Outsourcing printing

[Jen]

I need a little advice. I'm looking to start a little sideline of mugs and canvas bags with very simple designs and have found a company to do the sublimation printing for me. I would then make the mugs/bags so wondered if anyone had tired this? It's a little more expensive than getting my own inks and paper, but not lots and thought it could be a safe option so I only have to buy the heat presses while sussing things out. Any thoughts would be appreciated :redface:

[Justin]

Personally I'd want to be in full control of the process. Not sure what you're paying for each print but if you're doing decent numbers you'll soon cover the cost of a printer setup.

I drop ship for a few companies and this works out well for me, very low profits but all works on a numbers game. This may be a better option for you initially or even longer term. PM me if you'd like to discuss that further.

[socialgiraffe]

It does strike me that you are outsourcing the easy part and then bringing in house the hard bit of making sure you have the right times/temps/pressure for the items you are going to sell.

"CTRL P" with a Ricoh is the easy part

[Justin]

Echo socialgiraffe's comment there

[WorthDoingRight]

If you are going to outsource the printing then why not outsource the whole process? At least that way you do not have the potential expense of ruined items to deal with. As both Simon and Justin have said the printing is the easy bit (and the bit in which you can experiment to improve colours etc), the pressing is the part of the process where so much can go wrong due to variables. You only have to look through this forum for posts about why has this perfect image come out yellow/brown/green on this item when I press it to understand the problems that you might have to face.

[Jen]

I suppose it would take all the fun out of it, but it was just the thought of all the waste while starting up. Thinking I may as well just go the whole hog if I'm going to do it. Does anyone know if you can print on to canvas bags? Does it have to be a certain type of material? Thanks for the help!

[socialgiraffe]

It could be called fun I suppose

There is a great satisfaction from creating dye sub products which you would miss out on if you outsourced. I suppose it all depends on whether this is a hobby, sideline business or something your mortgage is going to rely on.

With regards to canvas bags, BMS do sell ones suitable for dye sub printing. Blank dye sub products must have a high polyester content for you to print on them. You can get standard tote/canvas bags which are 100% cotton (coincidentally I sell them LOL!!!) but you would need a different printing system which is the heat transfer method.

Heat transfer paper can be purchased from a varierty of places, I personally use The Magic Touch. They cost between 30-50p per A4 sheet depending on how many sheets you purchase. You also need a laser printer to print from. This part is tricky and depends on your knowledge and skill base. For example The Magic Touch sell a superb printer which is backed up with their full customer support and prints nicely without jams or any problems. I however have a cheapo HP (£99.00) which after a bit of trial and error prints superb, there is no customer support associated with my printer and if it breaks I will not have anyone I can turn to for advice or repair as the paper is not recommended for this particular printer.

Hope the above helps Jen.

P.S. Before you purchase anything it would be worth looking at becomming a premium member. £10.00 per year gets you a very good discount from BMS who are a very good supplier and will help you with your new venture.

[Jen]

Course it will be fun! Why do I have a picture in my head of me wanting to throw a printer out of the window?
That's helped a lot and I think for now I will look into the dye sub bags to see how it goes. Becoming a member is also a great idea!
Thanks I'll be back

[pisquee]

We've met plenty of artist/designers who outsource pretty much all of their production, and can then happily concentrate on doing what they do best, and have made it work as a very good business. It can work well, so don't dismiss the outsourcing idea yet. There are just things to weigh up.