your OmniDTF printer, to maintain ideal horizontal & vertical registration between the color and white layers of your prints. This adjustment does not involve manually repositioning the printheads. Instead, it is done using the OmniDTF UI software.

Print Speeds

There are three Print Speed settings for the OmniDTF: Production, Normal, and High Quality. All printhead alignment adjustments are made for a given Print Speed, so alignments should be made with the Print Speed being used when printing selected as the Print Speed for the alignment. The Print Speed currently selected for printing is shown (and may be changed) on the Settings tab.

Alignment Types

There are four types of alignments that can be done. We’ll explain and detail the process for each following the list of types below:

1. Head Vertical Distance Adjustment
2. Head Horizontal Distance – Left Adjustment
3. Head Horizontal Distance – Right Adjustment
4. Bidirectional Adjustment

To get started, all printhead alignment adjustment types are found under the Align tab of OmniDTF UI program.

Head Vertical Distance

This adjustment, labeled Head Vert Distance Adjust in the software, aligns the white printhead with the CMYK printhead as the film moves forward while printing. (This “vertical” movement of the film is considered the Y axis, while the carriage’s left & right motion is considered the X axis.)

1. Select your Print Speed to match that on your Settings tab (or the speed you want to now align for if you’re running alignments for multiple speeds.)
2. Select the Head Distance option on the left side of the Align screen.
   
   
   
3. Click the N Check button under the Head Vert Distance Adjust heading when you’re ready to print the test pattern.

The test pattern prints a series of black & white horizontal line segments above numbered labels. The numbers range from -14 to +14, in increments of 2 and with zero in the center position.

Yes, it’s a bit of an eye test, but our task is to identify the column number whose line segments show the black & white portions in best alignment with each other, resulting in a single straight horizontal line. In the above example, the best column is ‘+4’.

In the ‘+2’ column the white segments are slightly below the black segments, and in the ‘+6’ column the white segments are slightly above the black segments. As you look to the left of the ‘+2’ column you can see that the white segments keep getting further below the black segments and to the right of the ‘+6’ column the white segments keep getting further above the black segments.

So, our takeaway from the evaluation of the test print is that the column with the best alignment is ‘+4’.

4. Now let’s return to the OmniDTF UI software’s Head Vert Distance Adjust section and note the current value of H2. In our screenshot from step #2 above, the value of H2 is “1453” and the number we got from evaluating the test print in step #3 was ‘+4’, so we add ‘4’ to ‘1453’ and enter the result of 1457 into the H2 field.
   
   If the column number from step #3 had been a negative number (‘-4’, for example), we would have subtracted ‘4’ from ‘1453’ and entered ‘1449’ into H2.
   
5. Click the Save button in the top right corner of the OmniDTF UI window to make the alignment adjustment.
   
   
   
6. Repeat step #3 above to print another test pattern. This should result in the best-aligned column sitting in the ‘0’ position. If this is the case, the vertical distance adjustment is now completed. If not, repeat steps 3 – 5 to ensure that the best alignment is in the ‘0’ position

Left Horizontal Distance

There are two horizontal distance adjustments under the Head Horz Distance Adjust heading. This is because your OmniDTF prints bidirectionally, so the white and CMYK printheads need to be aligned in both printing directions. The Left Adjust is used for the horizontal alignment when the carriage is moving from right to left, and the Right Adjust for when the carriage moves from left to right.

1. Click the Left Adjust button to run a test print.
   
   
   The test pattern prints a series of black & white vertical bars above numbered labels. The numbers range from -12 to +12 with zero in the center position.
   
   
   
   The goal is to have the best-aligned set of black & white bars in the 0 (zero) position. So, our takeaway from the evaluation of the test print is that the column with the best alignment is ‘-11’.
   
2. Now let’s return to the OmniDTF UI software’s Head Horz Distance Adjust section and note the current value of H2. In our screenshot from step #1 above, the value of H2 (for the Left Adjust line) is “9”. The number we got from evaluating the test print was ‘-11’, so we sum together ‘9’ (or ‘+9’, to be exact) with ‘-11’ and enter the result of ‘-2’ into the H2 field…
   
   
   
   …then click the Save button.
   
   
   
3. Repeat step #1 above to print another test pattern. This should result in the best-aligned column sitting in the ‘0’ position.
   
   

With the 0 (zero) position of the test print showing the black & white segments in perfect alignment, the Printhead Horizontal Distance Adjustment (for the leftward motion, in this example) is now complete.

Right Horizontal Distance

The exact same process as the Left Horizontal Distance Adjustment is used to check and adjust the rightward motion alignment.

Follow the instructions from the above Left Horizontal Distance Adjustment section, substituting the Right Adjust button to run test prints and the Right Adjust H2 field to enter updates to that value, as needed.

Bidirectional

Our final task is to align the printheads during bidirectional printing (both left and right.)

1. Select Bidirec Adjust from the options on the left side of the OmniDTF UI program.
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the N Check button to print a test pattern.
   
   
   
   
   The Printhead Bidirectional Alignment Adjustment test pattern will print.
   
   
   
   The vertical bar test pattern has top & bottom black segments and a grey middle segment.
   
   Our task now is to identify the number under the test bar where the middle segment is best aligned with the top & bottom segments, creating a straight vertical bar with the right & left edges of each of the three vertical segments perfectly aligned.
   
   In our example test print image above, the ‘+3’ column is vertically aligned.
   
   
   
   
3. Returning to the OmniDTF UI program, we take that value (‘+3’) and sum it with the number in the direct Value field (‘12.00’ in the above screenshot example.) 12+3=15, so we will replace the value of ‘12.00’ with ’15’.
   
   
   
   
   …and then click the Save button in the upper right corner.
   
   
   
   
4. Click the N Check button again to print another test pattern and confirm that the vertical segments are perfectly aligned at the 0 (zero) position.
   
   
   
   
   With the 0 (zero) position of the test print showing the black & gray segments in perfect alignment, the Printhead Bidirectional Adjustment is now complete.

Wrap Up

Congratulations! If you’ve been following along on your OmniDTF printer while reading this article you have now completed all four printhead alignment processes: the Vertical Distance, Left Horizontal Distance, Right Horizontal Distance, and Bidirectional Adjustments.

Remember that these adjustments are each made with a specific Print Speed setting, so if you print using different speed selections at different times then you’ll need to repeat this process for each speed that you use.

Print Pro provides a rich set of features to set up a print job using one or more images to automate the creation of “gang run” layouts, making the most efficient use of your film effortless. This article is intended to supplement your Omniprint training as a handy reference to refresh your memory and to use as an annotated checklist of the process steps.

Loading Images

Loading your images is the first step in creating a print job. You can either use the Print Pro ‘File Browser’ or click on the Print Pro printer icon in the top-left corner of the program’s window and select ‘Open…’ to navigate through the Windows file system and select image files to load.

Whether you’re printing a single design or multiple different images for a print job, you’ll want to load and configure each image individually.

Setting the Image Configuration

As each image is loaded, set the following parameters using the Q Rip tool.

Size the Image

Size the image in the Q Rip window, using the 3rd (bottom) option to rescale the image if needed, ensuring that the width does not exceed 14.25″.

When resizing, be sure the padlock icon option is checked to lock the aspect ratio and prevent distorting the image (see red box in the image).

Position the Image

The default settings of ‘Left’ and ‘Top’ are always used in the Q Rip tool (see green box in the above image.) Changing this setting has no effect on where the image will be positioned on the layout. This is because Print Pro will find the earliest (topmost) point in the layout where each image can fit as they are being added to the print job, maximizing the efficiency of linear film use.

Create a White Underbase Choke

After configuring the image in Q Rip, click on the Image menu tab and then on the White Underbase Choke tool.

Click the ‘OK’ button to accept the default Choke Width value of 2.0.

The image is now configured and ready to be loaded onto a Layout.

If you want to print a Layout with a combination of various images on it, repeat the above steps to open a file, set image parameters, and create a white underbase choke for each image before proceeding.

Creating and Configuring a Layout

Now that any images that we want to print have been loaded and their parameters have been set, we’re ready to create the Layout that the images will be placed onto, using the following steps.

If the Page Layout window isn’t already open, select Open Layout from the Home toolbar

Create a New Layout

Whenever we create a new layout we must also tell the Print Pro software which Environment we want to use for printing the new layout. These Environments are a collection of “presets” that OmniPrint provides to simplify and streamline configuring print jobs.

Click on the Layout menu, then select New, then hover over Omni DTF and select the desired Environment from the list that appears.

The Layout window is then loaded and preconfigured with the parameters of the selected Environment.

Put Opened Image(s) onto the Layout

Images opened and configured using the above steps will appear as thumbnails with their filenames under the Page Layout window’s Opened Image(s) header.

Double-click on any item in the Opened Image(s) list to add it to the Layout.

You can repeat the above step any time to load more images from the Opened Image(s) list onto the layout, or to load more copies of a single image. But there’s a better way to load many copies of an image once it is on the layout.

Duplicating Images on a Layout

Once an image is on the Layout, you can create additional copies of that image on the layout by clicking the Ups option in the toolbar…


…then enter the number of additional copies you want to add to the Layout into the dialog box that pops up and click the green checkmark.



The additional copies of the image will now appear on the Layout.

Note: You can scroll down in the Layout window if you want to confirm the number of copies if they don’t all fit in the window’s view. You can also zoom out and in on the layout by using Ctrl+’-‘ (to zoom out) and Ctrl+’=’ (to zoom in).

That’s how to load images, set their properties, select an Environment for and create a new layout, and place the images onto the layout in Print Pro!

Printing a Layout

To print the Layout, click the Print menu item, then select Print Layout from the toolbar, or just press Ctrl+’p’….

…and make sure your printer is selected in the Print dialog before clicking the ‘OK’ button.