[MikeyFingaz]

there are so many on the web.... who has the best one for the price.... i would like to spend less than $1500 bucks or so on one..... i am starting out doing shirts as they get ordered....

 

[Comin'OutSwingin]

Re: a good start up kit....

What kind of startup kit?

 

[MikeyFingaz]

Re: a good start up kit....

What kind of startup kit?

i think i found a good one... i am looking to have something in my house, and is pretty much minimalistic... i want to be able to do shirts as they are ordered...

thanx for the reply, you have always tried to help when i asked a question.... it hasnt went unnoticed

 

[Rodney]

Re: a good start up kit....

i think i found a good one... i am looking to have something in my house, and is pretty much minimalistic... i want to be able to do shirts as they are ordered...

Care to share what you found?

From your original question it was a bit unclear what type of startup kit you were looking for (what printing method, etc).

Maybe your find will help others in a similar situation

 

[MikeyFingaz]

Re: a good start up kit....

Care to share what you found?

From your original question it was a bit unclear what type of startup kit you were looking for (what printing method, etc).

Maybe your find will help others in a similar situation

Rodney, here is what i will probably be using...

http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/site/799934/product/1008

i am going to be selling simple bold letter print desings stretching across the chest with a small border around the letters, using spot printing techniques. there will be one base color word desings, and a few one color word designs with a border spaced out from the main letters a bit in a different color.

i will also be making about 6-10 different versions of designs eventually, but will save & reuse every design i make.

there will be no butting of colors (atleast not until i get better at printing) even then, the most complex design i will have will be a three color design going horizontal ( like the irish flag, or asomething).

my target market will be mixed martial arts folks, bikers, extreme sportists, skaters, hot girls, colleges, nighclubs, independently owned chopper shops, tattoo shops, head shops, myspace, a really good web design, innovative marketing using some girls from the adult industry who are famous, and some good link trades along with some really good S.E.O.

to start, i want a machine that i can fit in my apartment, it only need be a 3 color press, and i will print the shirts as i need them. i will be saving every design i create, and will make only about 6-10 designs total. this set up says it can do 40-120 shirts per hour. i figure being new at this, and the fact that i will be doing lots of double flashing because alot of the shirts will be black, so im guessing i can do 25 shirts per hour. i will also be doing ballcaps, hoodies, and long sleeve t's, all with the same logos...

 

[Jehozadak]

Re: a good start up kit....

Rodney, here is what i will probably be using...

http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/site/799934/product/1008

Does anyone have any input on the quality of this piece of equipment? This post http://www.t-shirtforums.com/showthread.php?t=2222 seems to suggest that it isn't as good for graphical designs like that of threadless shirts. At least thats what I figured from the line about 'close registration', which is what I will be wanting to print. I had this product as one of my first choices but now I am not so sure.

 

[ironhead]

I don't think you can add micro adjustments to that press which are a good thing to have if your doing multi color jobs.
I would look into this press if money is tight. http://www.livingstonsystems.com/
You have the options to add more arms later or buy micros later.
I use it as a one color press right now and it works fine.

 

[Jehozadak]

Thanks for the tip. I didn't really know what micro-registration/adjustments were, but after some research I agree, they are probably pretty good to have for multi color jobs, which is most likely what I will be doing. I don't really have a certain amount i want to spend, but this doesn't mean I want to get the most expensive, just what I'll need to print shirts with quality. I've seen examples of good kits from $1500 - $3000, and if there is a trusted piece of equipment for around that range I would consider looking into it. Is there anyone with who has experience with something like that?

 

[MikeyFingaz]

Hey all, I went back & started going thru my old threads & trying to find answers on some noob questions I had....

I am bumping this thread to ask about the press kit that was suggested as an alternative to mine that I originally posted....

Does anyone have any experience with this press???

can this press

http://www.livingstonsystems.com/

Make these type of designs


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lucky13apparel.com/images/images_site102004/frontpage.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.lucky13apparel.com/&h=648&w=690&sz=42&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=IA6b8PT3erI2uM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=137&prev=/images?q=lucky+13&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&safe=off


Cannot get the actual page of shirts to load, it keeps sending me to the frontpage, but Im asking about the t shirt sections, for the guys & dolls... Do you guys thing the above printer can handle jobs like that???

 

[MikeyFingaz]

And how about this one for a back up that is used strictly for one or two color simple font text like old english letters & simple designs of the trucker mud flap girl for example???

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1935751-AA.shtml?lnav=tools.html

 

[neato]

Those are both considered hobby presses. From the looks of them, I can't imagine that they would hold registration good enough to do high end work like the picture you linked to.

 

[MikeyFingaz]

Those are both considered hobby presses. From the looks of them, I can't imagine that they would hold registration good enough to do high end work like the picture you linked to.

The four color printer has an option for adding micro-registration... if I added the micro-registration to it, would it be doable then???

 

[neato]

Micro Registration is great, but if the press is flimsy, it won't mean anything. Micro reg. is only going to help you line up the screens to your artwork, not hold registration while you print.

If you're looking for a table top size printer, check out the Odyssey:

http://www.workhorseproducts.com/products/manual_printing/odyssey_tabletop.shtml

Or the CAPS Table top:

http://caps-screenprinting.com/t-shirts.asp


These are both serious presses. They will hold fantastic registration. And often you can find used ones for $500-$1000

Go over to screenprinters.net and join the forums. They are a bunch of very knowledgable people who will guide you in the right direction.

 

[MikeyFingaz]

Micro Registration is great, but if the press is flimsy, it won't mean anything. Micro reg. is only going to help you line up the screens to your artwork, not hold registration while you print.

If you're looking for a table top size printer, check out the Odyssey:

http://www.workhorseproducts.com/products/manual_printing/odyssey_tabletop.shtml

Or the CAPS Table top:

http://caps-screenprinting.com/t-shirts.asp


These are both serious presses. They will hold fantastic registration. And often you can find used ones for $500-$1000

Go over to screenprinters.net and join the forums. They are a bunch of very knowledgable people who will guide you in the right direction.

Thanks. Good stuff to know. I will check those out....

 

[ffokazak]

I think the Silkscreen supplies press would be fine for what you have said you want to do. You COULD go out and buy a press with micro reg, but you would spend more, and you'd need Emulsion. And Ink. And Ghost image remover. And Emuslion remover. And screens. and Squeegees, and a scoop coater. and ink scoops, and. we;ll i think you get the idea. Oops! and a flash dryer! and a , hahaha. Thats it, thats what you'll need. And with my experience with local screenprinters suppliers prices, they cant compete with online stores prices. I would recommend this press, for a beginer. Its solid, strong, and yeah you wont be able to do a 7 colour fine reg, but you will get a press and ALL theh chems, and supplies you need to learn.If you dont like it, you could sell it for damn near what you got for it, if you slip up the flash dryer and press. I think a flash goes for like 350$ on Ebay. Anyways, Its a complete kit, and you wont have to run around looking for a scoop coater for less that 45$ , blah blah blah.
Good Luck, and welcome into the wonderful world of getting ink all over the place!

 

[Krikon]

What iv'e been thinking of was getting a 1 color press complete package and maybe do a few details in other colors by mixing techniques like stenciling.

I would of course only do screenprinting for my own line of tees iv'e been designing and will try to sell but if one get a little bit creative i think there's ways to work around paying billions for a multicolor system.

But then again, if you will do tees for others when u get the orders for them this might not work, dunno.....

 

[Solmu]

What iv'e been thinking of was getting a 1 color press complete package and maybe do a few details in other colors by mixing techniques like stenciling.

This is certainly possible. It will make it more labour intensive, each product will be different (a good thing for some markets, bad for some), and there'll be some things you just won't be able to do. But you don't need to be able to do everything at once from the beginning.

I'd say the majority of people start with smaller equipment and then upgrade - very few people would buy something straight up (a six colour six station for example) that meets their needs for some time to come.

Some people even start out with no press (not even a one arm) just printing on a table or on the floor.

i think there's ways to work around paying billions for a multicolor system.

A multi-colour press isn't exactly a space station...

We're talking of (ballpark figures) of say $400-500 versus $2400 - it's not a lot of money for a piece of business equipment.

It's a matter of what you can afford though... if you're trying to start a screenprinting setup on $1000... then I'd say go ahead and do that and look at 1 or 2 colour setups. If your budget can stretch further you're better off getting bigger/better equipment from the start, but if you either can't afford it, or are not sure you want to commit to the risk (i.e. you've never printed before and you're not actually sure it's something you want to do) then by all means start smaller - upgrading later is definitely an option, and a lot of people make good money doing one colour shirts.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

So...his question was what is a good startup press??? This one, this one or this one....he heard some feedback from folks that new good statup presses out of his price range for sure. What should he look at in his price range?

 

[neato]

What should he look at in his price range?

Frankly, nothing.

 

[MikeyFingaz]

Frankly, nothing.

So your saying none of the presses refered to in this thread are worthy???

Also, what do think is a good press... Im not talking about some high dollar automated 8 station press... I dont need that... I am looking for an entry level press that can be used for a small business... I will NOT be doing orders where customers ask for me to make them a certain type design... i will be selling my own designs... And frankly, none of them will be that complex of a design.