What a fantastic question. This printing system is where you utilize a full roll of media (DTF film), rather than a single sheet of media, that feeds onto another empty roll at the end of the system. It is a really efficient system if you need to print constantly. It’s almost a set-and-forget type of printer that will print until you run out of media or ink, which is already faster than single feed sheets that cannot be stacked.

When compared to standard printing methods, the process improves printer life cycle costs while also making it easy to scale up your operation. Efficiency is also maximized when manufacturing requires multiple prints. A well-designed roll-to-roll system can make manufacturing quicker and cheaper without compromising quality. 

With individual sheets your prints are limited by the size of the media and if you have a small format printer the prints are even smaller. The only limitation on size for roll printers is, again the size of the media. So instead of a max length of 20 inches for a single sheet we can make a print that is 328 feet long (almost a full football field from post to post). 

We’ve released and promoted several different machines which already utilize this system, like the 24” STS 628D and Prestige XL2 and the large format 1682D. However, there is nothing available for the smaller format printing (under 24”) and this leaves either smaller shops or the hobbyist with not many options under $10,000.