This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you possibly can go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://basic-tutorials.com/reviews/gadget-reviews/procolored-k13-lite/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
A printer, some ink, choose a design, and also you’re good to go? With DTF printing, it really works slightly in a different way. Before a graphic may be was a printed apron, chef’s hat, or T-shirt, it should first be printed in reverse on movie, coated with fusing powder, despatched to the oven to treatment, after which positioned underneath the warmth press. So the K13 Lite handles just one a part of a reasonably lengthy course of. Visually, our take a look at unit instantly stands out: Instead of plain printer grey, it is available in a gentle child pink, full with an identical roll holder. For our Procolored K13 Lite evaluate, nevertheless, one thing else was essential: How effectively does your entire course of work for those who don’t wish to throw away each different switch and consistently fiddle with settings? We put it to the take a look at with an apron, a chef’s hat, a T-shirt, and canvas.
| Product | Procolored K13 Lite |
|---|---|
| Device Type | Roll-fed DTF printer |
| Print Head | LiteHead LH-500 |
| Print decision | as much as 1,440 × 1,440 dpi |
| Maximum print width | 330 mm or 13 inches |
| Ink system | CMYK and white |
| Film feed | PET roll movie |
| Software | Procolored Studio Lite |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Connection | USB |
| Dimensions | approx. 74 × 32 × 23 cm |
| Weight | approx. 18 kg |
| Price | €1,873.95 (Special Sale: €1,767.95)* |
For the take a look at, the Procolored K13 Lite arrived well-protected in a typical delivery field, held in place inside by thick foam inserts. Upon unpacking, every part was in good situation: nothing bent, nothing unfastened, and no scratches on the casing. We examined the mixture of the pink K13 Lite and the Procolored Smokeless Oven. And that is the place it’s vital to notice that not every part arrives in the identical package deal. In addition to the printer, the ink, toner, and the oven arrived in their very own separate packing containers. Depending on the delivery technique, there could also be a number of days between deliveries. So if you have already got the printer in hand however are nonetheless ready for the ink, there’s no must get anxious simply but.
Still, having a second particular person assist with unboxing doesn’t damage. While about 18 kilograms continues to be manageable, the K13 Lite’s huge physique makes it a bit unwieldy to deal with alone. The 13-inch movie roll additionally weighs greater than it initially seems within the product pictures.
After unpacking, there’s an astonishing quantity of small elements on the desk. Some of them are wanted straight away throughout setup, whereas the remaining are supposed for cleansing, upkeep, and minor repairs. Our package deal contained:
One half deserves a particular point out. The USB dongle seems like a daily USB flash drive, but it surely’s required for the printing software program. Accordingly, you shouldn’t let it get misplaced amongst cables and different equipment after set up. Whether a Smokeless Oven or warmth press is included is dependent upon the bundle you select. Our take a look at package deal included the oven; we nonetheless had a press left over from our Procolored P13 evaluate—however you’ll undoubtedly want one for the ultimate step.
It’s something however delicate. We’ve already mentioned what must be mentioned concerning the shade, but it surely’s undoubtedly carried via constantly: the housing, roll holders, and tray are all pink. If that’s an excessive amount of for you, go for the white model, which is technically equivalent.
There’s a big viewing window on the lid, behind which the print head and design stay seen throughout operation. It’s not vital, but it surely makes the printing course of simpler to observe. Especially in your first strive, you’ll be consistently checking to see if the movie is definitely operating via the printer anyway.
The casing feels high-quality; nothing wobbles, and the screw-on mounts are safe after meeting. The clear acrylic panel on the lid, alternatively, is solely ornamental. Its white Fluffy Panda print echoes one of many show themes—a pleasant element, however nothing extra.
The K13 Lite is operated through two management areas. To the left of the print space is a button panel for movie feed, printhead cleansing, and automated ink refill. To the suitable of the output tray is the touchscreen with a standing show and menus. This can be the place you possibly can choose the three pixel themes. Of course, these solely change the looks of the show and haven’t any impact on the print high quality.
In our take a look at, it took about an hour from the second we opened the primary field till the Procolored K13 Lite was arrange. That wasn’t a document—and that was intentional. We first sorted via the equipment, stored referring to the handbook, and took our time tightening the screws. However, anybody already conversant in the method can normally get via it a lot quicker and be able to go.
The meeting itself remained easy. The most vital step is the yellow delivery lock on the ink carriage. It have to be eliminated earlier than the machine is powered on for the primary time. Everything else follows a transparent sequence:
Once the roll adapters are correctly seated, the shaft rests securely on the brackets. The movie can then be simply fed all the way in which to the entrance tray utilizing the feed button.
After setup, we intentionally turned on the K13 Lite with out ink at first. The blue energy button flashed, the ink carriage moved backwards and forwards, and the machine accomplished its first self-test. Afterward, the button remained steadily lit in blue. This fast take a look at run is effectively price it. If there’s nonetheless a clog within the machine or if the carriage can’t transfer freely, you’ll discover it now—and never solely after the ink system is already full. On our printer, the take a look at ran via and not using a hitch.
The 5 tanks are labeled Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, and White, and there’s a separate funnel for every shade. This prevents the inks from mixing throughout refilling.
When testing the Procolored K13 Lite, nevertheless, it’s nonetheless a good suggestion to put on gloves. DTF ink is skinny, brightly pigmented, and doesn’t forgive errors. A drop in your pants or a tabletop stays proper the place it’s. We emptied the bottles slowly and didn’t fill the tanks all the way in which to the brim. The system remained utterly leak-free—nothing leaked from the tanks, hose connections, or tubing. Even after the automated refill, we didn’t discover any damp spots inside.
The precise strategy of filling the strains is sort of unspectacular. You maintain down the INK button for about ten seconds, and the printer takes care of the remaining by itself. The ink visibly flows via the clear tubes, after which a printhead cleansing cycle begins mechanically.
Finally, we printed a nozzle take a look at and a shade bar take a look at. Both got here out utterly, with no lacking strains or lacking colours.
Without the drivers and Procolored Studio Lite, the K13 Lite received’t work in any respect. Both recordsdata can be found on the mannequin’s assist web page and are put in individually. After extracting the recordsdata, we merely needed to run each setup applications one after the opposite; the set up was accomplished rapidly. With the P13, issues had been totally different in our take a look at again then: We wanted help from Procolored Support at first labored. There’s only one annoying factor right here: The K13 Lite works completely with Windows. Anyone who designs their pictures on a Mac should first copy them to a Windows laptop to print them.
In Studio Lite itself, the graphic is ready for printing. Here, you set the scale, place, print route, and the white base layer; for our first design, the default values for white ink and print route had been utterly ample. We had been spared a prolonged shade correction course of. That mentioned, the method isn’t completely foolproof—a mistyped format or poor placement can rapidly waste a big portion of the movie roll. So earlier than every print job, we made certain to double-check the size and alignment.
For our first bigger print, we selected a design measuring roughly 25 × 25 cm. It took about 5 to six minutes from the beginning of the print job till the completed movie was allotted.
However, this determine can’t be generalized. How lengthy a print takes relies upon closely on the design, as dimension, white content material, print route, and high quality degree all have an effect on the time. Our determine due to this fact applies particularly to this print and isn’t a rule of thumb for each 25-centimeter design.
The Procolored K13 Lite is unquestionably audible, however we didn’t discover it distractingly loud throughout printing. The print head strikes throughout the movie with a gradual mechanical whirring sound, accompanied by the gradual feed of the roll. We didn’t expertise any loud rattling or robust vibrations.
During our prints, the movie ran centered on the entrance tray and didn’t wrinkle. However, there’s nonetheless no correct lateral information for the roll. If the movie isn’t positioned completely straight, it might due to this fact veer barely astray. At least the K13 Lite was much less delicate to this than the P13, which was extra prone to cease working in such conditions throughout our earlier take a look at.
Immediately after printing, DTF adhesive powder is utilized to the white ink layer, as it’s going to later soften within the oven to type the adhesive layer that holds the design to the material. We utilized the powder generously to the print and gently moved the movie backwards and forwards till your entire printed space was lined. It’s greatest to not contact the ink whereas it’s nonetheless moist together with your fingers.
Afterward, shake off the surplus powder. A big bowl or a easy floor helps immensely right here, as a result of with out such a catch space, the positive powder will unfold all around the desk right away. It’s additionally price taking one final have a look at the uncovered areas of the switch sheet, as a result of in any other case, particular person grains of powder subsequent to the design may also persist with the material throughout urgent.
Place the powdered switch sheet into the Smokeless Oven with the printed aspect going through up. In our take a look at, the transfers had been cured at 135 °C for 280 seconds. During this time, the bonding powder melts right into a steady adhesive layer. The movie ought to lie as flat as doable and never contact the internal partitions.
You also can inform when the switch is completed by wanting on the floor. The dry, grainy powder layer disappears and turns into barely shiny and uneven—a bit like orange peel.
The oven isn’t precisely quiet throughout operation. A slight odor was noticeable throughout curing, however we didn’t discover it unpleasantly robust. In a small or enclosed house, we’d nonetheless ensure that to get some contemporary air. You also can hear the followers operating throughout operation.
When the timer runs out, the Smokeless Oven makes itself identified fairly clearly: It beeps a number of occasions in a row, making it nearly unattainable to overlook.
For our transfers, we didn’t simply use a basic T-shirt. We utilized the Pixel Buddy design to a white apron, our Basic Tutorials emblem to a chef’s hat, and a black canine graphic to a small canvas. We additionally tried a a lot bigger design on a black T-shirt.
Preparing the apron was fast and straightforward. We briefly pre-pressed the material, ran a lint curler over it, after which aligned the switch. What issues much less is the form of the garment than whether or not the realm for the design may be laid flat underneath the press.
We set the warmth press to 135 °C and the timer to 60 seconds. In observe, nevertheless, we normally checked the progress after about 30 seconds, and sometimes the switch was already full by that time. The actual time is dependent upon the material and the switch used, so we didn’t rely solely on the timer right here.
Our movie was a cold-peel movie. After urgent, the switch needed to cool utterly earlier than the backing movie might be peeled off. The cooling block that got here with the oven shortened the wait time considerably. Afterward, the movie might be slowly peeled off.
Finally, we briefly pressed the design once more underneath a sheet of Teflon movie. This made the floor of our transfers barely smoother and gave it a barely extra matte end.
For the chef’s hat, we intentionally selected a small, easy design. Its huge brim lay surprisingly flat on the press, so the Basic Tutorials emblem was rapidly aligned. Despite the bizarre form, we didn’t should improvise a lot through the urgent course of.
The outcome was additionally passable. The blue stands out vividly towards the white material, the brand’s contours are clear, and nothing bled on the edges.
For a barely totally different floor, we tried a small canvas panel. We printed a black canine graphic on it that includes many positive strains and hatching. We had been ready to make use of the pre-stretched canvas straight away, and the switch pressed on with none main points.
It’s the floor specifically that makes the outcome fascinating. The typical texture of the canvas stays seen beneath the black design, making the graphic look nearly like a drawing. Even the skinny strains and hatching are nonetheless clearly seen, and nothing peeled off on the edges.
With the massive design on the black shirt, you rapidly discover the place DTF has its quirks. The print stays versatile and stretches together with the material. However, the printed space naturally feels totally different from the cotton subsequent to it. With a big, largely stable design, that is far more noticeable than with a small emblem, lettering, or graphic with many open areas.
After the primary wash, the shirt seemed virtually unchanged to us. Nothing had come unfastened on the edges, we couldn’t spot any tears, and we didn’t discover any distinction within the colours both. Of course, a single wash cycle isn’t sufficient to make an announcement about sturdiness over months, however the switch handed the primary machine wash take a look at with none seen harm.
With an apron, chef’s hat, T-shirt, and canvas, we’ve already examined a fairly wide selection of substrates. Procolored lists much more potentialities. According to the producer, appropriate supplies embrace hoodies, denim, canvas baggage, and caps, in addition to heat-resistant supplies comparable to greeting playing cards, present baggage, or wooden. However, we haven’t examined these further choices ourselves with the K13 Lite.
The largest sensible downside we encountered whereas testing the Procolored K13 Lite was house. The printer alone took up nearly your entire desk—the movie roll wants room behind the unit, and the output tray protrudes from the entrance. The Smokeless Oven isn’t precisely tiny both, and our workspace merely couldn’t accommodate the printer and oven aspect by aspect for prolonged durations. On high of that, the warmth press requires a agency, steady floor.
So we break up up the method. First, we printed and dusted a number of designs; then we rearranged the setup, arrange the oven, and cured one switch after one other. This works, but it surely’s much less spontaneous. If you print regularly, it’s best to plan for an extended workbench or two separate work areas—and it’s not simply concerning the tools. Films, powders, completed transfers, and the method of aligning the textiles all want a spot too.
Despite its automated capabilities, the Procolored K13 Lite isn’t completely maintenance-free. During regular operation, you hardly discover any of this: the white ink is circulated inside the system, cleansing cycles run mechanically, and even the preliminary ink feed labored for us with none handbook intervention. Still, there are some things it’s best to regulate.
First and foremost is the waste ink container. During cleansing and flushing cycles, fairly a little bit of waste ink step by step accumulates there, so it’s price checking the fill degree on occasion.
It takes a little bit of getting used to coping with longer printing breaks. With the K13 Lite, “turning off the power switch and turning it back on next week” isn’t fairly the identical as with an workplace printer. In explicit, the white pigment ink shouldn’t sit idle within the system for lengthy durations, which is why the printer makes use of automated upkeep routines.
If the machine is to be taken utterly out of service for an prolonged interval, the method turns into extra concerned. In that case, the ink system have to be ready and cleaned, reasonably than merely turning off the ability. Anyone who plans to tug out the K13 Lite solely each few months to print a single shirt ought to due to this fact not underestimate this step. For common use, the design works significantly better.
The K13 Lite is right for anybody who usually creates their very own transfers and doesn’t wish to pay a printing service for each design. Small merch initiatives, membership shirts, personalised presents, or a manageable aspect hustle match the invoice completely. For a DTF printer, the primary steps are pleasantly easy—setup, ink feeding, and movie feed didn’t trigger us any main points, and the primary prints turned out effectively even with the default settings.
However, it’s best to have not less than slightly curiosity in know-how. Each switch goes via a number of steps, and the printing itself isn’t the one a part of the method. For only a single shirt right here and there, the system is just too massive and requires an excessive amount of upkeep.
We’d beforehand examined one other DTF printer from this model: the Procolored P13. Back then, the P13 arrived in a stable wood crate, weighed about 28 kilograms, and total seemed extra like a small manufacturing machine. At about 18 kilograms, the K13 Lite is lighter and far much less intimidating if you first set it up.
There are additionally variations within the software program. With the P13, we used Pro RIP and PrintEXP; the K13 Lite runs on Procolored Studio Lite. However, Windows is required right here, whereas the P13 is also used on a Mac in our earlier take a look at.
In phrases of print high quality, nevertheless, we couldn’t detect any important distinction between the 2 gadgets. Small textual content, delicate gradients, and stable white areas come out simply as convincingly with the K13 Lite as they did again then with the P13.
We discover the waste ink tank on the K13 Lite to be higher designed. It’s positioned behind a flap on the aspect and is well accessible. On the P13, the tank was uncovered on the again, so we first needed to pull the heavy machine ahead to get a correct attain.
Overall, the P13 stays the extra substantial system. The K13 Lite appears a bit extra accessible at first look, but it surely’s not precisely small or space-saving both.
The Procolored K13 Lite removes a few of the hurdles we’ve encountered with DTF printing previously. We rapidly acquired the cling of setup and the preliminary ink fill; the ink system remained leak-free, and utilizing the default settings in Studio Lite, our first designs got here out and not using a sequence of misprints. Small textual content, positive strains, shade gradients, and daring stable areas seemed nice each on the movie and after switch onto an apron, chef’s hat, canvas, and T-shirt.
That mentioned, this doesn’t make DTF a surefire success. Adhesive powder, an oven, and a warmth press are nonetheless a part of the method, together with the appreciable house necessities, the necessity for Windows, and the upkeep of the ink system. Especially for many who solely wish to print a single design each few months, utilizing a service supplier is prone to be a way more stress-free possibility.
On the opposite hand, anybody who needs to provide their very own transfers usually will discover the K13 Lite to be a comparatively accessible entry level into this class of gadgets. Operating the printer was much less of a problem than we anticipated—the true work lies within the steps surrounding the printer. That’s precisely what it’s best to know earlier than shopping for.
Conclusion
The Procolored K13 Lite delivers very clear transfers proper out of the field with default settings, making entry into DTF printing pleasantly easy. However, it requires ample house for the printer, oven, and press, together with typical DTF upkeep, and it solely runs on Windows. For these prepared to commit, it affords a well-rounded starter package deal with genuinely spectacular print high quality.
« Previous articleBeelink ME Pro NAS: Update Brings Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 and Up to 72 TB of Storage
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you possibly can go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://basic-tutorials.com/reviews/gadget-reviews/procolored-k13-lite/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you'll…
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you'll…
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you…
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you…
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you'll…
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you…
