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screen printing => Non Textile => Topic started by: im_mcguire on August 02, 2018, 04:32:24 PM

Title: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: im_mcguire on August 02, 2018, 04:32:24 PM
I seem to have a market for vinyl sticker printing.  Im looking into printers for stickers with die cutting, but Im really not sure where to start.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: spsi on August 02, 2018, 04:51:03 PM
There aren't really any print & cut units that can do die-cutting by the nature of the unit. After they print, they pull back and start cutting, so if you cut all the way through the material your decal will fall out and cause the media to jam. For this reason most of our customers who want "true" die cut stickers use flatbeds. The Mimaki CJV150 does have a half-cut function which essentially acts like a perforated cut.  When we demo the machine, I like to kiss cut around the design and then do a square around the whole decal with the half cut. This makes it easier to peel the actual decal as well as put extra info you might need in the box.
Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: zanegun08 on August 02, 2018, 04:59:08 PM
I haven't demo'd it more than getting a bid, but look at the Roland's as well

https://www.rolanddga.com/products/printers/truevis-sg-series-printer-cutters (https://www.rolanddga.com/products/printers/truevis-sg-series-printer-cutters)

or entry level - https://www.rolanddga.com/products/printers/versastudio-bn-20-t-shirt-printing-press (https://www.rolanddga.com/products/printers/versastudio-bn-20-t-shirt-printing-press)

But spend the extra to get a bigger one now, otherwise you'll be kicking yourself later.
Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: im_mcguire on August 02, 2018, 05:04:28 PM
Ultimately Im getting a lot of people (10-15 per week) who want to order 500-1000 stickers for their business.  I dont offer it, as I see Sticker Mule and Sticker app doing killer work, and usher them there.

Id really like to offer it, and ive been looking into the BN-20, but Im sure id grow out of that quick.

Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: spsi on August 02, 2018, 05:13:43 PM
Ultimately Im getting a lot of people (10-15 per week) who want to order 500-1000 stickers for their business.  I dont offer it, as I see Sticker Mule and Sticker app doing killer work, and usher them there.

Id really like to offer it, and ive been looking into the BN-20, but Im sure id grow out of that quick.

With that volume it might be worth considering the JV150 or JV300 & a flatbed cutter, if you have the space.
Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: ericheartsu on August 02, 2018, 05:16:36 PM
we started with a roland versacamm VS3000i. Then eventually we had to graduate to a separate Graphtec cutter, as we were KILLING our unit doing die cut stickers.

Most printers can do individual die cuts, but most techs will not recommend you do that.
Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: zanegun08 on August 02, 2018, 05:43:18 PM
Why don't you just source them from https://www.stouse.com (https://www.stouse.com) or https://www.gill-line.com (https://www.gill-line.com)

Then you can offer screen print stickers as well at better quality and they have great prices with great margin.

Make money sending emails and have more time to print shirts, as doing stickers is tedious business, and won't be the quality of screen print without lamination in my opinion.

StickerApp does great work, and StickerMule as well, sometimes we just order from them and make a cut on top for their ease of ordering.
Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: ericheartsu on August 02, 2018, 05:45:52 PM
Why don't you just source them from https://www.stouse.com (https://www.stouse.com) or https://www.gill-line.com (https://www.gill-line.com)

Then you can offer screen print stickers as well at better quality and they have great prices with great margin.

Make money sending emails and have more time to print shirts, as doing stickers is tedious business, and won't be the quality of screen print without lamination in my opinion.

StickerApp does great work, and StickerMule as well, sometimes we just order from them and make a cut on top for their ease of ordering.

all of those sites are great, but some times they can have big lead times. Stouse isn't the most easy to work with on smaller orders either.
Title: Re: What would you all recommend for a entry level printer for stickers.
Post by: royster13 on August 03, 2018, 09:04:46 AM
www.tradenetonline.com (http://www.tradenetonline.com) or www.stickman.com (http://www.stickman.com) have been doing mine for 15+ years.....Never been a fan of Stouse or Gill-Line but they have also been around for a long time....