New Setup

[dj_doubler]

Hi all,

I know you get these threads alot but Im going in circles at the moment.

After doing alot of reading and reasearch I have decided it is time to launch operation mug press.

I have been looking at the verious "Business Starter Packages" from different vendors... some of them are cheap and some are slightly higher priced then I would like.

My questions to you fine people is im looking at investing into a mid-ranged package (new) or possibley buying second hand.

I have been looking on Ebay at verious different printers (Epson D120 or 1400) and a mug press etc... and to buy one of the above printers and a mug press new.. would be in the £250 - £300 mark.

I dont want to waste money buying things twice if I can help it.... can someone give me an idea on which printer and mug press would be a good place to start? looking at initial cost of around £500 but can go slightly higher if I have to.

I am hopefully looking for a printer that I can use carts instead of the messy job of changing the ink etc....

Anthony

[John G]

Ricoh printer uses carts, decent mug presses available from BMS or you could save a little on the press and get an ebay one.

[parada print]

I have the df180 from bms and it is worth every penny i paid of it

[dj_doubler]

Well I have been looking the the "start up package" from BMS DF1 Bundle with GXe3300.

out of interest I know this printer holds less ink then the GX7000 - How many prints do you estimate to make using a full batch of ink in the GXe3300?

as working out £5 per mug (aprox) you will need to sell just over 100 mugs to break even... just wondering how many prints I will get before I need another batch of ink etc...

[bms]

If you have a look on the Gxe3300 page on our site there is a cost per image sheet
http://www.printerowners.co.uk/sublimation/489/ricoh-sublimation-printers.htm

A full set of cartridges costs around £160 +vat (rrp) so this will help gauge the number of prints per set of cartridges although the first set will be a little lower as the tubes to the printhead are filled first time around.

[dj_doubler]

so at a glance you will need to sell 30+ mugs just to cover ink cost's....

your in a no win situation you either buy expensive printer with cheap ink.... or cheap printer with expensive ink

[bms]

How do you work that out? An image sized 6"x 6" with medium ink coverage costs about 14p, so £160 worth of ink will print around 1100 images. In paper, ink, mug costs then you'll probably incur a max cost of £1.50 so at £5 a mug that's £3.50 profit (ignoring your time cost). Plenty of margin in printing mugs and you may save a little bit in ink costs when buying a more expensive printer, but the ink cost isn't really the make or break factor in your coatings.

[John G]

Don't forget, paper, tape - if using ebay you'll have listing fees, final value and then paypal to account for. If not vat registered your mugs & ink will be 20% more than suggested and the 1st lot of inks into the printer won't last long as quite a bit is to load the tubes.

Ricoh printers aren't as cheap as epsons to run, I just think that the extra spent is worth it for the hassle free operation.

[dj_doubler]

How do you work that out? An image sized 6"x 6" with medium ink coverage costs about 14p, so £160 worth of ink will print around 1100 images. In paper, ink, mug costs then you'll probably incur a max cost of £1.50 so at £5 a mug that's £3.50 profit (ignoring your time cost). Plenty of margin in printing mugs and you may save a little bit in ink costs when buying a more expensive printer, but the ink cost isn't really the make or break factor in your coatings.

I see now :-/ maths was never my strong point haha.... was not thinking of size of print was looking at something else... I have nagotiated a price for the Epson 1400 as people seam to have good reviews on this... one quick question on this tho... would it be a better idea using CISS or refil cartridge?

[Paul]

Ciss and only ciss. You can look in to b1100 as its a3 priner as 1400 but cheaper and use 4 colors insted of 6. So there is saving already.