Starting up

[arthur.daley]

Hi Delboy

Whereabouts in the uk are you? If you are anywhere near Fakenham - say 2 or 3 hour drive?? You might want to consider Listawoods for your equipment as they will give you some training included in the price of the press. When I was looking for new kit Kris Trewick at Listawoods was an absolute star - patience of a saint that man ;o)

The Ricoh 3110 is a great printer and Sawgrass (ink supplier) have excellent tech support if you run into trouble setting up the printer and software.

I'd hope that you'd get the same level of support from any of the suppliers on 'the list' but can only personally vouch for Listawoods.

You are in the right place for advice, this forum is second to none in offering support and I for one am so glad I found it.


regards


Arthur

[Bob700]

Great point from pisquee, if I were you I'd get the printer from a reputable supplier so that you know you are getting the correct gel ink and as far as mugs go BMS is the only mug that gave me consistantly good results

[pisquee]

Basically, if you get the printer and inks seperately, and not from an official Sawgrass dealer, then you will have no warranty on the printer. The Ricoh warranty is void once you put non-Ricoh inks in it, but if you buy the system from a Sawgrass dealer, then Sawgrass will provide a warranty on the printer. This is one of the reasons Sawgrass ink is the price it is - you are paying for that extra warranty, so if you buy your inks seperate you are throwing that money away, as you effectively paying for a warranty you can't use.

[GoonerGary]

When I started out, I bought a Novachrome press which still works after 8+ years on and off of using, cheap Epson printers and bulk ink system with Artanium Ink. The printers gave me some trouble, but now I've got a custom system using better printers and ink.

I now use an Xpres 7033/ Adkins mug press which is really nice to use and I'm confident it will serve me well.

If I were you starting off, I would consider package 3:

http://www.thetransferpress.co.uk/acata ... kages.html

Don't waste your money on cheap Chinese presses, cheap ink, cheap mugs.

BMS, Transfer Press, Novachrome and Listawood are all great companies and sell good equipment.

[guarddog14]

when i started i got the ricoh 3110 from bms , been fantastic for me

[Alastair@Xpres]

Hello delboy, first off good luck with your new venture!

I work for Xpres and see new start ups regularly, I would advise getting equipment that will do a good job but that will hold their value well. If you go too cheap your mugs are likely to be inconsistent but that being said you don't need to spend too much for a good setup that will allow you to do a range of mugs. It is also a good idea, along with budget, to bear in mind what type of mugs you want to make as some mugs can handle more mug varieties than others.

If you want to have a demonstration on a complete mug pressing and printing setup just let me know and I can book you in with myself.
Also Xpres are currently running a decent mug press offer at the moment saving you money on high quality equipment.
http://www.xpres.co.uk/hot-feb-heat-pre ... rance.aspx