The Truth Behind Inksonic 1390 DTF Printer Print A3 in 5-8min-Here's What You Need to Know

Question:
I’m hoping for an expert opinion on the Inksonic 1390 DTF printer. It is the kind of statement they clearly state it can print in 5 - 8 minutes A3-sized prints. However, the reality is that once it's kept printing prints continuously, the printer slows down with the prints. They don’t address this in their marketing materials. Can you confirm if this is correct and if the manufacturer knows this? I am attempting a chargeback against them for false advertising. Thank you for your time.
 
Answer:
Thanks for contacting us! I appreciate your patience. Thank you for following us, especially for our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies. Your feedback aids us in honing our content and sharpening our technical skills.
 
On the question about the Inksonic 1390 DTF printer. If it prints A3 size in 5-8 minutes, the claim is not a lie, but let's get into the details. Printing time largely depends on the wrapping you are printing. The print speed can be influenced by the ink coverage of DTF (Direct-to-Film) printing, as it is generally much higher than that of printing documents.
 
What “5-8 Minutes” Really Means, As Advertised
Manufacturers such as Epson, HP, and Canon tend to use the ISO/IEC 24711 standard in estimating print speeds. This industry standard lays out how ink coverage is determined for inkjet printers. It is worth noting that the standard is based on relatively low ink coverage; typically, it is based on 5% ink coverage per color in a four-color CMYK printer (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). Monochrome prints would use 5% black coverage as standard.
 
This coverage estimate is good enough for desktop printers since they are made to print text-heavy documents with minimal ink usage. Therefore, no specific ISO standard exists for DTF printing, which generally has much more significant ink coverage (such as large color fills or more intricate detailed images). So when the manufacturer says 5-8 minutes, that could be 5-8 minutes of prints with less coverage or smaller files.
 
The Inksonic 1390 DTF Printer in Action: Real-World Performance
Based on my work with the Inksonic 1390 DTF printer, expect the price to be about 6 mins for an A3-size print (depending on the intricacy of the graphic). Yet there are a few other aspects that are relevant to the speed:
 

1. Ink level resets: You'll need to reset the ink levels after around 8-10 prints, which can take extra time and break the rhythm of continuous printing.
2. Film tapping: A film must be cut after each print, which means more time is required to complete a batch of prints.
3. Printing complex pictures: If you are printing intricate, highly saturated graphics, the printer will need more time to process them because of the higher ink coverage.

Why It’s Taking Longer Than Promised
While the manufacturer may advertise a 5-8 minute print time, this is purely based on an ideal case with minimal ink coverage and print complexity. In reality, continuous printing will be interrupted for several reasons:

• Heat retention: If used continuously, these printers can easily cause overheating in the printhead and motors. If the CR motor gets too hot, be careful to modify and install the heat sink to keep the motor cool and help the motor a longer life.
• Ink saturation: DTF printing uses a greater amount of ink than conventional inkjet printing, so it will proceed at a naturally slower pace.
• Film management: If you cut the film, if the print comes in between print and return an upload, it may delay production time after the processing as if you have more prints and the bundle is large.

 
Conclusion
In short, while 5-8 minutes per A3 print may be possible under optimal conditions (for instance,e if there is less ink in a less intricate design, there is a smaller file size), the printer will significantly slow down after a period of continuous use, especially if you’re printing a complex or big design. For A3-sized prints, per a real-world experience, 8 minutes is a more realistic estimate after accounting for resets, film cutting, handling, etc.
To boost speed for long runs, I recommend upgrading your cooling and motor system on the printer.
 
Printer issues can be complicated, given that the problems are hands-on in nature.  And if worse comes to worst, we have an on-site inspection and repair service available through our local diagnostic center (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service. However, due to high demand, we operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and it may be up to a couple of weeks before we can have you drop your printer off. The service is organized to fix an entire printer or broken pieces with instructions. But we realize that our rates are not the cheapest. So we strongly suggest that you go for the self-help through online search. For example, you can go to YouTube or our channel homepage at (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies) and use the search icon to the right of the menu bar's "About" section to search for specific videos. I’ve had dozens of questions about videos related to particular topics this month alone. It is hard to remember every single one, considering I created videos for the last nine years. So, it would be most efficient to use YouTube’s search function. Plus, YouTube may recommend relevant videos from other channels to help you.
Thanks again for your inquiry, and I hope this answers this printer’s performance in some detail.