Well the time has come me and my friends need a press. We need one that will do up to 4 colors time is not an issue. I will not be using a service because each one will be different unfortunately. Econo 4 Color Press & Package
would something like this work?
or Screen Printing Starter Kit
could i just use that but it would take longer to do different colors?
like i said were poor and need to make like 10-15 shirts a month.
Besides those starter kits would there be anything else wed need to start getting going?
The starter kit you are looking at is not all that bad for a general kit. It would be fine for the hobby person who plans on just making a few simple shirts for their frinds, but you have to keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Depending on how detailed your shirt designs are going to be, this kit may not be the answer. This press does not have any micro reg. and lining up your colors will be a pain in the butt. another thing to consider is how you are going to expose your screens. Most likely the kit will only include a halogen work light which will be be fine for a simple design, but you will not be able to burn halftone designs and forget about real fine details and small text, it won't work. The kit also includes a heat gun for curing the ink on the shirt. Most new screen printers people that use these guns end up scorching the shirt or bubbling the ink. I suggest that if you plan on investing money into a multi color press, go for the bigger ones that ryonet offers that include an exposure unit, and a press with at least the Joystick reg. then Market yourself to take on smaller jobs to offset the cost of the equipment and even make you and your friends some spare money.
If I was you I would save up more money and get something good.
I agree with smackintush, If your going to do more than 1 color logo then you need micro registration to line up your art work.
look online,try the recycler or look on your local craigslist or ebay for people selling there used equipment.
good luck
well the thing is tho most of the more then one colors dont need to be lined up. so if its off its no biggie. about 75% of the shirts will be all one color so this is why im not leaning towards something real exspensive.
Would this still suit me?
I wouldn't buy either. The four color press will be a pain to use for multi-color stuff. The one-color press isn't worth the money. Buy some jiffy clamps and make a press out of particle board. Buy a halogen worklight for $12 at Home Depot and a piece of glass. Buy a couple of quarts of ink (do you need Kelly Green right now?) Buy a couple of 110 aluminum frame screens. Buy a 14" squeegie, 70 durometer. You don't need two 8" squeegies. Don't waste money on a heat gun to "cure" the shirts, because it either won't cure them or it will burn them up. Spend some money on a used flash dryer, 16" or bigger if possible. That's something you'll need no matter how sophisticated you get later. Get a quart of pure photopolymer emulsion, so it won't go bad in a couple of weeks, and so you're not spending 20 minutes or longer burning a screen with that worklight. Buy some screen wash, some emulsion remover, and a little Simple Green to degrease the screens. Go to your closet and grab some old shirts, or go to Goodwill and get some "pre-owned" shirts, or wrestle 'em off a bum, slap some ink in that screen and print something. Learn how to print a decent one-color print on your $40 homemade press, and when you get to jonesing to do some upscale stuff, buy a good used press and a conveyor dryer and do it right. On shirts with more than one color that don't need to be lined up, as you say, you could swap screens while your shirt is still on the platen. It's sort of half-assed, but I'd still do that before I bought a crappy press that I guarantee you'll eventually regret spending the money on.
If it's only 10 - 15 /month and you don't want to invest even $1000, why not check out some local printers/embroiders in your area to find someone with a direct to garment printer. See if you can develop an ongoing relationship with them on a wholesale basis until you generate some business and are able to get what you really need. Garbage in, garbage out and if you start out selling crap, your business will never grow. Use OPM, other people's money for the big capital investment on the machinery and make some profit to get yourself in a position to "start off" right.
Good luck.
need something done/help on starter kits 
