“We’ve gone proper industrial on this, we’ve left off the frilly bits to keep the build costs down, it’s got everything it needs, there’s nothing missing and it’s an extremely fast, robust and reliable printer,” said Resolute DTG managing director Colin Marsh.
The firm's 16-channel R-Jet Pro was designed inhouse and features high-end Epson inkjet heads. It’s assembled in the UK with components supplied by three partners.
According to Marsh it can print an A4 image on a dark t-shirt at 2,400dpi in under 90 seconds.
It features a dual head system, with one eight-channel white ink set up and, offset by 100mm to enable the white layer to dry, a second double CMYK arrangement.
The ink delivery system is fueled by five one-litre tanks and uses an intelligent white ink control system that circulates the white ink inside the printer and back into the automatically agitating storage tank.
It runs Resolute Premium Ink, which is a Kodak DTG inkset. According to Marsh, at around £110 per litre it’s less than half of the cost of inks used on many rival machines.
“The running costs are 50% or less of other systems and it’s as fast if not faster,” said Marsh.
The ink can also be printed to film for transfer to polyesters.
The R-Jet is driven by Resolute’s house RIP, which was written by CADlink.
The horse shoe loading system comes with interchangeable three platens as standard, A4, A3 and 400x500mm.
Pricing starts at £10,950 for installation, RIP and training.
Marsh said that with its low price point and ease of use, the system is perfect for firms looking to dip their toe in digital DTG or commercial printers looking to add new applications.
“There’s one important thing though, this machine will not fit in a house,” said Marsh.
“It’s really industrial and features solid steel construction, so you need business premises. It comes on its own stand with wheels etc, but it weighs close to 300kg and it’s around a metre square, so you don’t want to carry it up stairs.”
Systems ordered before the end of March are eligible for a free Viper Mini pre-treatment spray system, or 30% off larger Viper systems.
