Now what im looking at doing is starting up a small home business selling shirts and maybe later on hats and other stuff.
What im planning on is one or two colour, simple words and slogans.
Whats the best way to start?
Ive looked at some equipment, but as ive no idea what im really looking at it would help if I coulld just get a nudge in the right direction
Now im open to any and all suggestions, and id love to get this off the ground before say February next year :P
i bought a 4 color single station screen printer. wasnt very expensive and it does the job. It actually came in a starter kit with everything you kneed to get started and all my designs were done with a regular printer. i probably spent about 700 dollars tops , i purchased it from sil screen supplies, if you buy a kit make sure you get a flash dryer and not a heat gun. i hope this helps
I am interested in doing the same and after a lot of research and reading (many thanks to this forum) I decided on heat transfer press. This eliminates chemicals, burning screens, washing out screens etc. Plus the capital investment up front can be very reasonble. Also, the space required with this set-up is much less. I will have about 1200.00 invested when all is said and done. This includes a new press, Epson printer using DURAbrite inks, CorelDraw X3 and some blanks to get started with. With a heat press I can print using inkjet transfers or plastisol depending on the quality I want and the quantity.
For someone just starting...particularily a home business...Chip has the right idea. I started that way...and still don't do screen printing...don't need to..besides I am lazy...
The idea is achieve an end result.. One that your customer is happy with. Make a list of what it is going to take to get that end result. Make a list of time and cost and then when you finished you will have the answer as to which path to follow. so if you were going to make 200 shirts and have a 10 x 10 2 color design. One path is screen printing and the other is plastisol transfers pressed with a heat press. Make your list to accomplish the end result. Then tell us.. a lot of us can tell you the answer. But what would you have learned.
Simply put im not planning on making shirts to order.
Im looking to in my spare time (I work night shift 3 nights a week, so leaves me 4 free days) make shirts to sell via local markets, eBay, and perhaps a website.
Most of the shirts im thinking of making are simple one color slogan designs.
Ive watched countless videos on you-tube, read plenty of info, but the fact that im in Australia and all out in the country (400 or so miles to the nearest capital city) makes it alot harder for me to get products.
Start-Up Screen Printing Packages
This is what im thinking of getting.
But then im not sure what id need to do when it comes to curing ect.
not being familiar with the market in Australia...but...the systems you reference seem rather paltry..but then don't know the price. I would rather outsource a few plastisol transfers...after all they are screen prints to see what the market is before leaping out cold...jmo
After reading around some more, I will prolly end up using waterbased inks, since ill only be printing one colour designs to start with.
So is there anyone on these forums from Australia, that can point me in the direction of a supplier, that can get me started?
The few that show up on Google dont really seam to have much in the way of start up kits.
Now id love some help with Australian sellers of quality start up kits, if there are any.
What im after is a 4 Colour at the most, maybe even a 1 colour will do, and a good place to get the inks (Water based me thinks)
And all all the other odds and ends ill be needing.
Budget is around $1500 ($2000, but im leaving the other $500 for shirts and some other costs, such as a table/stall for the markets, ect.)
Id like to get some opinions on it, as im thinking of getting it.
It looks like it will do the job for me, and its not to expensive, so if it turns out im not not a screen printer, I havnt blown my life savings
That doesn't look like a bad setup for the price. The press looks like an ok unit, especially for what you're talking about printing.
I've also heard good things about Parmaset inks. I have never printed with them but I think they are supposed to be good inks. Eventually, Matsui inks will be offered in Australia. I highly recommend Matsui inks because they print well, they're eco-friendly and they are priced right. From what I understand about Parmaset is they have a very similar ink...buit again, I have never printed with them. And I think they're a little expensive....but I don't know that for sure.
to be honest i would go with at least a 4 colour screen printer just because eventually ur most likely gonna end up needed it. u can only do so much with a single. it will come in handy . remember that all this is a learning process.
Looking to start a hobby/business 
