DTG Printing Profitability:
Scaling Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Production with Pod Printing
Every direct-to-garment (DTG) print shop or business owner is looking for ways to increase production and profitability. The simplest way to do this is by efficiently scaling your DTG printing capabilities with “pod printing.” Pod printing is how large DTG print shops scale up their production capabilities so they are able to print DTG in high volume of hundreds of shirts per hour.
What is DTG Pod Printing and How Do You Set It Up? A DTG pod groups multiple direct-to-garment printing machines around a DTG inkjet conveyor dryer. A pod is typically defined as 3 or more printers, operating at the same time. All of the DTG machines are typically run by a single operator who puts printed shirts onto a digital inkjet conveyor dryer to dry. This conveyor dryer replaces the time consuming heat press process. Since the DTG printers are close to one another, and near a conveyor dryer, one operator can handle up to 5 different machines at one time.
Shirts and the other garments are pretreated in bulk batches before printing so the DTG operator can focus just on printing. Barcode scanning and tracking can be incorporated into the process - either on a job or piece by piece basis.
Why DTG Pod Printing Increases Efficiency, Flexibility and Adaptability? PODs are flexible in its ability to quickly and easily adjust to the volume you need to print. As you scale up and begin to produce at a higher volume, you can simply add an additional printer to run with your existing pod. The typical limit for one operation is 5 printers, before most production DTG shops create another pod.
These POD systems make you adaptable in the face of necessary maintenance or mechanical failures. Having multiple, or redundant, printers can end up saving the day. If one DTG printer is down for maintenance or in need of a repair, you won’t be forced to shut down. You can rely on your additional printer(s) to continue production in the meantime.
The use of pods in DTG printing saves money by raising production speed and cutting back on labor costs. The operator can stay busy by loading a shirt on one printer or placing the garment on the conveyor dryer while waiting for the image to print on the other printers.
Successful companies have already proven that DTG production printing is possible and profitable. With the right set-up, you too can be offering customized printing at a production level with minimal costs.
