think. DIRECT-TO-GARMENT make. Like this article? Read more direct-to-garment articles at impressionsmag.com/digitaldecorating. do. DTG Time-Savers From pretreating to drying garments, use these tips to optimize workflow. By TERRy COMBS, COnTRiBuTinG WRiTER Pretreating multiple shirts can save substantial time, and they can be stored for months or more. All photos courtesy of Equipment Zone. Saving time during production is the goal of all garment decorators.That's especially true when it comes to direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, which doesn't have a reputation as the quickest decorating technology. But in today's world, where consumers have "I-want-itcustom,""I-want-one" and "I-want-it-now" mindsets, decorators must come to grips with the realities of short-run production. The following are a few things you can do to improve your production rate. Pretreat in Bulk The DTG-printing process starts with pretreating garments.The P.42 i m p r e s s i o n s m a g . c o m MARCH 2018 rule of thumb is:When printing with white ink, you must pretreat shirts beforehand. Pretreating white or light-colored shirts with CMYK prints only is a matter of personal preference. If saving time is your goal, skipping pretreatment on light-colored shirts is an option. Do some testing in your shop to see if a non-pretreated shirt is acceptable to your personal standards. Another time-saving step is to pretreat multiple shirts at once. Pretreating a full-front area takes about six seconds with an automatic pretreatment machine and costs about 25 cents per garment.Wet pretreated shirts can go through a conveyor dryer or hang on a rolling rack to air dry. Pretreated shirts can be stored for months or more. There are two truly acceptable methods for pretreating garments.http://www.impressionsmag.com/digitaldecorating http://www.impressionsmag.com