[hotwheels]

Hi,
At the start of September I plan to use my paycheck to buy the first piece of equipment for what I hope will become a home business.
I wish to make both light AND dark tee's and thicker garments like Hoodys.
In the future I will be looking into getting a vinyl setup (probably a Roland GX-24) to do my own designs as I know vinyl is good for both light and dark and will closly match my needs. I dont plan to do a lot of custom work so i think vinyl will be fine.
However I have already got my first order and it is for a company logo that has 3 colors closly combined into one design (think of water or fire for example). I know this cant be done with vinyl.

So to make the tees for the customer (they will be on white tees)
I THINK I need the following: A good inkjet printer that uses PIGMENT ink. Can anyone recommend a good brand? Do I need to go for something like the Epson R2400?

Once I have the printer I will look into paper and inks at a later date.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

Epson C-120 and Durabrite inks to start with switching to refill carts and HT inks eventually. Epson 1400 for larger designs switching out the Claria inks for HT inks and refillable carts or a CIS system.
JPSS inkjet transfer paper 8.5x11 or 11x17.

You will also need a heatpress.

You should also educate yourself about custom plastisol transfers.(Ace Tranfers)
Whats available in stock plastisol transfers and name drops (Pro-World)

You also need a tee supply such as Broder?Alpha, S&S Activewear etc.

 

[hotwheels]

OK so I think im going to go for an Epson 1400 with CIS system. Should be able to get the lot for just under £300. From what I have read the Durbright ink is no good so I will probably also get some HT ink at the same time.
thanks for the help. Can anyone else make any recommendations?

 

[CUSTOM UK]

Hi. If you get a CIS system, bulk ink is readily available from a number of UK suppliers. You are not tied to paying Epson prices then.

You will find a problem in sourcing the transfer papers though, as many of the brands that are recommended on this forum, are not available in the UK.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

The Durabrite ink is the best OEM transfer ink available as it is pigment based. The 1400 comes with Claria and it is a dye based photo ink. You want the Durabrite initially but if you plan on buying HT inks and a CIS they are available for the 1400. Check out inkjetcarts.us for refill carts and HT pigment inks. I dont know whats available in the UK so remember you want pigment inks.

The only problem with Durabrite is a pigment shift with gray tones turning yellowish green. You can work around the shift by -15 to -25 yellow on your printer color profile. The real problem is that after a few washes the color starts to shift back toward the gray tone. Durabrite is the correct starting point but moving towards an HT ink should solve the shift problem.

Remember the C-120 comes with Durabrite pigment and the 1400 comes with Claria dye ink. I have both printers.

 

[hotwheels]

Have just been lookign at a few more posts and I dont think I will be doing nearly enough printing to warrent getting a CIS system and have read that unless they are used almost daily the heads will clog.
I only need a printer to do the odd custom job, and I only want to use Pigment ink, I dont want to run the risk of any of my work changing colour at a later date.

So can I use the Epson 1400 with HT ink and no CIS ?

Also what is OEM stand for?

Thanks for the help guys

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

Have just been lookign at a few more posts and I dont think I will be doing nearly enough printing to warrent getting a CIS system and have read that unless they are used almost daily the heads will clog.
I only need a printer to do the odd custom job, and I only want to use Pigment ink, I dont want to run the risk of any of my work changing colour at a later date.

So can I use the Epson 1400 with HT ink and no CIS ?

Also what is OEM stand for?



Thanks for the help guys

You can use the 1400 with refillable carts and HT pigment inks.

OEM is the orig. equipment Manf.

The 1400 prints 13x19 max. The largest JPSS transfer paper I have seen is 11x17. I am still looking for rolls actually if they exist.