TSB
screen printing => Equipment => Topic started by: im_mcguire on February 28, 2019, 02:51:55 PM
-
Beyond the press, what would you all be looking into. We are looking to reinvest a small amount back into our company ( about $10k) and was just seeing where you all would spend...
Maybe a used DTG, or vinyl printer...
Or another used single head embroidery machine.
Just trying to see what some options would be that I am not thinking of currently...
-
we went with a DTG. digital is coming and you can start getting ready for it now rather than being blindsided later. Would do it again, no question about it.
pierre
-
we went with a DTG. digital is coming and you can start getting ready for it now rather than being blindsided later. Would do it again, no question about it.
pierre
What brand did you get for your shop?
-
we went with a DTG. digital is coming and you can start getting ready for it now rather than being blindsided later. Would do it again, no question about it.
pierre
Do you find you're doing less and less process prints with the DTG in house?
-
if you go with a DTG, i would strongly suggest against buying used. They are fickle and support is invaluable when they act up. We run an epson f2100 and for the most part are very happy. We are doing hundreds of prints a week on ours. For DTG, also remember that you will need to invest in the pretreat setup and heat presses, etc. The ink is also expensive compared to screenprinting inks, so make sure you account for that in your pricing and add those costs into your initial setup (think something around $500 to $1000 in ink to start with.
-
DTS but may not in the budget. However...combined with a trilock or similar setup the ROI is very quick. That said, employees need to step up to new technology. Not always easy. Hard to break some habits! Think of set ups without hammers and endless test prints. Not saying that that how it is there but I see it a lot.
tp
-
Dryer and vinyl cutter, every time I come close to ordering one or the other something else comes up, our old dryer just can't keep up went we get into the heavy load season which is just about here.
-
we went with a DTG. digital is coming and you can start getting ready for it now rather than being blindsided later. Would do it again, no question about it.
pierre
What brand did you get for your shop?
we went with a re-certified Belquette MOD1 as it was a great deal. For learning about the DTG and the systems it was a great choice. It is not happy if it sits more then few days, so it is imperative to run it few times per week. I have to say that the support has been spectacular. We are creating problems by letting it (and the pretreater) sit for weeks on and they are helping like we are their best customer ever. To make matters worse, we are not buying the ink from them and I think part of the problems is related to that too. no questions asked, they just help and make it happen. I would not hesitate to get another one (are actually thinking about it), but the learning curve is soooooooo steep, it might make sense to get something that is not using the EPSON heads to start with (units with proper DTG heads have recirculating and some other options built in that will save a lot of headache).
pierre
-
we went with a DTG. digital is coming and you can start getting ready for it now rather than being blindsided later. Would do it again, no question about it.
pierre
Do you find you're doing less and less process prints with the DTG in house?
We are just getting comfortable with using it more and have decided against printing process for less than 200 or so shirts. 144, which is our most common order for full color prints will now go on DTG. The time it takes to separate, burn screens and sample is not worth the money. It can tie up the press for hours and create scheduling issues. The hope is that even if we don't make any money on those orders at least we will not be losing any.
Ask me in 6 months how we are doing. though. . .
pierre
-
I could see doing jobs up to that volume if you aren't doing much DTG otherwise, but jobs like that would tie up a single DTG for way too long for us. I would want at least two for consistent volume like that. The issue with buying the epson mods (like the belquette) is they ALL have significant issues without massive amounts of maintenance labor. That alone is the primary reason we went with the actual epson dtg. Maintenance so far on that unit has been minimal.
Pierre is right though, ideally you want to be using a machine with a head built for DTG, but unless you buy a brother (ink cost issues), you are looking at $50k+ for the entry level models.
-
I could see doing jobs up to that volume if you aren't doing much DTG otherwise, but jobs like that would tie up a single DTG for way too long for us. I would want at least two for consistent volume like that. The issue with buying the epson mods (like the belquette) is they ALL have significant issues without massive amounts of maintenance labor. That alone is the primary reason we went with the actual epson dtg. Maintenance so far on that unit has been minimal.
Pierre is right though, ideally you want to be using a machine with a head built for DTG, but unless you buy a brother (ink cost issues), you are looking at $50k+ for the entry level models.
The newer Brother is getting better in this regard. The previous models were really not great at all. We use aftermarket ink on the GT3, CMYK only no whites. It helps.
The newest version of the Brother looks nice. I still think if we jumped back into white ink I would look long and hard at the M&R M-link. I kinda stopped keeping up with the different printers out there.
-
Enough discussion on the current "State of the DTG" to deserve it's own thread, but not really helping mcquire invest his $10,000 equipment money.
Mcquire, perhaps run down what you already have going.
-
We added a laser to our shop in 2017, love it. But that would go for more than 10k for a good one.
-
$10k wouldn't go far in the DTG world anyway...
A laser is pretty freaking cool. That glowforge is pretty neat, but it has a lot of drawbacks.
Brandt, what brand/model did you get?
-
Get a Stampinator, at about $5500, leaves you with $4500 for a vinyl cutter or another piece of equipment.
Stamping the base of your prints gives much better quality prints overall, much better than a flattening screen, and you can stamp / cure in 1 head so you don't need to go flash and flattening screen taking up two heads. Doesn't burn garments, and gives a great base to print colors on.
-
I would definitely consider buying a vinyl cutter. You could get a nice one and still have plenty of change left over. Ours has paid for itself time and time again.
-
Enough discussion on the current "State of the DTG" to deserve it's own thread, but not really helping mcquire invest his $10,000 equipment money.
Mcquire, perhaps run down what you already have going.
We have a 6/8 Auto thats fairly new
6 head embroidery that we just added
LED exposure unit
screens galore
Things id be interested in looking into:
Tri Loc
DTG
Vinyl Cutter / Printer
LASER ENGRAVER
Im looking for the best ROI for what id be putting into the business. Im actually looking to grow, but our offset side of the shop needs to grow first, so our press plans look like they won't happen for another 2 years or so.
I know 10K isn't much, but I know it will get some things going, to help with production.
-
if you dont already have a triloc or something like it, that would be number one for me. Vinyl cutter would be 2.
-
$10k wouldn't go far in the DTG world anyway...
A laser is pretty freaking cool. That glowforge is pretty neat, but it has a lot of drawbacks.
Brandt, what brand/model did you get?
We have a Universal Laser, its a USA based company. On the higher end of costs as well.
-
That's a pretty cool piece of equipment to have Brandt, puts you ahead of other printers in your area somewhat, good thinking on your part. 8)
-
$10k wouldn't go far in the DTG world anyway...
A laser is pretty freaking cool. That glowforge is pretty neat, but it has a lot of drawbacks.
Brandt, what brand/model did you get?
We have a Universal Laser, its a USA based company. On the higher end of costs as well.
What products do you offer with that? We wanted to get one a few years ago, but kept expanding elsewhere. Universal, Trotec, Epilog were the 3 brands we considered. I really wanted one in house...
-
$10k wouldn't go far in the DTG world anyway...
A laser is pretty freaking cool. That glowforge is pretty neat, but it has a lot of drawbacks.
Brandt, what brand/model did you get?
We have a Universal Laser, its a USA based company. On the higher end of costs as well.
What products do you offer with that? We wanted to get one a few years ago, but kept expanding elsewhere. Universal, Trotec, Epilog were the 3 brands we considered. I really wanted one in house...
You can do a zillion things on these things but we have only bother with Leather products really to this point. We did some wood trophies and wood Christmas ornaments as well but mostly leather stuff.
-
Stampinator is a great choice - there are caveats to running it in head one though - do your due diligence and make sure its right for you.
-
Stampinator is a great choice - there are caveats to running it in head one though - do your due diligence and make sure its right for you.
I said cure in 1 head, not use in head 1, although it works for fiber matte, but we use ours in head two to heat press and cure the base in 1 head, rather than going print, flash, flattening screen taking up 3 stations, can achieve a better base in two with the stampinator.
The price is no joke, if they were like 1/2 the cost I'd be they'd sell three times as many, it's pretty niche but now $6000 is too expensive when a heat press with more moving parts for 16" x 20" is about $2200, they are like the same price as a quartz flash which it is "replacing" but damn.
-
Stampinator is a great choice - there are caveats to running it in head one though - do your due diligence and make sure its right for you.
I said cure in 1 head, not use in head 1, although it works for fiber matte, but we use ours in head two to heat press and cure the base in 1 head, rather than going print, flash, flattening screen taking up 3 stations, can achieve a better base in two with the stampinator.
The price is no joke, if they were like 1/2 the cost I'd be they'd sell three times as many, it's pretty niche but now $6000 is too expensive when a heat press with more moving parts for 16" x 20" is about $2200, they are like the same price as a quartz flash which it is "replacing" but damn.
Ah, you are right, I did misread that as head one. I think they are a great tool. It was originally designed to do heat press inline. Great little tool. Liquid is/was running it right after the base white with a 1 second press. Impressive to watch. You just have to be running hot platens to make it work, and a "thin" ink deposit.
-
Enough discussion on the current "State of the DTG" to deserve it's own thread, but not really helping mcquire invest his $10,000 equipment money.
Mcquire, perhaps run down what you already have going.
We have a 6/8 Auto thats fairly new
6 head embroidery that we just added
LED exposure unit
screens galore
Things id be interested in looking into:
Tri Loc
DTG
Vinyl Cutter / Printer
LASER ENGRAVER
Im looking for the best ROI for what id be putting into the business. Im actually looking to grow, but our offset side of the shop needs to grow first, so our press plans look like they won't happen for another 2 years or so.
I know 10K isn't much, but I know it will get some things going, to help with production.
I'd go with the tri loc. You will be amazed at how it helps with setups. If you do a bit of research on here you can turn it into a FPU and get it pretty close to CTS results on registration. Most bang for your buck in my opinion.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
-
I would use 2k and get set up with Order My Gear, spend a few k on dye sub equipment, maybe spend the rest on a great website.
-
Maybe diversify? if you want to learn something new maybe look outside this industry for something else you would enjoy and be able to use to off set slow times with. I invested in a coffee roaster a few years ago and already have a nice size customer base. Of course I love doing it so there is that. As for a printer/cutter, I have a 30" and 64" here that were purchased 5 or 6 years ago. Knowing what I know now I would just send that work out. Signs 365 and Signs To Trade are stupid cheap and fast.
-
I too am thinking of a screen registration system. Right now that seems to be our biggest slowdown. I guess the question is are you trying to improve your current process or do you want to add a new service?
-
That is an excellent question. Process improvement or diversification. With regards to triloc etc, the carrier sheet options are less than optimal.
However as previously mentioned, combined with a CTS it is a win.
-
This is a good problem to have! You say you have screens galore, but what kind of mesh? I would personally.:
- Set aside 2K to get about 100 screens re-meshed with Murakami S-mesh or Saait HiDro. Being able to pretty much 1-hit anything will make some orders quicker than they already are.
- If you need a vinyl cutter (not printer) you can get a Graphtec for about $1800. I've had mine for 2 years and absolutely zero problems.
- You're about 4.8K in now and I'd suggest a Tri-loc or other pre-reg system as others have suggested. That's probably around 3K
- Depending on your workflow and approval process I'd suggest Printavo. $1500/yr. for the mid-range package. You can get the next package up and have barcodes, full artwork upload, and more, but that's probably around 3k.
Any leftover maybe take the crew out to eat for moral? Just my 2 cents.
-
I too am thinking of a screen registration system. Right now that seems to be our biggest slowdown. I guess the question is are you trying to improve your current process or do you want to add a new service?
I think get as close to perfecting your current services before adding something new. Or at least make them more efficient. Essentially do more work with less labor and that savings can easily pay for a new addition. Get the new service before you have a market and there is no guarantee it will make you money.
-
Make a list of your biggest bottlenecks and invest in those areas to bring up efficiency. Tri-Loc or something similar should definitely be on that list. I'm trying to ditch the carrier sheets at the moment, but even with them it's a time saver on setups. I'm long overdue for a dip tank so that's happening this month finally. Even things as simple as extra ink and shirt carts to help job setups/tear downs etc. I need a set of winged flood bars as well so I can spend less time carding ink back into the middle of the screen.
-
@nation03 dude once you get those winged flood bars you'll be happy I know I was, there is always something that can help your current process sometimes it's as little as moving equipment around that you already have which cost you nothing but time.
-
@nation03 dude once you get those winged flood bars you'll be happy I know I was, there is always something that can help your current process sometimes it's as little as moving equipment around that you already have which cost you nothing but time.
haha glad to hear! I just ran a 2 color 500 piece order Friday and the biggest bottleneck was carding the ink every 16-24 shirts. Even if I get get 2 for white and black ink for now that would be huge.
-
I can't even imagine printing without the wings... The only time we touch ink on the screen during a run is if we need to add more ink on long runs, never for getting it back in the image area.
-
I agree with winged flood bars. That is a small investment that will pay for itself on the first use.
-
Wishlist:
*Ink mixer/system
*Decent registration system
*Upgrading CRM
*Solid, large heat press
I like the re-meshing idea as well, that would be a solid upgrade.
-
A beer miester