Making the right choice!

[danlad]

It's more the products I'm trying to work out now. I have looked through the links but it is knowing who to trust, what there products are like and what service they will proived. Like BMS they seem to be a trusted provider on this site.

The equipment I think I know what I want.

I am looking for a rough idea of wastage before you have the knack of making the product. I know it's a hard one to say as everyone learns at their own speed.

I want to order the whole lot in one go and spend the time learning how to make the products.

valentine's day is round the corner and I want to have it added to my existing product range 2 weeks before the date.

What other materials will I need to make all the above products?


I would like to thank everyone for the help that they have given me, you have really put me in the right direction. I will be donating to this site for sure.

[bms]

If you get the right equipment then wastage shouldn't be significant.

If I was starting out now I'd go for the Ricoh GXe3300 as the sublimation printer. It's easy to use, comes with PowerDriver for colour management and works. Printing mugs - you should have good results from the start. As for flat bed items, you might want to experiment with mousemats - they are reasonably cheap and you should get the hang of these quickly. Printing t-shirts is the same so once you've cracked mousemats then you should be okay.

There are always going to be issues - from the posts on here you can see even the more experienced users come unstuck sometimes, so the novice is going to have to expect to have to ask. A decent supplier will have people to get back to you with technical queries (or the members here can also help).

[logobear]

I see very little need for A3 printing.
For pure ease of use the Richo gel ink systems are just brilliant, and quality far exceeds client expeciations even if 6 or 8 coloir CIS are technically better.
I have never used a combi press, and I never want to ......
How much stock do you want to waste ? Initially i worried about making a few bum mugs, but now my issue is wasting time. I simply won't tollerate failure, it has to work perfect every time, i can make my promise to my client, and keep it. In the big picture saving a few hundred pounds on a junk press is folly.
Once you have mastered the method, you want to spend all your time marketing and working with designs or clients, and not faffing on trying to make it work.
IMHO
Phil

[danlad]

Can you get a CIS for the Ricoh GXe3300?

Are the gel inks for the Ricoh GXe3300 and are they as cheap to use as a CIS?

[bms]

Can you get a CIS for the Ricoh GXe3300?

No you can't - it's cartridge based only. Running costs are complicated to compare. Certainly the cost per ml of ink is more expensive in the Ricoh, but factor out the lack of wastage by not running numerous head cleans etc then the printing costs aren't hugely different.

[danlad]

Sorry for all the questions, just a few more. I want to buy all the equipment this week. I am going to leave the cup press for now and buy a Craft Robo to offer work ware t's and add the cups at a later date. I think there are enough products to offer with just the heat press. I think this is the press I will go for any thoughts would be great.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/38-x-38-cm-Garmen ... 3364129bf1

The last thing I am unsure of is the printer. BMS has recommended the Ricoh GXe3300 but then there is the Epson B1100 with CIS. I just don’t know what to go for. Any more thoughts and help on this would be great.

Thanks

[Paul]

regards the press your linked this is standard all in one press but with out any attachment. so I think it would be better to add few quid more and get it with mug attachment. then you can produce mugs too!

regards the printers: I never used ricoch so can not say much about them but I do own B1100 and this is great A3 printer. much cheaper then ricochs too

[Justin]

The Ricoh would probably be the easiest and cleanest option, same as Paul here I don't use the Ricohs as I prefer Epsons.

For a long time I did everything except mugs, now 90% of my work is mugs so don't underestimate your market

Other thing to bear in mind is the size of your press, I use a 16"x20" which is great but a smaller one may well be ok for you.

[danlad]

Thanks for the advice. I have a stand in a shopping centre and offer free photography on canvas in one hour I also sell products on my site www.lifeinart.co.uk and want to add the products to that. So I really want to make the right choice now on the printer and inks. I can’t really afford the best presses at the moment but I can for the printer.

[Justin]

Go for the Ricoh, will be better suited to your stand I would have thought....get an extra set of carts in though as these are quite small.

Great website btw, loving the blinds and acrylic pics!