The Future's Brite

DTG: The Future’s Brite.
Direct to Garment Printing, often referred to as DTG Printing, is a process of printing on textiles and garments using specialized or modified inkjet technology. The three key requirements of DTG printing are a printer specially designed for the purpose, specialty inks (inkjet textile inks) that are applied to the textile directly and are absorbed by the fibres and a heat source for fixing and drying the ink.
At Ink Café we specialise in the manufacturer of our own brand DTG inks, ancillary application treatments and cleaning fluids; products that we have been producing under the TeeBrite brand name since 2005.
DTG inks
TeeBrite ink is our specially developed inkset that allows users to print to white, light and dark coloured fabrics using any Epson based print engine. Designed with the T-Shirt market in mind, TeeBrite Ink when used in conjunction with compatible software offers a one stop solution for perfect Direct to garment printing, creating brightly coloured images on white and dark shirts.  To print to dark garments a specially formulated pre-treatment is required, however TeeBrite Ink can be used to print untreated white or light coloured shirts directly.
TeeBrite Ink comes in a 7 colour set of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black Light Cyan, Light Magenta and White. Ink Cafe prides itself on integrity of print and as such TeeBrite Ink has outstanding resistance to washing and bleaching, although the T-Shirt itself may not!
Our latest White ink, TeeBrite WX works perfectly with our colour range and is proving to be an excellent addition to the TeeBrite family of inks and our finest white to date!
Pre Treatment
We also manufacture our own brand Pre Treatment; designed for use on fabrics or garments whenever white ink as either an underbase or individual coat is going to be applied.
TeeBrite Pre Treatment can be applied in a variety of ways. Some users utilise a hand-held spray bottle that will mist the fluid as it is being applied to the garment. This is a cheap and effective method of application but you do need to ensure that the applicator does not apply large drops of fluid on the garment.
Our preferred application method is via a high volume, low pressure (HVLP) spray gun such as those used by vehicle sprayers. With a wide fan on the gun nozzle and starting from the top left corner, spray from left to right across and down the fabric in an even non stop motion until you reach the bottom right hand corner. Reverse the process heading back up the fabric and then repeat once again to the bottom right as before.
 An automatic pre treatment machine can also be used to apply TeeBrite Pre Treatment.
No matter what method of application is adopted, the pre treatment that is applied onto the fabric or garment needs to be dried by pressing under a heat press platen of appropriate size for 10 seconds on medium pressure at 160c. We also recommend that before commencing application that the fabric or garment is pressed flat for about 10 seconds. This ensures that the fabric or garment is free from creases.
Cleaning and Flushing
TeeBrite Cleanjet Pro is our very own cleaning and flushing fluid, specially designed to work in conjunction with our TeeBrite branded inks; Ideal for the cleaning and maintenance of your print heads, lines and capping station.
As a maintenance solution, place a small amount of Cleanjet Pro on the capping station of your printer at the end of each day after your end of the day maintenance schedule and replace the print head in its close position. This will maintain the efficiency of the print head and reduce the possibility of ink in the nozzles drying out and blocking the head.
As a cleaning solution, Cleanjet Pro can be used to flush and clean contaminated ink lines; as an aid to dislodge any dried ink residue on a blocked print head and as a general cleaning fluid on and around your printer where waste or splashed ink may have become lodged. Always use lint free cloths or cleaning spatulas with Cleanjet Pro.
So as you can see, ink Café's TeeBrite brand covers the full DTG process; from preparation, through ink application to post production and clean down.