{"id":30810,"date":"2026-10-14T12:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/?p=30810"},"modified":"2026-10-14T12:39:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:39:47","slug":"dtg-dtf-leasing-vs-buying-jsuh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/dtg-dtf-leasing-vs-buying-jsuh\/","title":{"rendered":"DTG\/DTF Printer Leasing vs. Buying in 2027: What\u2019s the Better Choice?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buying an industrial printer is a major investment. Leasing can reduce the upfront cost while creating an ongoing financial commitment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, which option makes more sense for a print business in 2027?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each business\u2019 answer is different.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buying can make sense when production demand is stable and the equipment will be used for years. Leasing can preserve capital and provide more flexibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Print businesses now also have access to production-based models that don&#8217;t fit neatly into either category.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#8217;s look at the options.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Key Takeaways<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buying provides equipment ownership but requires significant capital.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leasing reduces the initial investment but usually creates a longer-term payment commitment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total cost matters more than the price of the printer alone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pay-as-you-produce models offer another option for businesses that want to scale without a large equipment purchase.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best model depends on expected production volume and equipment utilization.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How Printer Leasing Works<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you choose a traditional equipment lease, the printer is installed without you having to pay full purchase price upfront. The business makes regular payments over an agreed period.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on the agreement, the printer may be returned at the end of the lease. Other contracts provide an option to purchase or replace it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leasing can make sense when preserving working capital is important. It can also appeal to businesses that don&#8217;t want to commit a large amount of cash to equipment immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, businesses should look beyond the monthly payment. The full cost of the lease and end-of-contract conditions matter too.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>When Does Buying a DTG or DTF Printer Make Sense?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buying can be attractive for an established print business with predictable demand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purchasing means owning the asset. This can make long-term financial planning easier when the printer is expected to stay productive for years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ownership also removes lease-end decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The challenge is the upfront investment. Industrial digital printing systems represent a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/how-much-direct-to-garment-printer-costs-jsuh\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">significant capital expense<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. That capital is committed before the printer has produced its first sellable garment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also a utilization question.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A printer running close to capacity creates very different economics from one that sits idle during slower periods. For businesses with fluctuating demand, ownership can therefore introduce additional financial risk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30803\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1410-2.png\" alt=\"man operating a printer\" width=\"1388\" height=\"923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1410-2.png 1388w, https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1410-2-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1410-2-1024x681.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1388px) 100vw, 1388px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>Look Beyond the Price of the Printer<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you&#8217;re evaluating a DTF printer or an industrial DTG system such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/printer\/atlas-max-plus\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kornit Atlas MAX PLUS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/kornit.com\/lp2\/hq\/kornit-apollo-printer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kornit Apollo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, equipment price is only part of the calculation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The real question is how much it costs to produce a sellable garment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That calculation should account for the ongoing costs of running the equipment. It should also consider labor and expected utilization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A cheaper printer is not necessarily the cheaper production system if it requires significantly more manual work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, Kornit Apollo is designed for automated mass-production DTG and can reach up to 400 impressions per hour with a single operator. Atlas MATRIX can reach up to 150 impressions per hour with a single operator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those productivity figures play a role when you are calculating the long-term economics of the equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>There Is Another Option: Pay as You Produce<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buying and leasing aren&#8217;t the only ways to access industrial digital printing technology.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kornit&#8217;s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/all-inclusive-click\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> All-Inclusive Click (AIC)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> model takes a different approach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With AIC, businesses can install participating Kornit systems without an upfront CAPEX investment. Instead of purchasing the system, production costs are tied to actual output through a fixed cost per print.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The model also includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Printing system<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inks<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Service and maintenance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Software updates<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This changes the investment calculation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather than committing significant capital to a printer and then trying to keep the system busy enough to justify that investment, costs are more directly connected to production.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For businesses facing seasonal demand or uncertain future volumes, that can reduce some of the risk associated with adding digital capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kornit has deployed the AIC model with industrial systems including Apollo and Atlas MATRIX.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Buying vs. Leasing vs. Pay as You Produce<\/b><\/h2>\n<div class=\"kornit-comparison-wrapper\" style=\"max-width: 900px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;\">\n<table class=\"kornit-comparison-table\" style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; margin-top: 1em; table-layout: auto; display: table; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"background: #333; color: #fff; padding: 10px; text-align: left;\">Model<\/th>\n<th style=\"background: #333; color: #fff; padding: 10px; text-align: left;\">Main Advantage<\/th>\n<th style=\"background: #333; color: #fff; padding: 10px; text-align: left;\">Main Consideration<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Buying<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Full equipment ownership<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">High upfront investment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Leasing<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Lower initial cash requirement<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Ongoing fixed payments and contract terms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Pay as you produce<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Costs align more closely with production<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top;\">Availability and terms depend on the provider and agreement<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n.kornit-comparison-table tr:nth-child(even){background-color:#f9f9f9;}<br \/>.entry-content .kornit-comparison-wrapper,<br \/>.entry-content .kornit-comparison-table{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;float:none;}<br \/><\/style>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right choice depends on how the equipment will actually be used.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business with consistently high volumes may decide that purchasing equipment provides the best economics over the long term.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another business may prefer leasing because keeping capital available for other investments is more important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A company entering industrial digital printing or expanding into an uncertain market may prefer a production-based model such as AIC.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Should You Consider Before Choosing?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start with expected production rather than equipment price.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How many garments do you realistically expect to produce each month?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much can that volume change during the year?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then calculate the cost of producing those garments under each model.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Utilization is especially important. Buying equipment based on the volume you hope to reach can create unnecessary financial pressure if demand takes longer than expected to develop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The type of production also matters. A business considering Kornit Apollo for automated mass production has very different requirements from a smaller shop purchasing an entry-level DTF printer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The financing model should match the production model.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>So, Should You Lease or Buy a Printer in 2027?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If demand is predictable and the printer is likely to remain highly utilized for years, buying can make financial sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If preserving cash is the priority, leasing may be a better fit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But print businesses planning for 2027 shouldn&#8217;t assume these are their only choices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Production-based models such as Kornit All-Inclusive Click offer another approach. Instead of making a large upfront equipment investment, businesses can connect costs more closely to what they actually produce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Would you like to learn more about your options? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/#contact\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s talk!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Buying an industrial printer is a major investment. Leasing can reduce the upfront cost while creating an ongoing financial commitment.\u00a0 So, which option makes more sense for a print business in 2027? Each business\u2019 answer is different.\u00a0 Buying can make sense when production demand is stable and the equipment will be used for years. Leasing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":30806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[276],"tags":[309,305,32],"class_list":["post-30810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights","tag-aic","tag-dtfilm","tag-dtg"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Angora Media","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30810"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30814,"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30810\/revisions\/30814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kornit.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}