Discuss the different types of equipment needed for screen printing. Topics include manual screen printing presses, automatic presses, dryers, folding machines, starter kits and high end machines.
Hello everyone. well im thankful for this site. i almost wasted my money on the t jet 3. the guy returned my money and i was very thankful. anyhow, ive decided to go the screen press method and am currently shopping for a 6 color 4 stationb or 6 color 6 station press....if anyone knows where i can get a used one or direct me to the best one for my money. i am working on a budget . of 5000. ive decided to buy the Econocure 6100 dryer wich looks very promissing at cureing 200 shirts per hour. .....i will only have aroun 2 thousand to buy a screen press. everything else i will worry bout later. please reply with options. thanx in advance
Last edited by mega; October 14th, 2009 at 11:57 AM.
Congrats on deciding to enable the wider range of garment decoration possible from the screen printing process.
If you consider that dryer, look into the extra option that allows control of oven temperature adjustment.
It will be an important feature in reaching the stated output speeds.
If you still want a 6-color with the left-over budget, a used press is a good choice to get best features for the remaining dollars.
You'll find that many suppliers have contacts on used equipment available.
Look up those who may be in your locale and inquire to see what's out there right now.
You may even find a good deal on a good dryer too.
I'll admit that a bunch of equip in our market has changed hands recently; but........it is Phoenix.
what do you guys think of the Big buddy by Black body?????? just curious..its in the same price range as the econocure .....24 inch belt also. I also looked into the Vastex db 30. it has a 30 inch belt but its production is less than the big buddy and the econocure. i beleive it only does 70 shirts an hour the guy said on the phone. i do like the wider belt as i do want to do large prints eventually. Im curious on how many shirts realistcly will i do an hour? or is the 200 shirts an hour good to get so i have room to grow later and add another press????? all these questions....im getting a migraine.
Sorry about the headache...hope I didn't cause that one.
Manual press output is highly variable with factors of load/unload, # of colors, flash-cure needs, etc.
I think that the "Econocure" is the BBC "Big Buddy", but can't say for sure.
I'd say the Vastex folks are being more realistic in production throughput capabilities.
Note that a conveyor dryer is simply heat elements suspended over a moving belt.
.....picture several flash-cure units set side-by-side to get a basic design result.
Belt speed and element temperature controls are important adjustments to have present.
Dryer Output = Conveyor Belt Speed = Length Of Tunnel Heat. (assuming proper cure temp settings)
So, look for the longest tunnel length conveyor dryer your budget can afford and that output will be what is then reasonable.
Also, be aware that there are commercial grade presses that are floor-standing modular 4/4 combinations that can have additional heads and stations added to create a 6/4 or 6/6 down the line.
I'm assuming that you're looking for serious production capability, and not "hobby or past-time" level systems.
If so, it still would be good to exhaust options on any used equipment available with the 5K press/dryer budget to see if there's a bigger bang for your buck awaiting you out there.
Sorry about the headache...hope I didn't cause that one.
yea i am probably going to go with the oddesey 4/4 with upgrade capable to 6/4. as far as the drier goes.. the big buddy has a longer tunnel than the vastex but also is more costly to run. the vastex is about 16 cents an hour to run. as for the big buddy is in the 60+ cent an hour range. the vastex does have a short tunnel. lookes like 1 1/2 feet. lol damn i dont know...someone please give more input. oh the vastext has a 30 inch belt wich is awsome for large prints but curious if the tunnel is long enough to cure properly?
You need not be worried about the length of the chamber and if it is long enough to cure plastisol. All of our conveyor dryers fully cure plastisol very well! I believe the production numbers for the DB-30 are 80 shirts an hour which is a fairly conservative number. You'd want to speak to our sales department for more information though.
"for your money" is very subjective. When it comes to this industry, things that are cheap to buy, are also cheaply built. If you want a good, well built press, for cheap, then you'll have to find something used. Then, buying used is risky, but there are good presses out there, if you know what to look for. The reason the good presses cost more money is because they are made with quality parts and built to last and hold registration, and ultimately, worth every penny. You'll understand this when your trying to print something and your fighting many variables such as registration and bad engineering. You may pay a few thousand dollars more for a vastex or antec, but if your going to be serious about this, and plan on doing this for a living, then you don't want to fail because of trying to save a few bucks.
"for your money" is very subjective. When it comes to this industry, things that are cheap to buy, are also cheaply built. If you want a good, well built press, for cheap, then you'll have to find something used. Then, buying used is risky, but there are good presses out there, if you know what to look for. The reason the good presses cost more money is because they are made with quality parts and built to last and hold registration, and ultimately, worth every penny. You'll understand this when your trying to print something and your fighting many variables such as registration and bad engineering. You may pay a few thousand dollars more for a vastex or antec, but if your going to be serious about this, and plan on doing this for a living, then you don't want to fail because of trying to save a few bucks.
ok lets do it this way...if you had only $5000. and wanted to start your own t-shirt printing business.....what would be the items you buy? (be specific with model and price.) i do need help decideing.
Riley Hopkins WIN, 4/6, $3K, with regular micros (or the joystick if you prefer, not me), upgrade to aluminum pallets with rubber tops. I wouldn't go with anything less in quality than this press, it is great for the money. If price weren't such an issue, I would recommend going with vastex or antec legend.
I would scour the internet for a used conveyor dryer from some business that has gone under, there are so many failed screen printers out of business right now and so many good deals out there. I think you could find one for well under 2K. We have an older american conveyor dryer, gas & electric, 48" belt, 4' infeed, 6' outfeed, capable of about 1500 shirts/hr, an absolute monster of a dryer and if we were to sell it, it would only get about 3K, says the equipment gurus, so I know you could steal a smaller one if you looked hard enough.
I just did some looking around on digitsmith.com and there are so many good used items on there that if I had 5K I would have a nice manual shop together in no time.
Re-reading you original post, do you need everything? Like flash unit, exposure unit, washout booth etc., or just the 2 major pieces, press and dryer? I think we could get you up and printing at just under 6K if you need everything, and don't mind putting some manual labor into the process.
Riley Hopkins WIN, 4/6, $3K, with regular micros (or the joystick if you prefer, not me), upgrade to aluminum pallets with rubber tops. I wouldn't go with anything less in quality than this press, it is great for the money. If price weren't such an issue, I would recommend going with vastex or antec legend.
I would scour the internet for a used conveyor dryer from some business that has gone under, there are so many failed screen printers out of business right now and so many good deals out there. I think you could find one for well under 2K. We have an older american conveyor dryer, gas & electric, 48" belt, 4' infeed, 6' outfeed, capable of about 1500 shirts/hr, an absolute monster of a dryer and if we were to sell it, it would only get about 3K, says the equipment gurus, so I know you could steal a smaller one if you looked hard enough.
I just did some looking around on digitsmith.com and there are so many good used items on there that if I had 5K I would have a nice manual shop together in no time.
Re-reading you original post, do you need everything? Like flash unit, exposure unit, washout booth etc., or just the 2 major pieces, press and dryer? I think we could get you up and printing at just under 6K if you need everything, and don't mind putting some manual labor into the process.
thanks dude. i emailed the lady bout the db 30 it is in my driveing range. the other one was in kansas and it is local pick up only and i live in NY so its a no go. i do need everything. i was told that the best thing to do was get the best printer and conveyer u can aford and then piece everything together later. but i have some jobs lined up that im going to miss the opertunity if i dont get started . so i might just get what i can aford for $5000. for now.
Ok guys so i went to M & R on wednesday morning with the sales rep for M & R.(Tony) he was awsome took me to go see there products in action from customers that have bought from him. Wow that thing is so well built... he let me print on it and everything. micros are awsome....so easy to use. I wont settle for less i am sold on this M & R 4 color 4 stations. the best thing is that i can upgrade it to a 6 color anytime. i spent some of my money on other equipment regaurding screen printing so i will just use this 4 color 1 staion i got at a good deal to do a few basic jobs and then get my M & R 4 color 4 station.
so far i bought a vastex DB 30, a Lincold exposure with vacuum and a 4 color 1 station. i am buying an Imac today. i still need supplies and a wash out booth.
best 6 color 6/4 station for your money??? 
