Procolored F13 Panda DTF Printer: Unboxing, Setup, and Business Value

The Procolored F13 Panda can print DTF transfers, but it is not a complete garment-production line: you also need film, adhesive powder, a curing stage, a heat press, compatible Windows software, and time for maintenance. It may suit a small apparel business with validated demand and room for the full workflow; its print-rate claims and seller profit examples are not guarantees of finished-shirt output or income.

What the Procolored F13 Panda does

The F13 Panda is a roll-fed, single-array DTF printer built around an L1800 printhead. It prints CMYK color and white ink onto PET film. You apply hot-melt adhesive powder to the print, cure it, and heat-press the resulting transfer onto fabric. The white layer makes it possible to transfer designs onto dark garments.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Procolored K13 Lite DTF Printer, 13" A3 Apparel Printer with LiteHead Technology, White Ink...	$1,699.15	Buy on Amazon

Procolored’s product listing gives these specifications for the F13. They are manufacturer claims, not guaranteed results for every design or production setup.

The product page also claims the F13 can print 4 square feet in an hour. That area-based figure and the listing’s six Letter/A4 pieces per hour describe different measures; neither establishes how many finished garments you can produce. Design size, print settings, powdering, curing, pressing, handling, setup, and maintenance all affect the practical rate. See Procolored’s F13 product listing.

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Procolored K13 Lite DTF Printer, 13" A3 Apparel Printer with LiteHead Technology, White Ink Circulation, Auto Cleaning, Color Accuracy & Multi-Fabric Printing

• 【Reliable Printing with LiteHead Technology】Powered by Procolored LiteHead Technology, the K13 Lite is designed for stable performance with easier maintenance. Automatic cleaning helps reduce clogging and ink drying, while the White Ink Circulation System runs regularly to prevent sedimentation and maintain smooth, consistent printing results.
• 【Smart & Simplified Operation】The K13 Lite makes DTF printing easier with one-touch ink pumping and an intuitive visual touchscreen interface. Three customizable pixel-style themes provide a personalized user experience, while the streamlined control system helps simplify daily printing operations.
• 【Professional Color Accuracy & Detailed Prints】Achieve vibrant and accurate transfers with G7-certified color accuracy, optimized color curves, and Procolored Studio Lite software. The system automatically detects RGB and CMYK image formats and applies calibrated color profiles to help reproduce designs from screen to fabric with consistent color quality.
• 【Versatile Printing for Back-to-School & Everyday Projects】 With a 13" A3 printing area, the K13 Lite supports flexible DTF applications across cotton, polyester, denim, canvas, and other fabric materials. Create custom apparel, school T-shirts, team apparel, tote bags, personalized accessories, and transfer designs with vibrant colors and detailed patterns.
• 【Advanced Printhead Protection System】The Infrared Printhead SafeGuard System monitors the printing area in real time and detects film warping and foreign particles as small as 2 mm. This intelligent protection helps reduce potential printhead damage, improve reliability, and extend the lifespan of the printing system.

$1,699.15

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What comes in the box—and what may not

Procolored lists the printer, initial CMYK+white ink, 500 g of adhesive powder, nozzle-protection fluid, PET roll film, Pro RIP software, its USB dongle, cables, and small setup items. Package variants may add an oven or heat press, and liquids or consumables may ship separately from the machine. Check the exact bundle SKU and shipment status before planning production; do not assume a finishing device is included because another package shows it.

Pro RIP is described by Procolored as free, but the required USB dongle must be connected to use it. The RIP handles raster image processing, not image editing, so prepare artwork in a separate design program. Procolored says the software is Windows-only; Mac users should not assume native compatibility. Confirm the current bundle contents and software details with Procolored.

What else you need to make a finished transfer

The printer is one stage of the process, not the whole setup. To turn a print into a garment transfer, you need PET DTF film, compatible CMYK and white ink, hot-melt adhesive powder, a suitable device for curing the powdered film, and a heat press. You also need a Windows computer for Pro RIP and a separate application for artwork preparation.

• Curing equipment: Powdered film needs a curing stage. Check whether the selected package includes an oven or whether you must source an appropriate device separately.
• Heat press: You need a press to apply the cured transfer to the garment. Confirm its usable area against the designs and garments you intend to produce.
• Consumables: Verify that film, inks, powder, and maintenance supplies are compatible with the printer and your workflow.
• Workspace: Allow room for the printer, film handling, powdering, curing, pressing, and finished items. Procolored’s L1800 manual recommends locating the oven in a ventilated area because baking can produce odor.

Check the current L1800 manual for environmental guidance applicable to its described workflow rather than treating its temperature and humidity recommendations as universal DTF rules. Find Procolored’s manuals and downloads.

How to set up and run the F13

1. Prepare the computer and connection. Install Pro RIP on a compatible Windows computer. Connect the printer by USB and have the required software dongle available.
2. Prepare the artwork. Create or edit the design in a separate image-editing or design application, then size and arrange it in Pro RIP.
3. Load film and print. Load the PET transfer film and print the CMYK and white layers using the chosen settings.
4. Apply adhesive powder. Apply hot-melt powder to the wet printed design, then remove excess powder according to the powder instructions.
5. Cure the film. Use an appropriate curing oven or device for the powdered film, following the film and powder guidance.
6. Press the garment. Heat-press the cured transfer onto the garment using the guidance for the film, powder, and fabric.

In a TechRadar review, the physical assembly was described as fairly straightforward, while the reviewer reported difficulty installing software and drivers, USB/dongle constraints, and help from Procolored support. That is one reviewer’s experience, not a setup-time estimate or a prediction that every installation will run into the same problems. Read TechRadar’s F13 Panda L1800 review.

What a hands-on review found

TechRadar’s reviewer reported print times of about 5–10 minutes for letter designs and 10–20 minutes for tabloid designs. The review describes crisp, vivid transfers on cotton and polyester items, while noting that designs had to fit the available press and that larger garments could require pressing in stages. The reviewer also reported software-installation difficulty, occasional connection problems, ink running, and film slipping. These are observations from that review, not a guarantee that every F13 will produce the same results or encounter the same faults.

The review said that, once set up, the printer could produce enough garments per day for a small business, but it did not establish a guaranteed daily output, uptime, or profitability. Procolored’s figures are print measures, while finished garment throughput also depends on the steps after printing and on routine care.

Maintenance is part of the workflow

Procolored’s product listing describes automatic printhead cleaning while the printer remains on, using about 1 ml of ink per day. TechRadar’s reviewer also noted automatic cleaning every 10 hours and wrote that DTF printers need more maintenance than an average inkjet. Automatic cleaning is a maintenance aid; it does not eliminate routine care or guarantee uninterrupted operation.

Procolored’s L1800 manual calls for white-ink handling, nozzle checks, cleaning when checks show missing nozzles, cleaning around the printhead and capping station, managing the waste-ink container, and regular cleaning of film-feed components. It warns against using alcohol on several printhead-area components and provides component-specific instructions. Follow the current manual for your printer revision instead of applying generic printer-cleaning advice.

The manual also recommends using the printer regularly and protecting consumables from direct sunlight. Its component-specific maintenance instructions and environmental guidance apply to the workflow it describes; consult the current version for the exact unit you own. Check Procolored’s current L1800 documentation.

Is the F13 worth it for a small business?

Whether it is worth buying depends less on a headline print rate than on whether you can run the complete production process and sell enough orders to cover its costs. Procolored’s product page includes modeled cost and profit examples, but these are promotional calculations—not audited business results or independent benchmarks. The available sources do not establish a typical DTF owner’s profit or payback period, so a seller’s daily-profit illustration should not be treated as a likely buyer outcome.

Before deciding, build the numbers around your own expected orders and actual costs. Include:

• the machine’s price and the exact bundle contents, including whether an oven and press are included;
• blanks, ink, film, powder, waste, and misprints;
• labor for artwork, printing, powdering, curing, pressing, packing, and customer service;
• a suitable computer and software needs;
• electricity, shipping, and tax;
• marketing, payment processing, and platform fees;
• maintenance, replacement parts, and downtime;
• warranty terms, exclusions, and access to local support; and
• realistic order volume, not hoped-for capacity.

The F13 is a more plausible fit if you can use Windows RIP software, have space and equipment for finishing, can keep up with maintenance, and already have—or can credibly acquire—customers for short-run custom apparel. It is a riskier purchase if you expect passive income, have not validated demand, cannot use the required software environment, or have not priced the full production line.

How to compare the F13 with the F13 Pro

Procolored presents the F13 Pro as a dual-head configuration and the F13 as single-head. A claimed speed difference alone is not enough to choose between them: compare the specifications and total setup against the work you expect to sell.

Seller comparison charts can help identify claimed product differences, but their profitability calculations remain assumptions rather than independent evidence.

Quick Recap

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Procolored K13 Lite DTF Printer, 13" A3 Apparel Printer with LiteHead Technology, White Ink Circulation, Auto Cleaning, Color Accuracy & Multi-Fabric Printing

$1,699.15

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