Printing on Textiles DTG M Series Maintenance Manual
4.3 Garment Preparation
Lint is one of the biggest enemies of the DTG M2™. By shaking your garment (away from the
printer) prior to use, you can remove some of the excess lint from the garment. Pressing the
garment can also help to contain excess lint. White or light coloured garments which do not need
white ink require no further preparation.
Dark fabric, and some colours require a pre treatment process. The pre treat / underbase forms a
special receptive surface for the white ink to adhere to. POOR PRE TREAT = POOR PRINT QUALITY.
Application of the pretreatment solution is key to obtaining white opacity and ink adhesion to the
fabric.
Safety
Please refer to the supplied MSDS sheet prior to use of this product.
This product can be used safely when used as directed and when applicable safety precautions are
followed.
Equipment needed for proper pretreatment solution application:
Respirator (disposable face mask which removes 95+% of airborne particulates (3M™
Model # 8210 or similar)
Foam Roller (the type used for painting) – optional
Wide Bristle paint brush - optional
Liquid Mistifier (airbrush, air pump sprayer, fine mist power sprayer, such as Wagner®
Power Sprayer Model HVLP)
T-shirt Press
Parchment Paper (also named Quillon paper)
Recommended procedure:
The following procedure will help ensure consistent quality and performance of the White
Ink:
Agitate or shake the pretreatment solution prior to filling your sprayer. Locate the sprayer
area in a different room than your printer(s). Overspray can find its way into the printer
and potentially damage the device.
Locate the sprayer area in a well ventilated area. Set the heat press for 170ºC (~340ºF)
In humid environments, it is often beneficial to pre-press the shirt (using the parchment
paper as a barrier from the press) for 10 to 15 seconds prior to applying the pretreatment.
This removes some of the water naturally trapped in the fibers.
Using the spraying system, spray the underbase / pre-treatment evenly on the area that is
to be printed. The recommended coverage is about 20g to 25g (0.7 oz to 0.9 oz) for a 14” x
17” printing area.
Set your sprayer for medium coverage. This is normally the setting between no liquid being
sprayed and the maximum available.
Prime the sprayer for a few seconds by spraying into a large cup, but not on to the shirt
area. This helps prevent larger drops that occur when the sprayer is starting up.
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