DSF

Customprintwales;118837 wrote:I would suggest you look at whether there is a CISS system available for your printer. Saves all the aggravation of cartridges running out and gives you the benefit of buying ink in bulk.

I have a CISS system on my Epsom workforce printer and life is so much easier than when I used both sealed cartridges and refillable cartridges. It was well worth the £30.00 for the system. Now I buy ink by the litre and top up the CISS when needed.

Thanks I'll certainly look into that option before committing to the original plan.


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leehyde30;118838 wrote:Thanks I'll certainly look into that option before committing to the original plan.


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I would get your production workflow right first. Make sure you can produce consistent quality product first. Improved margins through cost savings will come in the future. You are better off producing mugs at say £1.30 using more "fail safe" equipment than trying to produce at £1.00 by using CISS for example with a "conversion" of a wide format machine .

Walk first, learn your trade then look at ways of maximising margins.

froggy;118842 wrote:I would get your production workflow right first. Make sure you can produce consistent quality product first. Improved margins through cost savings will come in the future. You are better off producing mugs at say £1.30 using more "fail safe" equipment than trying to produce at £1.00 by using CISS for example with a "conversion" of a wide format machine .

Walk first, learn your trade then look at ways of maximising margins.

That's some great advice froggy - thanks. I'd be more than happy producing top quality mugs for £1.30. As you say, savings will come later with volume opportunities and more experience


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I seem to remember that an A4 sheet costs in the region of 37p using Sawgrass ink and Trupix paper.

Personally I think that is a little over what it actually costs and is probably down to what sort of coverage they are using. However using the above as a baseline then a mug is going to cost 12.3p if you get three on a sheet or about 17-18p if you are going the landscape full wrap style.

I think Froggy is right. Get yourself a decent set up, understand how sublimation works and see if the business works. If it does then you can set about making savings (who knows, you may not have to).

leehyde30;118822 wrote: I plan on using SG400 Sawgrass inks, Tex-R paper etc..

I'd likely buy mugs in 300-500 at any one time to ensure a good price break.

Certainly the best route if you want a painless supported, quick way to market. I only ever use TruePix paper but more and more I see Conde using the TexPrint paper, noth should give you a good, high release.

You're a premium member so you'r already getting Listawood and Xpres mugs at a great price. Again, don't be too quick to buy cheaper mugs as it really doesn't pay ion the long run. I use XP5013 mugs and don't have any issues. You don't need to stock a huge amount as you'll get best price even on a small order

Don't forget to add in a percentage for waste mugs etc. You WILL waste mugs, paper etc, don't kid yourself that you wont. If you do, then you best stay in cloud cuckoo land and not venture out!

James990;118860 wrote:Don't forget to add in a percentage for waste mugs etc. You WILL waste mugs, paper etc, don't kid yourself that you wont. If you do, then you best stay in cloud cuckoo land and not venture out!

Thanks James, another sound piece of advice. Definitely something I'm preparing myself for and factoring in.


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One thing that annoys/bothers me is it is just about impossible to work out the actual ink cost of a print. I mean on my BN20 Versaworks tells me to the hundredths of a ml how much ink is used so can work it out easily, yet there seems to be no way of knowing how much my Sawgrass SG800 is using. Anyone have any suggestions? Apologies to the OP and will start a new thread if deemed to be more appropriate.

Thanks

Brendan

Try weighing the paper....

Not individual sheets but if you do a run of say 20 then the ink weight should become measurable on digital kitchen scales. Not going to work if you get a cleaning cycle in the middle of course. Assume 1ml = 1gm.

wayupnorth;118877 wrote:Try weighing the paper....

Not individual sheets but if you do a run of say 20 then the ink weight should become measurable on digital kitchen scales. Not going to work if you get a cleaning cycle in the middle of course. Assume 1ml = 1gm.

Difficult to know what you're measuring though - the sawgrass inks in gel form (as in the cartridges) obviously contain a proportion of solvent, which won't be there when weighed later as a dry print.

It's likely also that the starting sg of the ink will be greater than 1, which all in all leaves an impossible calculation...