DTF Frequently Asked Questions

We’d recommend a good shake of around 15 to 20 seconds. It is important to shake it a few times during days you are using it and shake it again if you have not printed anything in the previous 15 minutes, just to avoid any issues with it settling. Most of our customers have electric stirrers fitted to their bottles or tanks, so they don’t need to do this, except if they are using a cartridge rather than an Eco-tank printer, it is a good idea to just pull it out and give it a 15 second shake if you haven’t used it for 15 minutes (or a few times a day). You definitely need to shake (stir) the ink before each day’s work. Our white ink looks brilliant, but the higher the quality, the bigger the difference between good (bonded particle) white ink and settled/ separated white ink.

No. DTF inks (which are water-based) are a different chemical formulation. They have been formulated so as to react with DTF PET film and powder under heat to produce these outstanding transfer results. They are also less likely to clog your print head than DTG inks.

Yes we can send you the ICC profile for free with any ink purchase. We want you to acheive the best result with our ink, so will be happy to send it to you. Please email us before or after you have bought Redback premium ink and tell us the printer model. If you are used to sublimation, DTG or have been working with vinyl, the results you'll get from DTF will astound you.

Tip 1: The first thing you need to check is the ink loading. For most types of prints, we'd recommend printing with a white ink resolution of 60-70%. Some of our customers want to print with a white ink resolution of 100% to give their colour a great base. (For those new to DTF printing, you print your coloured image first, then print using white ink, so that when you turn the print over and place it on your garment on the heat press, the coloured ink layer sits on top of the white ink layer). If you use such a high resolution, the white ink may run. So try to decrease the ink loading. Tip 2: If reducing the white ink resolution does not work, try our double side frosted DTF PET film (available in A3; A4 sheets, and 30cm; 33cm and 60cm rolls), which absorbs more ink more than single side frosted film because it has 7 layers of coating which is designed to absorb more ink. (Our single sided PET film has 5 layers of coating). Tip 3: You can buy a heating plate to help dry the ink immediately. Most of our customers don't use them but a lot of the DTF printers coming in from China have one built-in to the front of the printer (where the printed PET film is dried after coming out of the printer). They can definitely help, especially if you are printing in a cold environment or using very high resolution white ink. If you have a plate, make sure it is turned on, of course. Tip 4: Check whether your PET film has absorbed moisture/ humidity. Moisture has been known to affect the PET film’s ink absorption. Use a hair dryer on very low setting to dry it out if that is the case. Whilst most PET film can withstand some humidity most of the time, you need to ensure you are storing it well, away from moisture, and that your workspace is reasonably dry. It is not a good idea to set up your workspace somewhere where there is dampness/ humidity. Our redback premium PET film comes in aluminium zip-locked bags with a silica moisture absorber for added protection from moisture. Our customers report that different weather conditions and even different times of the year require different settings if their setup is their garage (with open door). You can see an image of the problem here