Where to start? - Starting your own screen printing business

dfb productions said:

does anyone own their own s/p business? if so how'd you start? I've been designing artwork professionally for 3 yrs now, and i want to get into the print side of things. i just have little to no knowledge of where to start. id like to get small press and see how that goes, but im leaary of the startup cost to start a business like this. any info or ideas will help me a lot. thanks for your time and help. mike

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Theres quite a few posts about different Start-up Kits that are available... Theres a wide range of prices...
If its really something you want to do/learn then find one within your budget and start learning... Once you do experience will teach you quickly what you really want or need and at least you'll be bringing in money to help instead of only digging in your pocket... As you and your business grow you'll be expanding and upgrading equipment, as the needs of your business make themselves known...
Over a period of time I have spent an awfull lot of money on better equipment and higher volume.... however not once have i had to go back into my pocket to do so... Good Luck and Welcome to the Wonderfull World of Screen Printing....LOL

Squirts said:

Welcome to the Wonderfull World of Screen Printing....LOL

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That 'LOL' on the end is really encouraging Squirts!

dfb, I agree with Squirts. The best thing you can do is first of all become screen printing savvy. Comb the forums (this place is the best information resource on the net!) and read up. Write stuff down you didn't know. Then look into starter kits and try it out. There's no better way to do it than by experimenting like crazy!

Good luck

Annie

Apprentice or volunteer at a local screen printing company. Not only will you not have to pay $1000 to figure out if you like it or not, but you will learn how to do it, and likely even learn how to run parts of the business.

I built a site for Roger Jennings who has been in the industry for years and provides free instructions. I don't know if I can link to it so google "screenprintingbiz.com" and and it should come up.

Lots of good advice. Find out if you want to do it before buying equipment. Starting out small sounds like a great idea, until you start getting some biz. Then you realize your under equipped and overwhelmed. Plus you waste money on equipment that will get pushed to side for better stuff. I am not saying buy the best out of the gate, but do spend a little more and get some medium grade equip. Good luck with your endeavors and to anyone else that gets in to printing.

I'm also new to this business and trying to grasp where I should begin in getting one started. There are a very few screen printing companies in my area, so where do I go from here.