The UV-DT version of the xTool O1 Omni is the one that shows T-shirts in the videos, and that’s why it generates the most enthusiasm and carries the most misunderstandings. Let’s clear it up.
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What it includes
Two Epson F1080 print heads, but arranged differently than the Dual UV:
- The first, UV ink: CMYKWV. It’s the same as the other versions.
- The second, fabric ink: CMYKWW, with a double white channel.
That double white is not a whim: on dark garments, white is the base that makes everything else visible, and it’s the ink that is consumed the most.
It also adds a physical piece that the others don’t have: the platina for garments measuring 300 × 390 mm. The rigid print bed is the usual one — 330 × 122 mm standard, 330 × 420 mm large — as well as the maximum relief of 7 mm, the vision system, and the precision.
And one absence to keep in mind: this version does not have flexible white ink. It can print on fabric with textile ink, but it doesn’t have the flexible UV ink that the Dual does. It sounds contradictory but it’s not: these are two different ways to handle “soft material,” with two different chemistries.
DTG is not just putting the T-shirt in and hitting print
This is the part you need to read twice because it changes many people’s buying decision.
A community user took the trouble to confirm it with xTool and publish it for newcomers. The actual workflow to print directly on a garment is this:
- Pre-treat the garment with a specific solution.
- Dry and fix that pre-treatment with a heat press.
- Print.
- Cure the printed garment, again with a heat press.
And if instead of printing on the garment you do DTF — printing on film to transfer later — the workflow is: print, powder with adhesive, cure the powder, and press onto the garment.
That is: the printer is one step of four. You need a heat press, pre-treatment, and a workspace for liquids and powder near a precision machine. None of this is unusual for those from textiles; it’s an unpleasant surprise for those coming from laser or 3D who thought they were buying a button.
The pre-treatment solution and the garment tray come included with this version, which is a nice detail. The heat press does not: it’s purchased separately.
What those who have used it say
A beta tester published a concrete test with numbers, which is exactly what was needed:
- Direct printing on light and dark fabric, with one layer of white and one of color.
- Design about 270 × 250 mm: about 30 minutes.
- Washing on quick cycle and strong dryer: the design did not fade.
- Soft feel, “like part of the fabric,” without film or stiffness.
That feel is the true test of DTG and the result is good. But look at the other number: half an hour per T-shirt. And the beta tester herself draws the honest conclusion, which seems the most valuable of all she published: if you’re going to produce garments in volume, the xTool Apparel Printer is a better option; the O1 Omni UV-DT makes sense if your main focus is rigid material and occasionally you print a T-shirt, a scarf, or a small towel.
Hearing that from someone who borrowed the machine is worth more than any of our analyses.
Do the math before getting excited
Half an hour per garment means two T-shirts per hour at best, not counting pre-treatment, pressing, and curing. An order of twenty T-shirts for a team means ten hours of machine time plus the manual work around it.
In money terms: if you sell that T-shirt for €25 and the printer occupies half an hour, each hour of machine time earns you €50 minus materials, and during that hour the printer is not doing rigid work, which is where a UV like this really makes money and where a piece can take four minutes.
The reasoning is not “don’t buy the UV-DT.” It’s: buy the UV-DT if textiles are a complement to your rigid catalog, not if they are meant to be the catalog.
Against the Dual UV
They cost almost the same — fifty euros difference, excluding VAT — and the choice between them is what most people get stuck on. The cleanest way to decide we’ve found is this question:
The soft material you’re going to print on, is it garment or leather?
If it’s garment — T-shirts, sweatshirts, cotton tote bags — UV-DT. If it’s leather, faux leather, canvas, or patches that bend but don’t get washed, Dual UV with its flexible white. And if it’s both equally, bad news: there’s no version that does both, and you can’t change later. You have to choose which business weighs more.
Prices
European store, excluding VAT:
On top of that, you need to add the heat press if you don’t have one, and the textile ink, which is separate from the UV: the essential set is €79.65, white alone €24.19, and each color €14.11. White is what you’ll replace the most.
Summary
It’s the most versatile version in materials and the one that adds the most manual steps. It makes real T-shirts, with a good feel and wash resistance, at half an hour per unit. If that fits your way of selling, it’s a great machine. If you expected a merchandising factory, that’s another machine and xTool sells that too.
Written by Noemi and Javi, from Picasita. We are xTool affiliates and our workshop is a brand demonstration space; we buy our machines with our own money. More about this blog and our relationship with xTool.
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