DSF

Hi guys

I have a big decision to make regarding whether I continue printing or not. I haven't really done any substantial printing for some time now mostly due to my wife being pregnant and our baby girl being born 2 weeks ago. Due to this my equipment often requires nozzle checks/cleans etc.

I have an epson 4800 for canvasses
rich 3110dn for submlimation printing
sunangel system (white and colour printers)
signzworld mug press
liyu sc631e vinyl cutter (power off no longer works so have to unplug when not using)
old df450D heat press (same as bms sell)
cheap chinese swing away press (not in use as falling apart)

with regards to the epson 4800 im using pigment inks that came with the printer when i bought it but inks are now very low and replacement cost is probably more than the £500 that i paid for the printer second hand.

ricoh is great and has always served me well.
sunangel has given me nothing but problems but I think its mainly due to the pressure and temp stability of my press
vinyl cutter works well other than the power switch no longer functioning.
df450D is a good press for vinyl etc but nothing but trouble when pressing other items now causing lots of wasted blanks,

So my decision is do I gradually replace the low quality equipment with better equipment thus building my confidence in the service I can provide and bringing back the enjoyment I had when first starting printing. Or do I sell whatever I have at a comparable loss in terms of the cost of items when purchased and get on with my life lol

The reason I am asking for advice is that I am looking at buying the galaxy press that is £500 (before VAT) on subliblanks website to possibly alleviate some of the issues I have and allow me to continue knowing that the press wont be the problem. I cant quite decide whether I Should do this or cut my losses.

You need to ascertain whether you have a market opportunity to sell into and can you provide a better service. Three opportunities are personalised items, business promotional items and gift ware. All three require substantial marketing so have you time and money to enter those markets. You could have the best sublimated items but have you got a way of telling people. Good luck.

I have business cards and have an opencart website 80% finished that was put on hold when we found out about the little one I am also able to book a table at our monthly market at my day time job and have done some work for one of leicester biggest taekwondo classes and a friend who owns a tattoo shop and would like his designs printed so I have potential outlets for printing I think the main reason I slowed down was because of issues with prints

Buy a good heat press even a second hand but a good reputed brand (I had same chinease press and now I see quality difference I never able to do a t-shirt properly with the Chinese ) ..That will solve many issues you have ..for the 4800 why not use 3rd party inks wont cost much .Dont give up as u are halfway through .I am sure heatpress will solve your quality issue .. ...

my budget for heat press at the minute is maximum of £500 and the galaxy press I was looking at comes to £590 with Vat and delivery and i cant stretch to that at the minute due to being conscious of how much I'm spending with now having the extra cost of my lovely little baby girl. I hae looked on ebay for stahls and adkins presses but none will deliver and I cant drive sand the distance to get a family member to take me is too far for most and xpres also dont have any at this value at the moment. Its tough because due to the poor quality of both of my presses my printers are sitting and going to waste and it is wasting money just keeping them from seizing...

You could ask the seller if it would be alright to arrange a courier yourself ?

thats true but if I can help it I would like something new as it will have warranty etc, im finding this decision very difficult lol

I bought a 2nd hand aadkins press from ebay made in 2001, and its working great!

Have you tried AAdkins? They sometimes have reconditioned machines. They are just down the road from you in Hinkley so it would be only a 20min drive away.

just called them they said they will most likely call by the end of the week, I wanted it to come this week while im on paternity leave as my wife will have no chance getting it to where it needs to be if one comes while in not here