I have been trying and trying to do four color prints on the press that I have, and I have gotten so frustrated I'm ready to just sell it and upgrade to a better machine. I don't have micro registration on the press that I have, and I can't get a registration correct to save my life. I'll spend an entire day trying to get the screens all lined up, loosening them, tapping with a hammer, and every time I do I just end up back at square one with no progress. So, I'm looking to upgrade. When I bought all of my equipment, I was interested in screen printing but unfortunately I didn't take the time to research and jumped into what I thought was a good deal, I don't want to make that mistake again. So, I am just wondering if anyone has a suggestion on a good solid manual press, at least 4 colors, with micro-registration. From what I understand, a press with micro-registration has little screws that you can use to make adjustments on your registration if it is a little off, is that correct? If that is the case, that would be extremely beneficial, as I could just tweak it ever so slightly to finally get that oh-so-elusive perfect registration I've been looking for. I can't give up, I'm extremely passionate about screen printing and starting my clothing line, and I'm very motivated to work, but no matter how much I work I'm not getting anywhere with the press I have. Price is also an issue, as I don't have a whole lot of money, but quality is most important, so if I have to save up a little longer to get what I really need, then I will do that. Please help me, I want to make shirts so badly but I'm just not getting anywhere.
I've been using an old Hopkins without micros. I've found that what has helped me the most was a pre-registration system. I made one using a sheet of plexiglass and a couple of 1X2s. Now my positives are in the same place on the screen and any adjustments are minor. I hope this helps.
Look around for used. I bought a 4 month old Vastex 2000HD 6/4 for $3000 a couple of years ago. Best money I ever spent. Bought the stuff to upgrade it to an 8/4.
There is good used stuff on Ebay and Craigslist. Budget as much as you can and be ready to jump on any deals. Additionally, you should really take the time to attend a show like the ISS shows where all the manufacturer's have their stuff on display, and where you can make someone show you how well it works. Even if you have to buy used, at least you'll know what to look for, and I also would avoid buying used unless you have actually seen one of the presses or know for sure that it is a good one. Workhorse, Vastex 2000, Hopkins BWM, Riley Hopkins (but without the joysticks, although some like them), M&R or Antec Legend. None of the crap that sells new on Ebay (although I occasionally see someone selling Riley Hopkins presses there) is worth a sh!t. If it says "EZ" it ain't. Those people don't hawk their stuff at the shows, and for a good reason. They'd be laughed out of the place.
No, I haven't made a decision yet, I've been thinking over it all of the time. I am out in Kentucky and I don't know if there are any screen printing shows around here. The closest the ISS show gets would probably be Atlanta, and that's quite a drive from here. I don't think I'm going to sell all of my studio equipment, my job is supposed to be starting again in August, and then I could make enough money to buy a printer, I don't know what yet though. I've been thinking about a Vastex. They seem really well built, and I do like the raised platens because they can give you just a little bit more area to print on. I figured the best thing to do might be to keep practicing with this machine until I get good enough at screen printing to deserve a really expensive machine. I still have a lot to learn, and if I learn on a crappy machine it'll just be that much easier on a a good one.
Jlee199, with the pre-registration system, isn't your registration still slightly off when you put the screens onto the machine? I can get my registration close, but it always seems to be off just a touch. I don't know if it's because my machine's crappy or if I just need to get better at screen printing, probably the latter.
how can you be so sure its your press? have you checked the films? do they line up? are your screens properly tensioned? is your off contact set properly? are your platens relatively level? does anything feel loose?.......a press is basically a hinge that pulls a screen down into a locking mechanism... thats it, I built one out of wood and printed many 4 color shirts with it in perfect register.....once you understand the basics of how and why screen printing works you can achieve great results on any press if you have the variables in check....
that being said some presses are better than others....my favorite manual presses are M&R I have had the same "Blue Max 2" since about 1994...and I wouldn't want to go back to the homemade one...but I could if I had to......
before you dump cash into any problem find out what the real problem is
I do have some adjustments that have to be done, but the adjustments are minor. I've found that if the positives are in the same place on each screen then it's just a matter of lining up the registration marks (sometimes this takes a tap of a hammer). But since using the preregistration system my frustration level has gone down signifacantly.
That's not to say that my next press isn't going to have micros. I realize that I have to make do with what I have but the next one will definitely have micros.
Good deal.
Don't forget about all of the used presses to be had out there. I HIGHLY recommend you check out and place ads on Craigslist (the nearest big city is best) asking who has what, and don't post an offering price, just ask people what they have available.
Also (very mild plug) check out sites that deal in used equipment (such as mine) to help give you an idea of what things are worth. Always check policies when dealing with a business; for example, my company sells on an as-is/where-is basis; it keeps our prices low and protects us, but you need to be sure to inspect the equipment before purchasing.
Matt, good to see you on here. Funny you posted because I just sent the invoice to you for the Epson 4800. I have not inspected the unit, but I trust everything works as intented. Used equipment is an excellent way to go if you can get good- well maintained equipment at a bargain price.
Matt, good to see you on here. Funny you posted because I just sent the invoice to you for the Epson 4800. I have not inspected the unit, but I trust everything works as intented. Used equipment is an excellent way to go if you can get good- well maintained equipment at a bargain price.
Good to see you, too!
I'm still trying to get the basics of this stuff down.
How do you feel about DTG as opposed to screenprinting?
The reason I ask is if Omnicow is having too much trouble with the screenprinting registration, etc, it might just be worth the expense to switch to DTG or one of the other methods.
I have been noticing a lot of opinion on the various T-Shirt forums I read that the industry standard seems to be slipping away from "messy, time-consuming screenprinting" to some of the other quicker, cleaner methods.
Nah, I'm not too interested in DTG printing. The style of printing that I'm doing I couldn't do with that format. I do a lot of large prints, (the last one I did was 17 x 25) and a lot of waterbased printing for the softer hand. I love the options that screen printing offers, I'm just not that good at it... Yet.
If you check out my website, you can see a couple of the shirts I've made so far. The Squid Pope shirt was printed with four colors, and in the pictures that I have up and from a distance, it looks fine. However, it you get close, you can see that some of the colors are off by what would be about one pixel on a computer. I can get really close but I can't get it absolutely perfect and that drives me insane. If I try to tap it with a hammer I'm going to move it WAAAAY more than I need to. (i say this because I have tried numerous times.) That's why I'm thinking I need to get something with micro so I can just dial in those little bitty tweaks, but honestly I have no idea if it really is that easy with micro registration.
Manual Press Suggestions 
