Brother GTX pro User manual

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Hitec-Ink
GTX Pro
User Guide
Temperature & Humidity Requirements
Temp 18c–30c
Humidity 35-85%
1. If temperature is too cold, the printer will switch of automatically to Low-Temp
and reduce the SPEED!
2. If Humidity is too low, please install a HUMIDIFIER!
3. Required to keep your warranty! Temperature & Humidity are recorded in the
Log file!
Pre-treatment Ratio & Quantity
You must use distilled water
Mix Ratio should be 1:1
When to change Pre-treat Mixture 1:1 to 1:2
When to change pre-treat mixture from
1. Certain garment colours may react negativity to a 1:1 ratio and may require the
mixture ratio of 2:1.
2. If applying a 1:1 mixture to a garment and after pressing it shows a strong
stain regardless of fluid speed you may need to change the mixture ratio. When
using a 2:1 mix ratio you may need to increase the amount of white ink for a
more vibrant print compared to a shirt pre-treated at 1:1.
3. You will want to mix a batch of pre-treat with 2 parts distilled water and 1 part
pre-treat ratio.
4. For example, you would mix 2 cups of distilled water to 1 cup of pre-treatment
to obtain a 2:1 ratio.

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Pre-treat application to garment Dark & Light
Dark 30 Grams 1:1
Medium 24-27 Grams 1:1
Light 14-17 Grams 1:1
This mixing ratio might vary due to the type of garment which is used. Use your
experience!
Don’t forget that you have to define a surface of 14 X 16 inches [35 X 40 cm] with
your Pre-Treatment machine to weigh the amount of spray, with a scale, after
applying the Pre-Treatment liquid on a T-shirt!
Heat Press Settings for Pre-Treatment Drying
45seconds @ 170c
Use Teflon Sheet on the heat press to cover the Pre-treatment and clean the
Teflon surface every 5 T-shirts min or purchase a heat press Teflon top cover
and save you time placing Teflon sheet on product.
Heat Press Settings for Ink Curing
Heat Press 45seconds @ 170c
Use Teflon Sheet on the heat press to cover the Pre-treatment and clean the
Teflon surface every 5 T-shirts min or purchase a heat press Teflon top cover
and save you time placing Teflon sheet on product.
Tunnel Dryer 3.30 minutes @ 160c
Check the REAL Temperature with a Probe or with Strips to be sure that you are
safe for the wash ability!
Never Turn the Power Off
The Brother GTX pro should ALWAYS be left with Power ON
NEVER shut OFF the printer except if requested by the display message
only!
Power is requested to perform the needed recirculation of the inks every
day

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Daily Agitation of White
Remove the white ink
cartridges and shake it" is displayed before starting printing operation.
Remove both white ink cartridges and gently shake from side to side 100 times
to stir the white ink
Alternatively, you can use a human body shaper
RATIO
Pouch Replacement - Very Important Process! R
Open the cartridge's lid on a fat surface and remove the empty pouch. Unpack
carefully a new ink pouch from its shipping carton
Push the green tip end of the ink pouch into the cartridge until it clicks into
place. Straighten the ink pouch to align it with the gutter of the lid of cartridge,
and mount in position inside the metal spring by pulling it with your hand. If
the edge of the ink pouch is bent or undulating significantly, make it straight
and fat with your hand to avoid wrinkles.
Place the pouch in a straight alignment with the cartridge. Align lines with each
other!
Close the lid, verify if the spring is rolling to the front. Place the cartridge at
around 45° and push on the 2 upper metallic latches to add a bit more tension
on the ink pouch. Double-check that you have not generated some wrinkles
again
Clean the outside of the green tip end that goes in contact with needle inside
printer. Attach a shelf life sticker included with ink pouch onto the front of the
cartridge.
Errors 2084 & 2085 (Winding-Up Failure) may occur if the white ink cartridges
are not loaded correctly.
WHITE INK

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Best Practice for Printing!
Always keep the closest distance between the PRINT HEADS ant the surface of
the garment! It’s very important for the long life of your printer!
Adjusting the Height of the Platen
To provide an optimum printing image quality when a thicker textile is used,
you need to adjust the platen's height related to the thickness of the textile.
To adjust the platen height, loosen the Platen Fixing Lever and move the 1
Platen Height Adjustment Lever 2 to a lower position.
Re-tighten the Platen Fixing Lever if you are happy with new distance. Flatten
down all the wrinkles of the fabric. To check if new textile is not detected by
the sensor, push the button and repeat the process if needed! If you need to
go down further, remove 1 or 2 collars, loosen the knob 3 and push down the
platen bearing by 1 or 2 steps.
Reattach everything and tighten again the Platen Fixing Lever
Don't forget to bring back the platen to the A position after printing on thicker
material!
Always leave the knob 3 tighten after changing position!
If you have to print above the hem and seams, go for UNI-directional printing
to keep quality!
New "Platen Too Low" Sensors

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Nozzle Test “To Be Done every working DAY”
You have to print a nozzle test for White & CMYK every morning before using
the printer. It is the only way to know the status of the nozzles in the
machine!

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Weekly Maintenance
Suction Cap Cleaning
Exhaust Cleaning
Wiper Cleaning
Nozzle guards Cleaning
Suction Cap & Exhaust Cleaning
The black Teflon lips of the two capping’s should be cleaned with the NEW
Cleaning Stick T dipped in Cleaning Solution.
It is necessary to remove the build-up of the remaining ink staying on the
edges of the capping’s. It will prevent air leakage and keep the good suction of
the pumps! Be careful not to touch the foam! Keep it fat!

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Wiper Cleaning
Nozzle Guard Cleaning

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Maintenance Parts Exchange

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Additional Weekly Maintenance
Internal Cleaning of Printer

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Printer is not being used for Extended Time
Ink & Solutions Storage

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How to Extract Log File from the Printer
Inks & Consumables

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Pre-Treat “Required to get Good Results”
Understanding the GTX Pre-treating Process
PROPER PRETREAT VOLUMES
Calibrating the pre-treat machine to spray the proper number of grams per
square inch is important. That is why we use standard settings as a starting
point find the right balance of pre-treat on the garment that will allow the ink
to adhere to garment for better wash fastness. The standards we have found
for a starting point for GTX is 30 grams, 35 grams and 40 grams.
If a garment has too little pre-treat or too much pre-treat it could affect the
quality of the finished product. Please refer to Brothers video “Understanding
Pre-treat Profiling” for more information.

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Brother Videos and Drivers available here
www.hitecink.com
Brother GTX, GTX Pro DTG & DTF How to Videos & Drivers
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE HOW MANY GRAMS OF PRETREAT TO PUT ON
A GARMENT?
The process for profiling is always based off a 14”x16” area no matter the device
being used.
The supplies you will need on hand:
•Mixed pre-treat either by 1:1 ratio of 2:1 ratio
•A gram scale with ability to weigh items in 1 gram increments and has the Tare
function for zeroing out the weight of an item.
•Clean scrap garments that have not had pre-treat already applied to them.
If you do not know how to mix up pre-treat please refer to our document “Mix the
pre-treat to proper ratio” or watch our video “Understanding Pre-treat Profiling”on
Vimeo.
After you have pre-treated your garment and cured the pre-treatment you will then
need to print out the Highlight-Mask Check pattern on it. Please watch our video on
this process for more information.
“Highlight-Mask Check Pattern Explained” www.hitecink.com
Brother GTX, GTX Pro DTG & DTF How to Videos & Drivers

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NOTE: When printing CMYK only designs on 100% cotton or blended product, you
cannot use standard white ink pre-treat; GCX-4P05 & GCX-4P20. White ink pre-treats
are formulated to bind with white only.
Printing on Polyester, Cotton & Blends for Lights
with CMYK Inks Only
Brother inks are water based and as you know oil and water do not mix. You
can print CMYK only onto a polyester, but it will not have the same wash ability
as if it was 100% cotton.
You can treat the garment with DTG Pre-treat for CMYK printing only (not for
white ink printing) if the garment has polyester material in it. DTG Pre-treat
helps with wash ability and vibrancy of the print. You can use this same pre-
treatment on 100% cotton shirts to improve the quality of your Garments

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WHAT IS THE MIX RATIO?
There are two mixture ratios you can use to dilute the pre-treatment. There is 1:1
and 2:1
1:1 MIX RATIO
For this mixture ratio it is 1-part distilled water to 1-part Brother pre-treatment.
As you can see the mixture ratio is 1 part Pre-treat (24oz) to 1-part Distilled Water
(24oz.) The amount that you mix may vary based on the production volume or
number of garments you will be running.
After pouring both the distilled water and the pre-treat into the pre-treat machines
tank, agitate the fresh mixture for 1 minute and before you start production each
morning.

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2:1 MIX RATIO
If you are experiencing issues with heavy staining, scorching or discoloration with the
1:1 mix ratio then you want to try the 2:1 ratio.
For a 2:1 mixture ratio it is 2 parts distilled water and 1-part pre-treatment. So, for
this mix ratios it is double the amount of distilled water from 24 ounces to 48 ounces,
while still using 24 ounces of pre-treat. See example below.
After pouring both the distilled water and the pre-treat into the pre-treat machines
tank, agitate the fresh mixture for 1 minute and before you start production each
morning.
When using a 2:1 mix ratio you may need to increase the amount of white ink for a
more vibrant print compared to a shirt pre-treated at 1:1.
If the 2:1 mix ratio does not resolve the heavy staining, scorching or discoloration
with your garment, you should then attempt to find another similar garment that
does not have an adverse reaction to the pre-treatment. Garments can have issues if
they have been re-dyed or have been treated with softeners or other chemicals in the
manufacturing process that could react with the pre-treatment.
Please Contact Hitecink for any further help.
Phone [phone]
Email [email protected]