PRETREATMENT Pretreating your shirts whenever you print white ink can be accomplished in the same room with your printer if you use an automatic pretreat machine. If you opt to use a power paint sprayer, this work must be done in a separate room. The atomized pretreatment spray could find its way into your printer and cause a variety of problems, including print head clogging. When I get calls about people struggling with a print, they often proclaim that the problem is the ink. This almost never is the case; 99.99% of the time, it's something else the operator is doing incorrectly that is the root of the difficulty. Two things happen with DTG printing when it comes to issues on dark-colored garments. Either the print looks dull or it has washability issues. These problems often are due to improper pretreat application. Too little pretreatment and the print will appear dull. Too much pretreatment and the image may wash off the shirt. It takes a little practice getting things Maintaining a comfortable room temperature around 72˚F and a minimum of 40%-50% humidity is the ideal setting for direct-to-garment printing. A hygrometer (usually available for less than $20 at a home-improvement store) will indicate your shop's humidity level. correct. And, when you change garments or brands, you need to do more testing with pretreatment application. That means a little bit of spoilage and a little time spent on your craft. In my trade show classes, we demonstrate pretreating using a hand-held paint sprayer. Most of the attendees who already have been pretreating garments will comment, "Oh, I've been using way too much Use Info*Action #27 at impressionsmag.com/infoaction See us at ISS Ft. Worth impressionsmag.com September 2014 | Impressions 67http://www.MelcoUSA.com http://www.MelcoUSA.com http://www.impressionsmag.com/infoaction http://www.impressionsmag.com