In the below video and the following step-by-step instructions, we demonstrate how to rip an image or Layout to get the ink cost without printing. We’ll also show you how to save the ripped Layout to a file, including all sizing and configuration settings, and also how to load a previously saved rip for immediate printing.
Rip Without Printing
Once you have images and Layouts fully configured and ready to print, it’s simple to rip them without printing. Features of Print Pro’s Queue Manager can then be used to do things like determine the cost of ink needed to print the rip or to save the fully configured rip and quickly load and print it in the future.
For a refresher on how to set up images and Layouts see the Setting Up a Print knowledge base article.
Here’s how to rip an image or Layout in Print Pro.
First complete your image(s) and Layout setup, including sizing and creating the white underbase choke for the images.
Place the image(s) onto a Layout if you want to rip the full Layout.
Select the image or Layout you want to rip by clicking on it.
Click on the Add Job icon in the Queue Manager toolbar — the 2nd icon from the left.
Right-click on the new item added under the Queue Manager’s Job Info heading, then click on Rip. You may instead select the new line, then click the Rip Job icon on the Queue Manager toolbar — the 8th icon from the left.
Queue Manager’s Status column will display “Ripping…” as it begins ripping the job. This message will change to “RipDone” when the rip is finished.
Viewing Ink Costs of a Ripped Job
Click on the ‘+’ symbol to the left of the ripped job’s name in Queue Manager’s Job Info column.
Scroll down the expanded view in the Job Info column to find the amount and cost of each ink color used in the design, as well as the total ink cost.
Saving a Ripped Job
Saving a ripped job is a two-step process. We first tell the software where we want the file to be saved, then we save it.
Review the Save Location for the ripped file in the far right column of Queue Manager. If you want to save the rip to the currently designated location, skip to step 5.
Under the Save Location heading, click on the line of the ripped job that you want to save.
Click on the ellipses (“…”) that appear at the right end of the line that you clicked on.
In the “Save As” window that appears, navigate to the folder where you want the rip to be saved, and click on the Save button. This does not save the rip. It simply lets you edit the filename to be used and saves the location where the rip will be saved when you do save the rip in the next step.
Click on the Queue Manager’s Save Job button (a disc icon) to save the rip to your designated location.
Loading a Saved Rip
Loading a saved rip is quick and easy. Since all image and Layout parameters were included when the ripped file was saved, once the rip is loaded it can be immediately printed.
Click on Queue Manager’s Load Job icon. The first icon from the left, with the appearance of an open folder.
In the File Open window that appears, navigate to the folder where the rip file you want to print was stored, then select the rip file and click Open.
When the saved rip appears in Queue Manager’s Job Info column, right-click on it and select Print or click on the Print Job icon in Queue Manager’s toolbar.
If the print options are grayed out, ensure your printer is selected in Queue Manager’s Printer Name column.
As mentioned in the OmniDTF System Shutdown article (linked at the bottom of this page), performing proper maintenance and wet capping the printer when shutting it down is critical to maximizing the service life of your printheads, capping stations, and wiper blade.
The process detailed in that article requires using the OmniDTF UI software to wet cap the printheads after completing the shutdown maintenance. Moving the carriage away from its home position can be done from the printer’s control pad or the OmniDTF UI program.
But what if you experience a power failure or your PC has lost its ability to communicate with the printer for some reason?
In the below video and the following instructions, we explain how to manipulate the capping station platform and the carriage to allow performing shutdown maintenance and wet capping the printer manually in the event of a power failure or any situation that prevents normal use of the controls and software.
Turn off the power switch on the printer before proceeding if you have lost power. This is done to ensure that the printer doesn’t suddenly come back on if power is restored. Mechanical movement during the printer’s initialization could injure someone in the middle of performing maintenance and also damage the printer. It is also recommended to turn off the curing oven to ensure that it doesn’t come back on and heat up while unattended.
Demonstration video
Your PC Can’t Wet Cap the OmniDTF
If you have not lost power and the printer’s control panel is working fine but you can’t complete the wet cap process from the OmniDTF UI software on your PC for any reason, follow the usual shutdown procedure until it’s time to click on the software’s WetCap icon. At that point, follow the instructions near the end of this article for Manually Wet Capping the Printheads.
The Printer Has No Power
If you have lost power, first make sure the Emergency button hasn’t been accidentally depressed by rotating it about ¼ turn clockwise. That will release the button and restore power if it had been depressed.
If the Emergency button was not depressed, either power is no longer being provided by the outlet or the printer’s power system needs troubleshooting. In either case, we want to ensure that the printer’s carriage will not move if power is restored while you’re working on it by turning off the printer’s power switch. Optionally, you can also unplug the power cable.
The Dust-Curing Machine’s master Power switch or its oven’s ‘Curing’ switch (for power to the oven) should also be turned off, to prevent it from coming back on while potentially unattended when power is restored.
Manually Releasing and Undocking the Printhead Carriage
Remove the small, black rubber plug covering a hole below the printer’s control pad and locate the screw head on the other side of the hole(s) exposed by removing the plug(s).
If your printer has two rubber plugs below the control pad, remove both and identify which is best aligned with the screw.
Identify whether the head of the screw in your printer has a Phillips or Allen-type head.
Rotate the screw counterclockwise to lower the capping station platform until it can turn no further in that direction.
Remove the right side window for a clear view of the side of the capping station platform to visually confirm the capping stations’ downward movement.
After the capping stations are fully lowered, manually push the carriage to its fully leftward position to perform the routine shutdown maintenance.
Confirm that the carriage is all the way to the left as far as it can go. If it is positioned over the platen, the heat rising from the platen heater can cause the ink in the printhead nozzles to dry out and clog them.
With the carriage at its full left position, you can now perform all of the routine shutdown maintenance steps.
Manually Putting the Carriage in its Home Position
The printhead carriage’s Home position is not its fully-right position. That would be too far right and the nozzle plates and capping stations may not be properly aligned.
Use the metal tab on the right side of the printhead carriage and the slotted sensor on the carriage frame to find the Home position. The correct carriage position is when its tab reaches the assembly’s sensor window, at the mid-point of the slot.
Position the carriage so the end of the metal tab just reaches the center of the sensor’s gap.
Manually Wet Capping the Printheads
At this point, you should have already performed the shutdown maintenance, filled the capping stations with Super Cleaner, and moved the carriage to its Home position. If not, do that now before continuing.
If your printer and its control panel are working fine but you need to manually wet cap the printer because you can’t do it from the OmniDTF UI program on a PC, push the Enter button on the printer’s control pad to put the printhead carriage in its Home position, then turn off the printer’s power before proceeding.
Remove the black rubber plug(s) under the printer’s control pad, if you haven’t already done so. (See steps 1 & 2 in the Manually Releasing and Undocking the Printhead Carriage section above.)
Use a Philips head screwdriver or Allen wrench (depending on the screw head behind the exposed hole) to rotate the screw clockwise while looking through the opening made by removing the right side window to watch the capping station platform rise.
Continue rotating the screw until the capping station presses against the bottom of the printhead, then raise it about another 1/4″ or so to compress the capping station seals against the printhead plate.
The printer is now properly shut down and wet capped when the above steps have been completed.
If you haven’t already done so, this is a good time to empty the waste ink bottle and confirm that all of the ink clips are closed.
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.
The below video provides an overview of the OmniDTF Environment types and the following article provides details about the intended use case for each type of Print Pro DTF Environment used with the OmniDTF system.
Your OmniDTF system’s Print Pro DTF Environments may differ from those listed below. You can download and install the latest Environments file from the related knowledge base article link at the bottom of this page.
Environment Resolutions & Options
Environment selection begins with determining the resolution you want to print at. Depending on your design and garment color, you may want to also use one of the optional modified versions for your preferred resolution.
The use cases for the different modifier options will be listed below the base resolutions.
720 x 1800
This resolution of Environment is used when print speed, low production cost, and high volume output are most important. 720 x 2400 or 720 x 3600 resolution Environments are better suited for printing demanding designs with intricate details that need to be reproduced as accurately as possible.
720 x 2400
This resolution of 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 3600
This resolution of Environment is for use when printing more intricate designs with the entire color range of garments where quality and fine detail is preferred over production speed, despite the slightly higher ink cost.
Full Underbase option
A full coat of underbase is applied, even on black parts of the image. Usually only a thin coat of white underbase will be printed on black parts of the image as the black and white inks may interact with each other causing undesirable results.
This environment is only for edge cases and not to be used except for when black ink on the image dries before powder is applied to it, which makes it difficult for it to adhere to a garment. This environment should only be used if you are personally doing the film transfers on to the garments and it is not recommended to ship out prints to customers using this environment as we have seen issues with black & white ink interacting and causing issues with separation from film & ink bubbling.
Light Garment option
This option is designed for white or light garments with a lighter coat of white underbase.
HQ option
This option is designed for prints that require a more saturated color profile. Also recommended for darker color garments (blacks, navy blues, grays) if the standard Environment for the selected resolution is showing the garment’s color through the print.
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.
Exceeding the preset temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius for the Front Heater and 50 degrees Celsius for the Back Heater may result in damage to the printheads and/or printer. Damage due to misuse voids the warranty.
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.
Remember that the Power switch on the Dust-Curing Machine turns on & off the power to all features of that equipment. If you prefer you can leave the other switches on and just use the main Power switch.
Transferring a finished print to a garment is simple and can be done immediately after DTF printing and curing, or up to a month later. Longer storage times may be possible if carefully stored in an air-tight container and in a climate-controlled environment.
Prepare your heat press for a DTF image transfer.
Some materials may transfer best using parameters outside of these guidelines. Use the settings that bring the best results for your materials.
Fabric Type
Temp (F)
Pressure
Transfer PressTime
Peel Delay (cold peel film)
Finish PressTime
Black & color Cotton
320◦
60-70 PSI Stahl’s 6-7
30 sec
30-90 sec
30 sec
White Cotton
300◦
60-70 PSI Stahl’s 6-7
30 sec
30-90 sec
30 sec
All Polyester
260-280◦
60-70 PSI Stahl’s 6-7
30 sec
30-90 sec
30 sec
If you experience the film coating itself transferring to polyester or poly blend fabrics (example photo), try increasing the temperature to 300 and the transfer press time to 30-45 seconds.
Cut out the image that you want to transfer to a garment from the film roll or sheet.
Place the garment to receive the image transfer onto the heat press.
An initial pre-press of the garment prior to the transfer press can be helpful to remove any wrinkles and slight moisture in higher humidity environments.
Place the DTF print on the garment, with the ink & glue side of the film directly against the fabric, positioned exactly where you want it transferred.
Verify that the collar, shoulders, and any seams are draped off the side of the heat press to ensure proper pressure at the transfer location
Place a silicone sheet or kraft paper on top of the film.
Press the transfer onto the fabric using the above table for temperature, pressure, and duration.
Remove the garment from the heat press, and lay it on a clean, flat, hard surface.
When using cold peel film, delay this step for a minute or so, until the inked area of the garment has cooled down to room temperature. Carefully peel the film away from the garment at a moderate rate.
Place the shirt back on the heat press with a sheet of parchment or Kraft Paper or a white silicone sheet between the shirt and the top of the heat press, then perform a final “finish” press for the duration shown above at the same temperature and pressure as the transfer. This further cures the surface of the print and creates a smoother transition between ink & fabric.
The OmniDTF printer uses the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) over an Ethernet connection to communicate with your PC. This requires a one-time configuration in Windows, which OmniPrint Training sets up for you during your initial training session.
The following information will help you to perform that same configuration if you should ever need to update your PC’s Ethernet adapter or if you’ve installed the OmniDTF UI and Print Pro software onto a new PC.
Your OmniDTF printer and its software implementation are not designed to communicate over the Internet or any other network. We use a simple point-to-point connection between one PC and the printer, directly connected with a single Ethernet (“RJ45”) cable.
There are two pieces of software where we configure TCP/IP parameters: Microsoft Windows (Control Panel) and Print Pro. We’ll cover both in that order.
Microsoft Windows
Windows Control Panel’s Network and Sharing Center is where any Ethernet adapters to be used in a Windows PC are configured. Use the steps in the below video or the following written instructions to configure an Ethernet adapter for use with the OmniDTF.
Run Windows Control Panel.
Click on Network and Sharing Center.
If you don’t see Network and Sharing Center in Windows Control Panel, it is because Control Panel is in the Category View mode. In that case, first click on Network and Internet, then click on Network and Sharing Center.
Select Change adapter settings
Double-click on the Ethernet adapter to be used (or right-click on the adapter and select Properties).
Your Ethernet adapter may have a different description than the Ethernet 4 pictured above. Don’t be concerned if there is a red ‘x’ on the adapter, which simply means that it isn’t currently connected to anything.
The ExpressVPN TAP Adapter does not represent a physical (actual) Ethernet hardware port and is not usable. This is strictly a “virtual” adapter built into Windows for creating VPN connections and has no purpose for the OmniDTF.
Double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) (or single-click on it and then click the Properties button).
Click the Use the following IP address radio-button (if it isn’t already selected) and enter the following, then click ‘OK‘. IP address: 192.168.127.12 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
The Windows Control Panel Ethernet configuration is now complete!
Print Pro
Also, Print Pro needs to know the IP address to use for its communication with the OmniDTF printer. Follow the steps in the below video or the following written instructions to set that up.
Run the Print Pro program.
From the Home tab, click on Printer Name Mapping.
Double-click on the first cell space under the Physical Printer Port heading.
Click on the drop-down lists’s down-carat symbol (downward pointing triangle) at the right end of the cell/box.
Select “127.0.0.1,9100 (TCP/IP ,RAW)”.
Double-click on the first cell space under the Printer Model heading.
Click on the drop-down list’s down-carat symbol.
Select “Omni DTF”
Double-click on the first cell space under the Printer Name heading.
Type “OmniDTF” into the cell (or your preferred name for the printer).
Confirm that your settings look like the image below, then click on the green checkmark icon to save the settings.
The Print Pro Ethernet configuration is now complete!
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.
If you know that your printer’s vertical registration is off, be sure to first check the tension of the feed roller knobs on the back of the printer and make sure the left and right sides are at their minimum tension/friction settings before making a vertical printhead alignment adjustment. This mechanical adjustment is critical and too much tension may cause random vertical registration issues that cannot be resolved by the software alignment of the printheads described below.
View the below video or read the following instructions for each step of the printhead alignment process.
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.
The default Production speed is recommended and delivers the fastest output at any resolution & ink volume selected from Print Pro’s Environment options.
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:
Head Vertical Distance Adjustment
Head Horizontal Distance – Left Adjustment
Head Horizontal Distance – Right Adjustment
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.)
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.)
Select the Head Distance option on the left side of the Align screen.
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.
Vertical Alignment test print example (partial)
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’.
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.
Click the Save button in the top right corner of the OmniDTF UI window to make the alignment adjustment.
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.
The process and test patterns for both the Left and Right printhead horizontal distance alignment adjustments are identical, so we will detail the process just once. The instructions will call out the Left Adjust button and H2 field, and you will follow these same steps modified for the Right Adjust button and H2 field for the Right Horizontal Distance Adjustment.
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’.
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.
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 AdjustH2 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.)
Select Bidirec Adjust from the options on the left side of the OmniDTF UI program.
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.
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.
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.
View the below videos or see the following instructions for all the basics of loading & configuring images, then creating and positioning the images onto a Layout.
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.
The latter option is recommended because it lets you make your selection from thumbnails of images, rather than just their filenames.
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.
If the Q Rip tool isn’t visible go to the Home menu tab, click the Panels item, then select QRip from the drop-down list.
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.
See the Print Pro DTF Environments knowledge base article for more details about the recommended Environment selection for different situations.
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).
The ‘Ups’ feature for creating duplicate copies of any image on the layout defaults to copying the image most recently added to the layout. If you want to make copies of a different image (that is already on the layout), first hold down the Ctrl key and click on that image anywhere that it appears on the layout to select that image. Then click the ‘Ups’ button.
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.
