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Learn DTF

Learn DTF, from the first print to a running shop.

Our 30 guides, put in the order you will need them. Five paths, free, no account needed.

  1. 01Choose and convert your printerStart hereGuides: 6 · 40 min
  2. 02Your first good transferGuides: 6 · 33 min
  3. 03Colour you can trustGuides: 5 · 33 min
  4. 04Keep the printer aliveGuides: 8 · 51 min
  5. 05Run it as a businessGuides: 5 · 27 min
01 · Guides: 6 · 40 min

Choose and convert your printer

Which Epson to buy, how to convert it to DTF, how to connect it and how to check that every tank prints the right colour.

  1. Which Epson printers can be converted to DTF? The models ZoroPrint supports, and how sure we areThe Epson printers people convert for DTF, from the L805 and L1800 to the ET-8550 and XP-15000: where the white goes on each, and which are validated on hardware and which are still experimental.6 min
  2. Epson XP-15000 vs L1800 for DTF: which A3+ printer to convert in 2026Same width, very different printers: head, ink system, chip situation, speed, white ink handling and running cost — and which one ZoroPrint supports best today.6 min
  3. Converting an Epson L1800 or L805 to DTF: what you need and what goes wrongThe two most converted DTF printers in the world, the parts a conversion needs, and the four mistakes that turn the first week into a support ticket.8 min
  4. Converting an Epson ET-8550 (L8180) to DTF: where the white goes and how to check itThe ET-8550 and the L8180 are the same printer. What a DTF conversion changes, which tanks hold the white, and the channel test that proves the mapping before you waste film.8 min
  5. Connect your printer to the RIP: USB, network, and the port 9100 trapHow to connect a converted Epson to ZoroPrint on Windows, macOS and Linux — and why network printing fails on a brand-new Epson until you switch on RAW (port 9100).6 min
  6. The channel test: find out which Epson tank prints which colour in 5 minutesConverted Epson printers put white ink in the light cyan and light magenta tanks — or somewhere else. The channel test shows the real mapping so prints stop coming out blue or single-coloured.6 min
02 · Guides: 6 · 33 min

Your first good transfer

Film and powder, a file that prints clean, the white underbase, no halo, and the heat press settings that make it last in the wash.

  1. How to choose DTF film and powder (and why the cheap ones cost more)Single vs double-sided matte, hot vs cold peel, 75 vs 100 µm, fine vs medium powder, TPU vs PES — what each choice changes in the print and on the shirt.6 min
  2. How to prepare a file for DTF printing (the checklist designers skip)PNG with real transparency, 300 dpi at print size, sRGB, no hidden background, text at least 0.5 mm thick — the checklist that makes every transfer print right the first time.5 min
  3. White underbase for dark vs light garments: density, highlight white and knockoutHow much white to print under a design depends on the shirt. The three settings that matter, with the values that work on black, white and coloured garments.6 min
  4. Why your DTF transfer has a white halo — and the 3 fixesA thin white edge around a DTF design comes from soft pixels, an opaque background or a missing choke. Here is how to see it in the file and fix it in one click.5 min
  5. DTF heat press settings: temperature, time, pressure — and hot vs cold peelThe settings that work for 90 % of DTF films, what to change per fabric, and how to tell whether your film is hot, warm or cold peel.6 min
  6. DTF on polyester: stopping dye migration and scorch marksWhy a white logo turns pink on a red polyester shirt a day after pressing, and the four settings that prevent it: temperature, time, powder, and a blocker layer.5 min
03 · Guides: 5 · 33 min

Colour you can trust

Dull colours, wrong colours, cracking and banding: the causes in the order to check them, then ICC profiles, bought or made.

  1. Dull, washed-out DTF colours: seven causes and how to check them in orderDTF colours that look flat on the film or pale on the shirt usually come from one of seven things: double colour conversion, the wrong profile, low ink limits, a weak channel, thin white, too much black generation, or the finish.7 min
  2. ICC profiles for DTF: what they do, where to get one, and the one rule that breaks colourAn ICC profile maps your screen colours to what your ink, film and powder can actually make. Use one, use it once, and set ink limits — that is 90 % of colour accuracy in DTF.7 min
  3. DTF transfers that crack or feel thick: total ink limit and black generationCracking after a few washes and a rubbery hand feel come from too much ink in one spot. What the total ink limit and GCR settings do and the values that fix it.5 min
  4. Horizontal lines (banding) in DTF prints: the 6 causes in orderBanding on a converted Epson is nozzles, head gap, bidirectional timing, media feed, resolution or the file — checked in that order it takes ten minutes.6 min
  5. Making your own DTF ICC profile with a spectrophotometer, step by stepLinearise, set ink limits, print the target, press it, measure it, build the profile — the order that gives accurate colour on a converted Epson, and the mistakes that make a profile worse than none.8 min
04 · Guides: 8 · 51 min

Keep the printer alive

The daily, weekly and monthly routine that stops white ink from clogging, plus dampers, capping, waste ink and what to do before a holiday.

  1. The daily, weekly and monthly maintenance routine for a converted Epson DTF printerFive minutes a day keeps white ink flowing. The exact routine — purge strip, nozzle check, capping station, wiper, tubes — and what to do before a week off.5 min
  2. DTF printer maintenance checklist: daily, weekly and monthly for a converted EpsonFive minutes in the morning, three at night, half an hour a week. The full checklist for an L805, L1800, ET-8550 or XP-15000 running white ink, with the numbers that matter.7 min
  3. Keeping white DTF ink alive in a converted EpsonWhite pigment settles, dries and clogs faster than any colour. A daily routine of two minutes prevents the expensive head replacement.5 min
  4. How to keep white DTF ink from clogging: agitation, circulation and storageWhite DTF ink is titanium dioxide, and it settles within hours. How to agitate it without bubbles, what stirrers and circulation really do, how to store bottles, and how long white keeps.7 min
  5. Cleaning the capping station and wiper on a DTF Epson, every dayDried white on the cap lip is the most common cause of a printer that “was fine yesterday”. How to clean the cap and wiper at the end of each day, which fluid to use, what never to use, and when to replace them.6 min
  6. DTF dampers: when to shake, prime or replace themDampers sit on the head and hold the ink the nozzles fire. How to rock the white ones, how to prime with a syringe without hurting the head, how to spot a bad damper, and when to replace it.7 min
  7. Waste ink on a converted Epson: pads, maintenance boxes and an external bottleWhere cleaning ink goes on an L805, L1800, XP-15000, ET-8550 or L8180, why DTF fills it fast, how to route waste to a bottle, the “end of service life” counter, and how to dispose of waste ink.7 min
  8. Leaving a DTF printer idle: overnight, weekends, holidays and long storageHow long a converted Epson can sit with white ink in it, and what to do for each length of break: a few hours, a weekend, a week, or a month. Keep-alive prints, flushing white, and restarting safely.7 min
05 · Guides: 5 · 27 min

Run it as a business

What a transfer really costs, how to price gang sheets, how to fit more on the film and where to sell — plus UV DTF as a second product.

  1. What a DTF transfer really costs: ink, film, powder and the number nobody countsA worked example for an A4 gang sheet on a converted Epson, the formula behind it, and the two costs (waste and time) that decide whether you make money.5 min
  2. How to price DTF gang sheets: the cost formula and the nesting marginFilm, powder, ink and time per metre — then the trick everyone misses: nesting decides your margin more than your ink price does.6 min
  3. Gang sheet nesting: 7 ways to fit more transfers on the same filmRotation, gap, margin, mixed sizes, roll vs sheet, cut marks and the order you add designs — small settings that change film use by 20–30 %.5 min
  4. Selling DTF transfers online: Etsy, Shopify and your own gang sheet builderWhat sells (ready-to-press transfers, custom gang sheets, wholesale), how to price and ship, where the platforms take their cut, and how to run it without the file chaos.6 min
  5. UV DTF explained: permanent stickers for cups, bottles and hard surfacesWhat UV DTF is, how it differs from textile DTF, what printer and film it needs, and how to sell it — the product line most textile shops add second.5 min

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