span style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";”>There are many companies that now manufacture and distribute different printers depending on your needs. One of the lesser known printer brands is Brother. This article would provide you all the information that you will need before considering to buy a Brother inkjet or laser printer.

Kinds of Brother Printers Available
Brother offers a number of different printers to meet the needs of any customer.

Inkjet printers. Brother Inkjet printers are able to print out high quality text documents and images. These printers use liquid ink for the printing process.

Laser printers. This is one of the most sold products of Brother. The company offers both colored and monochromatic laser printer that use toners for high quality printing of text documents and images.

Multi-function printers. Brother also offers multi-function printers that are ideal for home businesses. These multi-function printers include:

Workgroup printers. Workgroup printers offer the same features as that of a multi-function printer. The difference between the two is that it can be used by multiple computers through a network.

Features of Multi-Function and Work Group Printers

The features of Brother’s multi-function and work group printers include:

Inkjet/laser printer
Scanner
Fax machine
copier
Network capability
USB ports
Advantages of Brother Multi-function and Workgroup Printers

Multi-function and workgroup printers are beneficial for business owners for a number of reasons. The first is that because these printers already have the basic office equipment needed for any business, you do not have to buy a fax machine and scanner separately.

Another benefit is that the work process can be done at a much faster rate, especially if you would need to send information to a client. Usually, if a document would need to be faxed over to a client, you would first need to print out a high quality copy of this material before having this faxed over to the client.

Lastly, workgroup printers minimize the cost of having to purchase multiple printers to handle the printing needs if your business has a lot of computers. Because this is connected to all of the computers used, a user can just simply select the printer in the list of printer selection and go to the workgroup printer to claim the printed out work.

Disadvantages of Multi-Function and Workgroup Printers

The main disadvantage of using multi-function printers and workgroup printers is that because it can handle a number of tasks, it tends to be more susceptible to breaking down, especially if it is overloaded with tasks. When one part of the printer breaks down and needs to be serviced, it would also mean that users would not have any access to the other functions.

John C. Arkin
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/brother-printers-101-692127.html

It hasn’t always been so easy to make copies. We now can just walk up to a photocopier machine and press the print button and we instantly receive perfectly replicated copies of our original. Just forty seven years ago the copy machine was a pen and some sheets of carbon paper. Instead of pushing a button you had to write and write and then write some more! Just before the 60’s this was a reality and carbon paper was a big seller. Chester Carlson, a patent attorney knew how much of a pain it was to continue rewriting everything by hand because Carlson had arthritis. Carlson had an idea of designing a machine that would automatically make copies, so he didn’t have to do all of that copying by hand.

Think about doing your job without a copier. You probably will have a hard time imagining it. Did you know that most manufacturers didn’t think that a copier would be of much use? Chester tried for years to get people to catch his vision but nobody was interested. Between 1939 and 1944, Carlson got the thumbs down by many corporations, including IBM, Kodak, General Electric, and RCA.

In 1937 Chester invented a process called electrophotography. They renamed it Xerography in 1938. He figured out that if the image of an original document was projected onto a photoconductive surface, current would flow only in the areas where the light shined on it. The first copy was made with a sulfur coating on a zinc plate. He took a glass microscope slide and wrote on it 10-22-38 ASTORIA with ink. He then pulled down the shade to darken the room. He built an electrostatic charge buy rubbing the sulfur surface with a handkerchief. Then the slide was placed on the surface and a light was shined on it for few seconds. He then sprinkled lycopodium powder on the sulfur coating. Gently blowing on the surface, the loose powder blew off and all that was left was the inscription, 10-22-38 ASTORIA. 10-22-38 is the date that the first photocopy was made. Astoria was the location.

The Birth of Xerox The company that decided to take a chance on Carlson’s dream was the Haloid Company. Haloid was a photo-paper manufacturer in New York. Guess what they came to be known as? Yes, the Xerox Corporation. In 1960 the first office copier was produced. It was the Xerox model 914. It was the first office copier that could make copies on plain paper.

Being a copier repairman for over twenty years I have seen the good copiers with the bad copiers. I began working on copiers in 1983. The copiers that I began working with were messy and they would not last long in between servicing. The prices for the machines were very high especially for higher volume copiers. There were some interesting ways of transporting the paper through the machine like the Sharp SF-740. It grabbed the paper with two gripper devices that were driven with chains. This machine fused the toner to the paper with a toaster oven type device.

Some people may even remember having to pour toner into the copier from a bottle. But today’s copiers have a cartridge system that works well. They keep most of the toner inside the copier, not on you best pair of slacks or your dress. They have rollers for fusing the toner to the paper and have very sophisticated paper feed and transport systems that help reduce jamming problems. Digital copiers are now on the market. Now you can not only copy, but print, scan and even fax with them. Perhaps the most revolutionary change in the industry is the full color copier. The sales of full color copiers have really started to explode. There are a lot of new and exciting products being introduced and the quality is really quite good. We have come along way from Carlson’s ‘10-22-38 ASTORIA. I just can’t help to think what the future will bring us. What will the copier of the year 2020 look like?

Chestor F. Carlson (1906-1968). Chester F. Carlson was born on February 8, 1906 in city of Seattle. His father was a barber and they came to live in San Bernardino, California. He was a bright young man and was curious of how things worked. Carlson’s mom died when he was seventeen years old. They say that Carlson donated $100 million to charity before he passed away in 1968.

Bill Tucker
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/the-creation-of-the-copier-127985.html

Take care of your health! Most important. If you can’t play or sing, you can’t make the money you need to in order to survive on tour. Zicam at the first sign of any sickness does kick it in our experience.

You also don’t want the expense of an out of town or out of country doctor. If you don’t have insurance, check online for temporary travelers insurance.

Save money on gas and food by getting them free. Check online for surveys.

Script copier has copies for two cents. This will help defray costs for the flyers you need for your street team. Make sure you have one.

Make sure you have black and white photo cards made up, inexpensively (the least expensive I have ever found are in Los Angeles). Autograph these free while you are sitting at your merch table after the show.

Always have someone staffing the merch booth. Many people will come during the show to avoid the lines.

Walk around after the show with your CD in hand and several in your pocket as well as change (dollar bills) to sell to people. Talk to your fans, don’t just sell.

Make sure to have a sign up sheet on the table at the merch booth. Say something like, “Hey, if you sign up for my touring list, we can notify you of our shows and I will give you a free autographed picture.”

To save money on hotels or hostels, contact the people who are involved with your tour. DJ’s, promo, publicity and find out if they have any friends who might want to be your host family while you are there. Do not take advantage of the host family. Be of value to them and give them autographed goods, CDs, etc.

Don’t waste your money on a lot of merchandise such as T-Shirts, etc. until you are more established and have a fan base that is actually yours. Why? You will spend a lot of money on product that may go to waste. Spend that money once you have a solid fan base that is showing up to your gigs because you are there, not because another band is.

Ask other bands in your genre if they would want to share lists. By that, I mean, when you send out a notice about your group, you also send a notice about theirs and visa versa. It’s a great way to cross promote.

Make friends, not enemy’s. You are not a diva and people don’t like them so don’t become one.

Make sure you have a contract. Without one, you can get screwed.

Learn the business. This is show business. Put on the show with all your heat and soul so they want to come back, but learn the business.

Make sample cards with music samples, not full songs on them and hand them out at the gigs. Keep costs down and make sure you get a great deal on this. Don’t waste your money if you don’t have extra.

Youth hostels are a great way to stay. Be safe.

Hone your craft and skills.

The money you make won’t be in ticket sales, not even the big stars make the most money that way. You make the money with merchandise and by sponsors.

Just because you aren’t a “big” star, doesn’t mean you can’t run in the same arena. Go to you local Joe Smogh shop in the town you live in and ask them to sponsor you band for $10, $25 or whatever. Stress that it’s a tax write-off for them and will help your band. In exchange, you will put up a banner they provide (they need to provide it). Alternatively, you will put them on the flyers. Get enough sponsors to help support your tour.

Jaci Rae
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/how-to-make-the-most-money-touring-78678.html

Printer rental is not the most economical option for a small home office or a small business entrepreneur whose printing is limited. If a business requires occasional printing tasks, with one or a few copies than it’s far better to buy a printer, or even an all-in-one that combines printer, fax, scanner and copier tasks. These retail for just a little over $100. A printer that is used primarily for word processing business task such as reports, speeches, in house documents and so forth need not even use the color copy function to any great extent. These are economical printers and a printer rental for these would be a waste of money.

Where printer rental is an economically advantageous idea is for firms that produce multiple copies day in and day out, that provide printed copy to clients, that use their company printer to product marketing materials, and so forth. If the tasks that will be undertaken by the company printer are extensive, especially if they require graphics, collating and batches of 100 or more, a printer rental is generally a more sound decision than a printer purchase. One of the advantages of a printer rental or lease is the service and on site repair that come with the business printer rental.

Here is a typical printer rental offer.

This company specializes in the powerful Hewlett Packard 4600 color laser printer rental although it also offers many makes and models of both laser and inkjet printers.

The printer rental firm has a large inventory of printers both black and white as well as color. You can have your printer rental directly connected to your firm’s business computer or you can rent printers that are network enabled. If you know your company’s network settings, this printer rental vendor can configure the printer with the IP you’ll need and the gateway information.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you may have to update your printer drivers whether your operating system is Windows or Mac. This firm will help you get that accomplished.

Another option you may want to consider when you get your printer rental is the rental of a wireless server for your later printer. If you’re using a temporary wireless business computer network, or you are in any way constrained from having additional cables in your location this would resolve that issue. This printer rental vendor can rent the wireless server to you and can also integrate all the hardware into your network. They can even set it up for a situation such as a trade show, where you’ll need to network from the exhibit hall of a convention center and so forth.

This printer rental provides a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. Included in the printer rental are the firm’s assurance of sales experts with printer and other rental equipment expertise, and a huge inventory of top of the line products that include Hewlett Packard, NEC, Apple; Compaq, Pioneer and Fujitsu, and others.

Printer rental includes software loading and configuration prior to delivery. This includes your firm’s proprietary imaging. Your printer rental equipment is tested for quality assurance, to ensure that the equipment you are renting works as it should. The rental guarantee also includes delivery and installation by technicians who are both certified and in uniform.

Technical support of the printer rental equipment is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The response time for on-site delivery, service and support is short, and the technicians all carry two way radios for instant communication with clients.

Replacement service is guaranteed on printer rental equipment that is faulty, and help desk support is unlimited and available via toll free number.

Robert Michael
http://www.articlesbase.com/advertising-articles/printer-rental-do-business-need-them-71228.html

If you wish to accomplish various functions at the cost of a single product-a multifunctional printer is just what you need. You can use a multifunctional printer to print, copy, fax and scan. Let’s go ahead and discuss the advantages of such a product.

It is small in size and big in function

A multifunctional printer is fairly small in size and does not occupy much space. It is ideal for your home office as it provides ample space to place your essential equipment.

It is multipurpose in nature

As the name well suggests, a multifunction printer is made to perform a variety of tasks. While the printer is a single entity, it has the ability to print, fax, copy and scan. It is a single machine which can provide a variety of functions.

It is flexible

A multipurpose printer is portable and can therefore be moved around with ease. There are times when you might need to shift the product to a smaller location, or, owing to shortage of space, place it in a corner. It is well adapted for such emergencies and can be placed at each workstation without occupying a lot of space.

It is scalable

Scalability is perhaps the biggest virtue of a multifunctional printer and this makes it all the more adorable printer for home office use. The machinery is tough and it is made to withstand hours of abuse.

These were the advantages of a multifunctional printer. Let’s now discuss some of its disadvantages.

Wrong Choice of Printer

While choosing a printer for your multifunctional set up, you have only two options. The first is a standard inkjet printer which uses magnetized plates to take a print out and the second is a laser printer which sends a laser beam to produce the desired effect. The disadvantage of choosing a relativity inexpensive inkjet over a laser printer is the lack of speed.

Compatibility with the operating system

Some printers are only compatible with a standard Windows set up while others prefer Mac. You need to choose a printer which is compatible with both as well as other OS like Linux.

Wrong Choice of Scanners

It has been noticed that while setting up a multifunctional printer, people tend to ignore their scanners and opt for a sheet bed scanner. Instead, go in for a flat bed model.

Copier instead of Analog

For a multifunctional set up, you need to choose a copier instead of an analog machine. It is faster and more efficient but some people refrain from doing so. Likewise, it has been noted that some people go in for an automatic paper feeder instead of a manual fed model.

Brenda Stokes
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/5-reasons-to-buy-or-not-to-buy-multifunctional-printer-for-your-home-office-679277.html

So you need ten sets of a fifty page document for this mornings meeting. It’s 8:30AM and your meeting is at 9:00AM. You begin with your project and the copier jams. You clear the jam but it keeps jamming! It’s not pulling in the paper. Sure you can call the repair person, but you need the copies now! There’s nothing you can do, or is there?

All office equipment that feeds paper has a component inside that pulls the paper out of the paper tray and into the machine. Most are made out of rubber and just like the tires on your car they wear out. When a roller is worn and dirty they will cause paper jams. The purpose of this article is to show you how you can clean or rejuvenate the rollers long enough for you to complete your job and have your repair person come out and fix it properly.

Alternative solutions

When your machine is jamming, first locate where the paper is jamming. Which paper tray? Is it tray 1 or tray 2? Also which size is jamming? On machines that have more than one paper tray you can switch paper trays and then you can skip cleaning the rollers. Make sure when you change cassettes that the copier registers the correct size. The machine will think it is a different size and it will jam. The sensors are set for a specific timing and it will know the difference in length from letter size and legal size. I also would try using the bypass tray or manual feed tray if so equipped. This will get you up and running quicker than cleaning the rollers.

Determining if the rollers are the problem:

If you need the specific tray to be functional we will get busy with the repair.

First make a single copy in the tray that is jamming. By doing this you are determining where the paper is jamming. If it is jamming in the exit for instance, you have another problem. If it is jamming in the center of the machine, again it is a different problem. But if it jams at the cassette or paper tray area the next step is removing the paper tray. Shine your flashlight into the paper feed area and see if there are any pieces of paper torn off inside or something blocking the paper path. Now that you have ruled out a blocked paper path, you can clean the feed roller(s).

Tools Required:

Flashlight, strong cotton towel (so it will not rip off in the machine), WD-40 or Rubber roller rejuvenator.

Note: Never use alcohol to clean rollers. It dries out the tread and the remaining tread will get ripped off and then it still will not feed. Use WD-40 it works great!

Cleaning the rollers:

Shine your flashlight into the paper feed area and locate the rubber rollers that feed the paper in. Grab your towel and saturate it with cleaning fluid. This can be WD-40 or your favorite roller rejuvenator. Start by cleaning the roller and spinning it all the way around not missing any of the surfaces of the roller. Then go over it again with the dry part of the towel. As I said there are many different types. Some have a set of three rollers. One Pre-feed roller, this pushes the paper into the other rollers. One feed roller and one separation roller. Others have a half moon style. These are harder to clean because they have a clutch system that keeps it at home position when not feeding.

WARNING: If you try and turn these to clean them you will damage the clutch mechanism! There are two ways you can clean these types. First you can actuate the clutch by pushing down on the solenoid or release lever. This sometimes can be hard to get to. You can also start the copy process and shut off the machine exactly when the feed roller engages. This takes some patience and practice but it is better than damaging the clutch. Once you get it where you can clean the roller repeat the procedure above.

Some alternatives to replacing feed rollers:

There is a material called feed roller tape. I have used it when I didn’t have the right roller in my car stock. It works with some styles mainly half moon styles. Just peel off the adhesive and wrap it around the worn roller surface. They also have some that stretch over the old rollers. I have never used this but I have been told it will get you up and running. On old copiers or printers that you can no longer get parts for you can apply clear silicon on the feed surface and let it dry twenty four hours. It works but I am inclined to use the real thing. You can also use generic rollers manufactured for almost all equipment. I have mixed feeling about these because I have had to go back and change them again later. For the best repair I use genuine OEM feed rollers. They are still inexpensive and they will last you longer and you will have fewer headaches.

Feed Rollers

There are many types of rollers and feed systems. Here are some common feed rollers with their part numbers. Rollers will normally come in a maintenance kit but they may need to be replaced approximately half way through the maintenance kit cycle.

HP LJ-4000 laser printer

Feed Rollers

RG5-2651-000CN x 2

Note: These are very easily replaced. Just unsnap them and replace them with the new roller.

Toshiba E-Studio 350/450 photocopier

Paper Feed Rollers

44201807000 x2, 4400669910

Note: These take a little more work. First you need to remove the paper feed assembly and then you can get to the clips that hold them on.

I hope this has helped you complete your print or copy job. Please remember that this article is just a quick fix and not a long term solution. Be sure and call your repair person to fix it correctly.

Bill Tucker
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/quick-fix-for-paper-feed-problems-on-copiers-fax-and-printers-131556.html

The phase of economic depression has done something positive, indeed. Those who run their small-scale offices have turned more saving-friendly. They are devising and applying latest and unique methods of effective cost-cutting.

So if you are one of those who want to save the maximum, then you need to start from basics. Start from choosing the best office automation products. Go out to grab a multifunction printer. It will help you to make the most of your plans. How?

Buying a multifunction printer can be a boon to your business. For fun part, it can be your new saving account or a piggy bank. It will help you a lot to reduce costs and office expenses.Surely, a machine which works not only as a copier, printer or scanner but also helps you in receiving and sending the faxes can be no less than a boon. However, you need to be a bit careful while buying your printer.

Choose Your Technology : Like any other conventional printer, a multifunction printer comes either with laser technology or ink-jet technology both. It is upon you which one to choose. Remember, the ink-jet multifunction printers are the most suitable printers for low-scale businesses.

Paper-holding Capacity : As you need to get printouts too frequently, the paper holding capacity of the printer must be sufficient. Choose a printer which can hold 200-250 sheets in its paper feeder.

See The Speed : Choosing a printer which prints documents at a great speed is a clever step. It really minimizes your office expenses. A good multifunction printer must print 20-30 pages per minute.

Memory Matters : This too depends upon the type of business you carry. A printer with a memory capacity of 6-8 MB is adequate enough for a small business holder.

Easy Integration and Installation : Your new multifunction printer needs to be efficient enough to get connected to the existing network easily. So don’t forget to ask for the user manuals or software which help you to install and integrate your printer with minimum effort.

Helping Wizards : Also a reliable printer is one which can guide you successfully when you face troubles while operating it. Thus look out how helpful are the inbuilt wizards which guide you step by step when you need troubleshooting. Also it helps in upgrading process.

User Friendly : As it is a multifunction printer, its operation becomes more complex. So you need to grab a product which is easy to use. The switches, well guided indications and signs describing the effortless use of the printer make it more user friendly.

Made for Multiple Users : A multifunction printer must be equipped to be used by multiple users at a single point of time . As there are no separate scanners and copiers, many people would want to use it synchronously. So there should be the feature of wireless connectivity so it can be used by multiple users accordingly.

LCD Screen : A less equipped printer needs a PC to get the photos printed. As you need to reduce costs drastically, you need to buy a multifunction printer which comes with a big LCD screen. Thus you will not require a PC.

Pattrick Savarna
http://www.articlesbase.com/gadgets-and-gizmos-articles/multiple-tips-to-buy-a-multifunction-printer-721128.html

Printer toner cartridges for laser printers are definitely the most elite features related with high-quality, laser productions. Most laser systems use four colors in toner cartridges, with each color selected inside toner cartridge for simple use and accurate functionality. There are as well laser printers that uses one color and which are known to be monochrome printers. Laser printers work in the similar way as any copier machines, in that a laser ray is used to make an electrical charge on a drum that is passed by way of a toner color cartridge. The color that is in fact picked up in the process is then rolled onto paper making heat set color applications. Laser productions are recognized for their superior quality and slick exterior free from the more absorbent look of inkjet printing cartridges.

HP laser printers are all effective, high-speed, high-volume printers. These printers are usually known to be more reliable and more famous than other available brands. To purchase a toner cartridge for an HP laser printer you can follow the following steps. The process is quite easy once you take into consideration cost and quality.

Step One

Before you even start of research on how you would like to replace your existing toner cartridges, pick up your owner’s manual for your HP laser printer. Get the information on disposing, buying and installing hp printer toner cartridge into that particular hp model.

Step Two

Go online and research on other available media options for buying hp laser printer toner cartridge. Your owner’s manual may even ask you to buy an hp toner cartridge, but it is not actually necessary.

Step Three

Next you have to decide whether you would like to buy an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) toner cartridge, toner refills, compatible cartridges or remanufactured cartridges according to you need.

Step Four

Find an outlet that is ready to supply your toner cartridges. You should always consider using online store to find a best deals before you start to shop.

Step Five

The last step is to purchase your toner cartridge. Again, pick out your owner’s manual to correctly install the cartridge. Also follow the instruction given on the cartridge package.

Tips & Warnings

• Even though HP toner cartridges have its own advantages of obviously being made by the same company who made your computer, there are as well other enough options.

• Find out what are apt toner cartridges compatible with your HP laser printer. Many toner cartridges do the job for HP laser printers on less than the cost of an OEM cartridge.

• Make sure the toner cartridge you purchase is well-matched with your printer if it is not an HP cartridge. Using non-compatible cartridges would surely damage your printer.

senthil
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/toner-cartridges-for-hp-laser-printer-136423.html

Xerox has become so synonymous with printing and copying that people even use it as a verb that means to make copies. However, being well-known in an industry doesn’t necessarily translate into having the best products available. Keep reading to find about some of the good and the bad about Xerox laser printers and copiers.

Pros of Buying a Xerox Printer or Copier

Here are a few good reasons why you might want to consider buying a Xerox:

• Quality printing. One thing most consumers do agree on when it comes to Xerox printers and copiers is that you can’t get much better quality without using one of those $1,500 models you find at your local printing supply store. They do a great job on a wide range of paper styles and can provide professional-looking print jobs that amaze consumers.
• Fast warm up time. If you’ve used copiers or laser printers, you know that the first print or copy job of the morning can take forever because the machine has to warm up. With the Xerox printers and copiers, the warm up time is much faster than normal. One of their smaller laser printers, for example, had a warm up time of less than 15 seconds which is pretty good.
• Reputation. No one can deny that Xerox does have a strong reputation in the business. Professionals looking to purchase copiers almost always gravitate towards the Xerox brand because it is familiar and has a long history of providing quality products.

Cons of Buying a Xerox Printer or Copier

While buying a Xerox model can have some real advantages, there are a few considerations that might make it the wrong choice for you.

Size. Most of the Xerox laser printers and copiers are not compact enough to fit comfortably in a home or even in a small office. They are larger and bulkier than most of the units sold by other manufacturers. That’s because Xerox models tend to be sold towards a business audience.

Price. Xerox printers also tend to be fairly expensive. Because they are designed for a business-oriented market, the prices are several hundred dollars above what the average consumer probably wants to spend. Even one of the smallest laser printers offered by the company costs about $180 and that’s only for monochrome.

Ink Issues

While the larger Xerox printers do the best job, they have some issues that would not make them a good choice for homes. For example, many of the units must be left to continuously run. When they are turned off, they release their printer ink cartridges and that means you’ll end up paying a lot more for replacements than you should. On the other hand, if you leave them on then you’re going to end up running up a large electric bill and being annoyed by the often noisy operation.

Getting a Xerox?

Although Xerox laser printers and copiers may not be the right choice for personal use in most cases, they could be a great choice for offices. Remember to do some comparison shopping before finalizing your decision.

John C. Arkin
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/pros-cons-of-buying-a-xerox-laser-printer-or-copier-for-your-home-or-office-687421.html

Take heart, this article isn’t going to try to sell you anything. Its goal is just to help you become better informed about your choices when it comes to digital printing.  One thing everyone agrees on is that digital printing is ideal for short-run garment decoration (although I do know of companies that use it to print jobs that run in the hundreds) and has opened up new markets and new profit opportunities for a lot of companies.

First of all, let’s define the technologies available today that are considered digital. In no particular order they are: Sublimation, direct to garment or ink-jet to garment, ink-jet transfers, CLC (color laser copier transfers), and print/cut. All of them have their advantages and their limitations. 
With sublimation, everyone knows that it won’t work on dark garments and that it is primarily designed for use on polyester or polyester-blend garments. Application on cotton is possible with some pre-treating. There has been progress made in the development of sublimation systems that permit more flexibility, but the technology has a reputation as being difficult to perfect. It remains an excellent method for customizing hard goods such as mugs, mouse pads, coasters and more. 

There has also been a lot of excitement over direct to garment printing and many people have invested in this ink-jet based system that prints directly on textiles. Some limitations of direct to garment technology include its cost, not all print successfully or easily on dark garments (so do your homework), the need for pre-treating on dark garments and sometimes on light colors to make them brighter, the lack of opacity and brightness, the length of time needed to complete a garment—especially dark garments, and the skill level needed to run the equipment. Some direct to garment printers are designed to print on tile, wood, golf balls and mouse pads, but not all of them.  Direct to garment printers achieve best results on cotton but can be used on silks, blends and some other fabrics but can’t really be used on polyester without a pretreatment. However, all that being said, it is still one of the most popular digital printing methods on the market today. 

Ink jet and CLC transfers are known as the most inexpensive, entry-level, anyone-can-do-it technology in the digital garment decoration arena. There are dozens of different papers available that can take artwork from your computer desktop to a t-shirt in minutes. Again, you are limited by the substrates to which the papers will apply, and it is still difficult to find a paper that does a fantastic job of printing on darks. There is also the issue of ghosting, unless one uses precise hand-cutting to trim the excess paper or uses paper in combination with a cutter that does it automatically. 

By taking that type of thinking to the next level, a list of digital garment decorating methods to consider would not be complete without print/cut technology.  While virtually unknown as a technology to the average personalization specialist, this technology has had years of proven performance in the garment manufacturing sector—you’ve probably encountered print/cut applications on brand name performance wear, shoes, nylon bags and more without even realizing it.  Print/cut technology is probably the best-rounded of all the digital technologies available today. It gives you all the advantages of the previously mentioned digital methods, with virtually none of the disadvantages. 

One of the biggest reasons for the excitement over print/cut technology is its versatility—not only can you print on a wide variety of garments with print/cut, you can also use it to print everything from helmet stickers and window clings to vehicle wraps and banners. Print/cut technology incorporates technology originally designed for use in the sign industry, a wide-format, eco-solvent printer that instantly prints and then automatically contour cuts full-color, photorealistic logos, designs and names in any quantity “on demand.” These images are printed on specially developed digital media that can be heat applied to any fabric, of any color. 

With a print/cut system, there is virtually no limit to the jobs you will be able to do.  In the textile world – literally anything that can be fit under a heat press can be decorated, from caps and nylon bags to performance wear and swimsuits. It even works on leather. There is no need to pre-treat the garment, there are no limitations as to the type of textile that can be printed and there are even specialty media available, such as puff and metallic that allow you to create full-color fashion effects that are not possible with any other digital printing method. The recent development and availability of new digital media is what is propelling this previously unknown garment decoration method into the spotlight.  
Better yet, the technology has been tested for many years in the sign industry as being durable and easy to operate. It’s just a matter of using the correct digital media for the job on hand. Its greatest limitation would be the cost of the equipment, but with more and more business owners ready to invest in something that can be used as an alternative to screen printing and embroidery, print/cut is becoming a popular choice, especially thanks to the introduction of more media designed specifically for use with the print/cut system. 

It’s probably only a matter of time before you invest in some type of digital garment decoration technology, if you haven’t already. Whether you’re a screen printer, embroiderer or plan to specialize solely in digital printing, there’s a method available that meets your needs. And if you still unsure about making a large investment, go on-line and join in an industry user -forum chat. Benefit from the experience of current users of the technology you are most interested in and weigh all the facts. I’m not promising you still won’t feel confused, but at least you won’t feel alone!  

Martin Borley
http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/getting-to-know-your-digital-printing-choices-724693.html