rusty

Quote: Originally Posted by Bill Hood I have been reading this thread with great interest. It speaks volumes about the ability to get started in the screenprinting industry, especially textile printing, with little or no money, some basic understanding, and a lot of luck and actually make 'some' money from it. However, there is always more to being in business and making 'enough money to support yourself' than first thought. As a consultant in the screenprinting industry and having personally visited over 7,000 shops in the United States, Mexico and India, I have seen pretty much every problem that could be incurred. As a result of my consulting I have created solutions to each and every problem that I have encountered. Any one of my clients could write volumes on "Things I Wish I'd Known From the Start!" Some of the things I could add, by proxy from my clients would be: Experience is a poor teacher - One can gain years of experience, but not 'know' anything other than "that's the way we have always done it!" I have seen far too many printers making double strokes to get a sufficient white ink deposit on black shirts, when they could have done it with a single stroke, eliminating half of the work and doubling production and potential revenue. Gain knowledge and put it to use - The real success lies with those who have the knowledge to not make mistakes in the first place. Always have an open mind and ask questions that will grant you knowledge. A case in point is an individual who insists on making double strokes using a print-flash-print technique because they 'believe' it is the best solution. At trade shows where I am showing a single print of white on a black garment, I have had numerous people tell me that I was lying about the ink because they had never been able to print with a single stroke and get the same results. I share 'all' of the information in my presentations and classes and still they are unwilling to do what is necessary to achieve their goals. Educate yourself and your staff - Yes, I train screenprinters, but you don't have to invest in my services or others in order to train yourself. You are already on your journey by reading the posts on this site and others. Read all the posts, subscribe and read all of the trade journals, buy the articles and books that are for sale on the Internet, visit the trade shows and ask lots of questions, take your screenprinting supplier to lunch and soak up all of his knowledge, do the same with your banker, CPA, and business consultant. Hire a mentor that will hold your hand and give you their advice. After doing all that, you still must wade through all the bad advice in search of the pearls of wisdom that will make you successful. Never trust someone with a dog in the race - There is a good amount of deceit going on in this industry. A supplier makes more money selling you wood frames or even stretch and glue frames and will tell you that is the way to go. They don't want you to invest in Stretch Devices' Roller Frames as they will lose money on the subsequent frame and mesh sales. They won't tell you that you will decrease your ink consumption by up to 50-percent, lower your emulsion and reclaiming cost and in the end increase your production and potentially double or even triple your income. They are in the business of making money for themselves and are never going to be completely honest with you. The same goes for the guy selling transfer equipment, DTG equipment or anything else. They are not going to tell you that you can make more money with another process if they lose the sale of equipment or supplies in the end. Listen carefully to what the salesperson isn't telling you - A salesperson is trained to feed you information that will make you want to buy their equipment. They will never 'give' you advice that paints a bad picture of their equipment. They will never give you the referrals of a client who is unhappy with their equipment. A case in point is the equipment company who touts the print arm of their presses as being unable to deflect with pressure. This is their strongest selling point, but is in actuality nothing more than a diversion. Anyone who is a great printer knows that you don't need pressure to print a T-shirt. The printing is done through a proper technique of ink transfer that requires only that the mesh come into contact with the shirt. Try this: place a screen in the printing position, raise it slightly and with a single stroke fill the mesh openings with ink. Not a 'flood stroke' but a 'fill stroke' that fills the openings with ink and cleans the top surface of most of the ink. Now lower the screen to the print position and push the image area of the mesh down with one finger until it just touches the shirt. Does this require an extreme amount of pressure that would cause the platen to deflect? Of course not. Now lift the screen and notice that the ink has been 'transferred' to the garment. Be very careful in 'listening' to what you are being sold. There's more, but I have a plane to catch. Best of luck and don't forget to question everything you 'hear' and especially what you think you 'know'!

so what's the secret to printing white on a black with a single stroke?

And are you suggesting that we never buy pre-stretched and glued frames?

 

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