all in one sign printer

[Lee Jones]

Dont know much about the printer, but download the video, its great for a laugh when you get to the NO SMOKING / VANDAL RESISTANT part !

We Screen print all promotional items, but we are screen printing something on most days, and can easily add these somewhere on the screen when needed.

[d.quirke]

what sort of price would you expect to pay for standard screen printing equipment??

[Lee Jones]

Now that question is loaded, how long is a peice of string ?

It really depends on how involved you want to be, it may be the cheepest method of mass printing, but for someone with no experience of screen printing or what equipement is required, it going to be fairly expensive to get started and a messy experience when learning. Your going to get covered in ink, ask any screen printer when they first attempted it –

Probably looking at least £500 for a basic set up, and I mean really basic !

[J. Hulme]

quote Lee Jones:

Probably looking at least £500 for a basic set up, and I mean really basic !

Realistically, you’ll spend more than £500 on consumables.

A decent hand bench £3K- £5K
around £100 per screen
Autotype waterbased stencil film around £130 a roll
Inks anything from £15 Kg to £80 Kg possibly more!
Squeegee £80-£100
Screen filler £20 5Kg
Mesh preps, 1 + 2, Alkali paste, resolve spray, screenwash, thinners, retarders, power wash, wash-out bays, mixing tins, pallete knifes, drying racks, the list goes on and on.
Then you need stock to print on.

£5000 is more a realistic starter package, thats before you go the camera route and photochemical stencil emulsions, camera / exposure unit decoaters, positives, films etc etc etc
The list is endless nothing is cheap to start with, a college course on screen process printing would be the way to spend your £500.
You’ll need it, teach you about hand cutting & applying stencils, indirect and direct, mesh types and mesh count, snap-off, stemplex green with an iron 😉 squeegee blade shore, profiles and shapes, theres a lot to learn and some of it you’ll never need ( stemplex green for example ) 😉

For pens etc a pad printing machine

http://www.mascoprint.co.uk/padprinting/index.htm
http://www.natgraph.co.uk/
http://www.adelco.co.uk
http://www.apollocolours.co.uk
http://www.autotype.com
http://www.rasmart.co.uk

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote outline:

Autotype waterbased stencil film around £130 a roll

do you still use this outline? cheaper with the emulsion!! 😛 😛

oh that stuff brings back memories!! 🙄 crispy stencils was one thing, but when you went to clean it, you had to be careful the thinners did not wipe away your stencil!! 🙄 🙄

emulsion is the way to go know & it’s a lot cheaper!! 😀

nik

[J. Hulme]

quote niknaxpc:

quote outline:

Autotype waterbased stencil film around £130 a roll

do you still use this outline? cheaper with the emulsion!! 😛 😛

nik

Yep Nik, through the plotter, fantastic,

I have the screen etched by waxjet if we are doing camera work screens
Cheers

[Nicola McIntosh]

outline!!

do you get a sharp print from doing your stencils that way? as it’s only used on one side of the screen, and i would have thought it would smudge your cut-out a wee bit, after you squeegie it onto the screen!!! 😛
just wondered 😀

Niko

[J. Hulme]

Niko!

No problems, normally use 90T and it seems fine, although I used a 77T ( I think) last week with a bit too much water on applying and the edges burnt, bit of a problem causer and slight floods on fine lettering, I was desperate for a screen and this mesh was intended for a heavy cream overprinted on a dark green which I didn’t bother to use, don’t think the extra ink and the dissolved edges helped, apart from that, I find its brilliant stuff, the plotter cuts the amber without fault, my plotter doesn’t recognise the blue though, which is unfortunate as I’ve a supplier who could probably do me a better deal on it.

I ain’t using that stemplex green iron on with meths stuff that does go crispy ya know 😉
(only top quality gear here) 😉 😉

( though I do have some somewhere 😛 )

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote outline:

Niko!

I ain’t using that stemplex green iron on with meths stuff that does go crispy ya know 😉
(only top quality gear here) 😉 😉

i remember that stuff……..oh way back in 1983 that was awful!! took a month of sunday’s to get it off the screen!!
‘the crispy’ i was referring too was, the autotype film, when left to dry too long it went rather crispy!! 😮 i take it with your low mesh count on screens you are doing mostly t-shirts? so you’ll get away with your possie a bit smudgie!! 😉

Nik