Printing advice needed

[Kevin.Beck]

hi Simon.
printwear & promotion is the mag to get. It has a “FREE” subscription.
tel 01622 687031, e-mail printwearandpromotion@batiste.co.uk

It should contain all the info/adverts you need.

For screen printing garments, get a copy of “printing teeshirts for fun & profit” (I think thats whats its called) concidered the screen printing bible. Very good book.

Embroidery will cost you alot more to get into. Bit of a minefield when buying second hand machines, you don`t know if they`re been used 24/7.

In the end we bought new( 2 years parts and labour service free)

Screen printing machines aren`t too bad, you just need to look for worn bearings(these mean registration problems)

Don`t forget to buy a spot dryer. You`ll never be able to print onto dark garments with out one.

Theres loads of other bits you`ll need, and other topics you`ll need to cover.ie. making screens etc.

If you need anymore info just ask.

cheers kev

[Simon Clayton]

Cheers Becky,
This is something i need to look at very carefully,
I will get hold of the magazines and see whats involved.
Thanks again
Simon

[Martin C]

I’d ask how much you want to put invest in this Simon? If you just want to do T-shirts and already have a cutter, then all you need is a Heatpress (about £900)and you’ve one step on the ladder. Then with a basic £200 Epson printer and some Ink you can also do lots of other things too. To do Mugs, you need a Mug Press (about £600).

There’s a fairly steep learning curve with clothing as many punters have a pre-conceived idea about how much a printed shirt should cost and you can’t afford too many mess ups. Having said that I’ve a rack of dodgy prints………I learnt the hard way!!

Screenprinting and Embroidery are, in my opinion, another step up the ‘learning’ and cost ladder but you can do some damn good stuff with a heat press these days!

If any sublimation T-shirt pressers are reading this I must give a plug to the new XP4099 paper recently introduced by Xpres for fabric printing. Just printed 30 shirts and got a far crisper image than would normally expect on a Subli -T. Damn good stuff!! (:) (:) (:) (:) (:)

If you need any more advice drop me an e-mail at martin@warriorboxing.com

[Kevin.Beck]

Forgot to mention.

How much room have you got spare to put this new venture in?

A single head embroidery machine can fit in a 4ft square space.

Screen printing, you will need alot more, most good driers are 9ft x 3ft, add 8 square ft for the printer, space to recieve the tees out of the drier… the list goes on & on.

[Alastair K]

Hello Simon,
We use UK Leisurewear for all our clothing (01793 496599). They are very good. There’s no point in looking around for the cheapest supplier – they’re all the same price 😮

As for t shirts – Fruit of the Loom is the public favourite – but I much prefer Hanes, Jerzees and KK.

Having tried them all I would recommend Victory (01246 570570) and Xpres (01332 855085) for heat trans vinyl – be prepared for a shock if you’ve only ever bought signage vinyl though!

Swing heat presses are a lot easier than clam shells to line up logos on, and Adkins seem to be the favourite (rebadged by many).

This forum is probably the best place to buy second hand, and ebay of course.

I would say that if you’re good with your plotter, then you’re more than half way there, but screenprinting (which we do) and embriodery (which we don’t do) is an entirely different ball game, and as Becky says, has quite a learning curve.
Cheers
Alastair

[Simon Clayton]

Thanks Everyone..
I have been thinking of doing some big changes, possibility of opening a shop…but its means selling up and moving. 😥

The work-shop I’ve got at the moment is around 8 X 5.5m so there should be room for the equipment you mention Becky (good point as some stuff can be deceiving, as I found out in the past).

Martin, I’m just at the stage of sounding things out, trying to find out as much as possible about costs etc,
thanks for the offer, no doubt I will have plenty of questions and need help in the future.

Alistair, That will have save loads of time trying to source the best and cheapest deals, some good leads, and advise.

Thanks again for all your help, 😀
Simon.

[Lorraine Buchan]

Simon,

Where abouts are you based? Maybe some one who is in the printing/transfer/embroidery side of things would be willing to give you a tour of their premises – i’d be happy to (screen and transfer)

[Simon Clayton]

I’m not far from you really, i live in Epsom.
I have sent you a PM as i need some printing quotes, not sure if you can do them.

Simon

[Lorraine Buchan]

I got your PM Simon, i’ll have a better look at it tomorrow.

You’d be more than welcome to pop by and have a look at the set up i have, and i’d be happy to go through some basics about equipment with you

[Simon Clayton]

That sounds great…I would like to have a look and see what is really involved, thanks,
I will be in touch to arrange a day and time
Thanks again
Simon