hotmale4yu

Hello I have been doing some research into buying a first time screen printing set up and just have a few concerns.

Is it worth the extra money to invest in a set up which has more stations. I notice that the one station multi colour are going q cheap.
Is it really worth buying a multi station set up like this:



Or this?


I am looking to mainly do halftone graphics and do not know whether it is worth investing in a multi station device so that i can print more then one piece at a time (i.e. increasing the no of pieces printed per hour)

Also is it better to get an entry level device (1 station, 1-3 colours) from a decent high quality brand or one that offers more stations + colours but from a "cheaper" brand?

 

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2ampress

I'd say to start out, you should go with as many colors and stations as you can afford.
The more stations you have, the more shirts you can do without the need to swap out shirts, so when you do get in more work and want to be efficient and productive, you will have the capacity to do so.
If you have a multi station device, you can set up your flash cure unit on 1 station while you are printing on another. And if you have more than two stations, that allows your shirts and platens to cool down between each ink color you need to apply.
I am just starting out and bought a 6 color 6 station, and already feel somewhat limited when attempting to print simulated process work.

Cheers,

Tracy

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tdunham

Tracy hit the nail on the head regarding getting as much as you can afford but just as important is a conveyor dryer. Many start up packages don't have one. Having to use an on press flash cure for your final cure will absolutely kill any production speed the multiple stations brings to the press. It can also cause warping of your platens.

At the very least, I would suggest a second flash to be used off press for curing if your budget doesn't have room for a conveyor dryer.

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InkedApparel

I began screen printing in the begining of the year , March 2009.
I did little research about equipment and that was a big mistake...because if I would have researched a little further I would have went with a press with more stations and print heads...as of right now I have a 4c/2s tabletop press from Ryonet...dont get me wrong i love the press ....but I am limited to the kind of work I can do.........if I would have thought about that before hand I would have went with the 6/2 silver....

so dont just think about what you want to do with the press now...think about 6 months to a year down the road...and yes get what you can afford...plus a conveyor dryer will speed up production 100%.

Inked

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