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Question I want to get into sublimation printing

Jeremiah

New Member
Please dont understand my post. I am saying I will not sell feather flags. Too many people buy them and place them in their stock to resell and compete with price . In our business we produce. 99% of items we sell. We only buy materials to create custom items (and our price reflects the custom work). I do not want to be a reseller .
 

netsol

Premium Subscriber
jeremiah
i do understand your point

sorry to take the thread off on a tangent (i am often guilty of that)
but i am a tech, who always enjoyed the sign business, (i don't yet have to pay all my expenses and make a profit, to test my ideas in the real world)

the only argument i would have with you is that there is ALWAYS a signs365 or firesprint (i don't mean this is a bad way, at all) who can produce a product cheaper and faster, due to a multimillion dollar investment. the cost of shipping and the couple days of turn around time are the great equalizers. soo it's not a one size fit all solution.
 

Zach Starr

Head of Printing Operations
Check out Stratojet Dye Sublimation solutions www.stratojetusa.com
Their printer are very simple, easy to use and great support. If you are looking to start something new these things are very important. They have a dye sub solution- Piranha.
 

Jim Hancock

Old School Technician
He wants to go small. The Epson printers are desktop size, ink is incredibly cheap, and the output will cover most of the products he would sell in a sign shop...
 

rossmosh

New Member
I have a Ricoh with Sawgrass inks. The biggest benefit is the gel inks which basically prevent the heads from clogging and when they "clog", a simple cleaning takes care of it. My machine is old enough to have the Ricoh badge (they're rebranded now as Sawgrass, and have been for several years).

If I were to buy right now, I'd probably buy another one, but I'd seriously consider an Epson simply because they can print 13x19. The cheap ink really doesn't matter much to me. The work I do doesn't use a lot of ink. With Epsons, you still have to worry about clogging. The printers themselves are cheap enough that they're almost disposable, but it's still an inconvenience when your equipment all of a sudden stops working.

I am seriously considering a UniNet 550 or 600 now. Being able to do garments of any color or material is a pretty big plus and would open another market. I also like I can do acrylic, wood, metal, and wood with white ink. The price is also way more than the above options, but is a good bit less than a UV printer, and also is a relatively maintenance free option.
 

kanini

New Member
We have a Epson SC-F500 and it does not clog at all, that was important for us when we got it that it could sit and not destroy heads as the old Epsons did. This machine is a very good entry level machine that is fast, well built, processes roll and sheet paper and is easy to use. The ink cost is cheap but not something that affects your economy if you aren't printing 24/7.
 
I'm in the same boat. I get a lot of requests for shirts down here in Florida from customers and dye sub printed UV shirts are THE item. I'm tired of the lazy print shops I'm buying from not being able to conduct business quickly, so I'm looking at bring this in house as well. Looking at the Epson F570 and a press for a total of around $5k investment. I already set up an account with the shirt provider I already use and know the profit margin will be very nice per piece. Clogging is a concern since I know I won't be running this printer every day but the ink prices look fantastic in comparison to the Sawgrass units at $75 a cartridge!
 
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