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teezecrost · July 21st, 2009

Hi there. I've been printing shirts etc for a while now, and just came across this site: VGKids | Deluxe Stationery
Just wondering what sort of a setup a person would need to do a job such as business cards. any idea?
All i have right now is a four colour press for shirts etc, and plastisol inks. Also, I know the die cutting has to be pretty expensive to get into; just wasn't sure if maybe these people found a cheaper way to do it or something..
Thanks for any info!

out da box · July 21st, 2009

Cards and flyers would be done offset, web press, or digital press. Or for a smaller shop- color laser copier or laser printer.

midwaste · July 21st, 2009

The business cards and stationery look pretty cool, but I'm not sure it has anything to do with the screenprinted ink. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between "screenprinting" and offset/web/digital that Out da box mentioned. You can cure plastisol on paper (carefully), I have done it, so it might be fun to try some cards.

The kraft paper cards are nice, but expensive.

InkedApparel · July 21st, 2009

I run a 6 color offset press fulltime.....I do t-shirts part time until it takes off then i will do it fulltime....I have screen printed card stock on my silver press ..with water based inks.......was a little difficult ...but looked good

Inked

Solmu · July 22nd, 2009

As Ridgley said, these sort of things aren't usually screeenprinted. But in this case, that is what VGKids are doing. Personally I'm glad to see the service being commercially available. I've done some myself, and I know several local small businesses that do them that way.

They do look good, and the difference between a screenprinted business card and an offset printed business card is usually extremely obvious even to the average consumer (depending on your design and target market they might be seen as cheap and ugly - they're not necessarily better - but they're clearly different).

If you did want to screenprint them, or other paper goods, then (ideally) you need a vacuum table, waterbased paper printing ink, and a good quality guillotine.

dtodj43 · July 22nd, 2009

[quote=teezecrost;535521]Hi there. I've been printing shirts etc for a while now, and just came across this site: VGKids | Deluxe Stationery
Just wondering what sort of a setup a person would need to do a job such as business cards. any idea?
All i have right now is a four colour press for shirts etc, and plastisol inks. Also, I know the die cutting has to be pretty expensive to get into; just wasn't sure if maybe these people found a cheaper way to do it or something..
Thanks for any info![/quote

Looked at their site if you need cut out shapes I can do with laser cutter paper thin up to 1/4inch thick material
Tod

teezecrost · July 22nd, 2009

Many thanks for all the replies! It'd be interesting to try this out!

moe_szys1ak · July 22nd, 2009

You can screen print business cards with your press but you'd probably want to use high mesh screens (235 or 305) as well as a different type of ink. I know a lot of people who swear by Speedball acrylic ink for flatstock printing. Also, it's nice to have a vacuum table to hold the paper down - otherwise you'd probably have to either tape it down or use some sort of adhesive which could damage the paper. I don't think you'd have to die-cut the business cards - any paper cutter should work fine - they're only straight cuts, not curves or anything fancy. The Gigposters screen printing forum has a lot of great info on flatstock screen printing if you want to learn more.

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