Greetings all!
New to this forum, but have used many other forums over the years. Do know I try and explore a forum for the info I seek before asking questions! That said, do also know my questions stem from my relative inexperience with the world of screen printing, of which I am just starting to dive into
First, a little about myself- I've recently dove into screen printing out of the need to produce limited quantities of designs I create for bands/artists for my clothing line (which has mostly been custom embroidery work up to this point). While my strongest suite is on the creative/design side, being a start-up with limited resources necessitates my being involved in all steps of production. A short while ago I picked up a starter style screen printing kit (water based) and as I am a DIYer by nature & detail oriented, I quickly began printing successful small batches of one color graphics. About a month ago I acquired a used/complete entry level professional level set up which included a 4 color 1 station press, exposure unit, flash unit, squeegees, 40 aluminum frames, and a very large variety of plastisol inks.
On to the Epson 1430 questions:
having found an incredible deal on a new Epson 1430, I purchased it in addition to a small stash of waterproof transparency sheets. It presently has one black cartridge in addition to the other colors... The printer is set up though I've yet to print a positive, and before I do so I'd like to ask for yall's input. Please keep in mind I don't have the $ right now for any software, and would like to dive into the new equipment with a couple simple one color designs... I have 2 macs, one is an older 2010 with PS5 that I cannot update due to discontinued software update issues (its the computer I use for AV production) and on my macbook pro I have the new version of PS that is subscription based.
With all of that in mind-
1) For my immediate needs of wanting to expose a screen or 2 in the next few days, could anyone recommend the best settings for printing and/or pass along the most current tutorial/informational resources pertinent to using this particular printer for screen printing?
2) In the past I would save PS images as PDFs and send them to Kinkos, and this worked OK though limited to 8.5x11... Is there a proffered method over printing a PDF outside of photoshop? Is the key variable the settings in PS before I save as a PDF?
The following Q's are pertinent to the long-game set up for this printer, of which I would like to maximize efficiency and economy (wherever possible).
3) I've found quite a few different opinions re. CIS for this printer, and all of those threads seemed to be from about 5 years ago... Have the kinks been worked out, and is there a reliable CIS out there anyone would recommend?
4) For now, whilst funds are limited, any assistance in how to best set up this printer for fairly simple one color positives would be greatly appreciated
5) When I do have the money for software and optimal upgrades, could any of yall out there let me know how you have this printer set up?
6) I'm pretty sure I've read that this printer could be switched to all black cartridges... Is this true, and if so- is it super expensive to print this way? Keep in mind I'll probably only be working on 5-10 designs per month tops for now (though I may be taking on occasional custom work this winter, which would put me in the 15-20 designs per month tops...).
7) If all black cartridges might be the way to go for now since I don't have the bread for a CIS and softwares, could anyone recommend the best cartridges to use and/or avoid, and where I might be able to find the best deal on them?
8) Lastly- anyone out there in the Nashville, TN area who might be interested in a work trade? I have about 40 aluminum screens that need to be reclaimed (and a few that need rescreened). While I can do this at home, it's not the best use of my time on account of not having a washout station... I'm thinking it would be wise of me to reclaim these screens and get them set up with emulsion under the supervision of a seasoned screen printer (I'm a fast learner). I have quite a few skill sets and would be happy to come up with a trade arrangement with someone who can assist with my first round of reclaiming/setting the emulsion on these screens...
Thanks in advance for any/all input!
Cheers,
JB
New to this forum, but have used many other forums over the years. Do know I try and explore a forum for the info I seek before asking questions! That said, do also know my questions stem from my relative inexperience with the world of screen printing, of which I am just starting to dive into
First, a little about myself- I've recently dove into screen printing out of the need to produce limited quantities of designs I create for bands/artists for my clothing line (which has mostly been custom embroidery work up to this point). While my strongest suite is on the creative/design side, being a start-up with limited resources necessitates my being involved in all steps of production. A short while ago I picked up a starter style screen printing kit (water based) and as I am a DIYer by nature & detail oriented, I quickly began printing successful small batches of one color graphics. About a month ago I acquired a used/complete entry level professional level set up which included a 4 color 1 station press, exposure unit, flash unit, squeegees, 40 aluminum frames, and a very large variety of plastisol inks.
On to the Epson 1430 questions:
having found an incredible deal on a new Epson 1430, I purchased it in addition to a small stash of waterproof transparency sheets. It presently has one black cartridge in addition to the other colors... The printer is set up though I've yet to print a positive, and before I do so I'd like to ask for yall's input. Please keep in mind I don't have the $ right now for any software, and would like to dive into the new equipment with a couple simple one color designs... I have 2 macs, one is an older 2010 with PS5 that I cannot update due to discontinued software update issues (its the computer I use for AV production) and on my macbook pro I have the new version of PS that is subscription based.
With all of that in mind-
1) For my immediate needs of wanting to expose a screen or 2 in the next few days, could anyone recommend the best settings for printing and/or pass along the most current tutorial/informational resources pertinent to using this particular printer for screen printing?
2) In the past I would save PS images as PDFs and send them to Kinkos, and this worked OK though limited to 8.5x11... Is there a proffered method over printing a PDF outside of photoshop? Is the key variable the settings in PS before I save as a PDF?
The following Q's are pertinent to the long-game set up for this printer, of which I would like to maximize efficiency and economy (wherever possible).
3) I've found quite a few different opinions re. CIS for this printer, and all of those threads seemed to be from about 5 years ago... Have the kinks been worked out, and is there a reliable CIS out there anyone would recommend?
4) For now, whilst funds are limited, any assistance in how to best set up this printer for fairly simple one color positives would be greatly appreciated
5) When I do have the money for software and optimal upgrades, could any of yall out there let me know how you have this printer set up?
6) I'm pretty sure I've read that this printer could be switched to all black cartridges... Is this true, and if so- is it super expensive to print this way? Keep in mind I'll probably only be working on 5-10 designs per month tops for now (though I may be taking on occasional custom work this winter, which would put me in the 15-20 designs per month tops...).
7) If all black cartridges might be the way to go for now since I don't have the bread for a CIS and softwares, could anyone recommend the best cartridges to use and/or avoid, and where I might be able to find the best deal on them?
8) Lastly- anyone out there in the Nashville, TN area who might be interested in a work trade? I have about 40 aluminum screens that need to be reclaimed (and a few that need rescreened). While I can do this at home, it's not the best use of my time on account of not having a washout station... I'm thinking it would be wise of me to reclaim these screens and get them set up with emulsion under the supervision of a seasoned screen printer (I'm a fast learner). I have quite a few skill sets and would be happy to come up with a trade arrangement with someone who can assist with my first round of reclaiming/setting the emulsion on these screens...
Thanks in advance for any/all input!
Cheers,
JB
