New to all this - help me chose the right printer :)

[themav]

Hi guys,


I am looking at printing my own phone cases along with a few other bits, but phone cases being the primary.


I have done some research via google and looked at various threads on here and other forums.


I'm starting from scratch on this and know nothing about the print world.


Here are the issues I have:


1) Choosing the right printer - I have a short list here. I have watched plenty of youtube videos about the performance of them and its difficult to tell the quality of print.


- Roland UV LEF-12 - [WIKI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbEBrzgcjE[/WIKI]


- Rioch sublimation Printer and Swing Press - [WIKI]http://www.techsoft.co.uk/products/imag ... mation.asp [/WIKI] - combined set up cost of under 2k.


- Copytrax - [WIKI]http://www.copytrax.com/Copytrax%20Dali.pdf[/WIKI]


- Brotherjet - [WIKI]http://www.brotherjet.com/1900_flatbed_printer.html[/WIKI]


- Sublideck - [WIKI]http://sublideck.com/sublideck4.html [/WIKI]


* its about 12k and you have to use there blank cases and ink.




2)The above is tied in with cost. if I chose the Rolan UV LEF-12 at 20k would i be paying for a printer that is too good and too expensive for printing just phone cases - is it simply a waste of a great printer? At the minute I have looked at what else i could print on to make money on.




3) 3d printing - If I go with a printer and a press it rules out of printing on the sides of cases aswell which less sellers are doing so may give me a bit of an edge. However is 3d printing worth the cost of a vacuum bed? The Roland can print on the sides according to a youtube video i have seen which involves using a jig? and then printing 3 cases at once and after each print you change the cases around and it prints on the sides swell as the back.


4) Will the printing results differ much for the prices involved - e.g will the roland print 20x better than the sub printer and press - are the results wow factor?


My initial thoughts are to just go with a sublimation printer and swing press as a way to test the market another part of me says that i should go for the Roland and really go for it with great images, being able to do raised embossing and printing on all 3 sides etc.


My worries about the copytrax and sublideck are that they are small companies and warranty issues, user knowledge for help and spare parts could be am issue in the future. Has anyone used a Brotherjet - they are Chinese based apparently and again if anything goes wrong the after care could really hurt progress.




I'd really appreciate some advice on the printers please, thanks The mav

[socialgiraffe]

Personally if I was looking to get into phone cases then I would choose the following:

Ricoh Printer (A3 is always better but not necessary for just phone cases).
A good quality heat press (Adkins or Stahls for example)
A 3D sublimation machine

The heat press machines are sold by many companies and are known for their quality and build. The printer is known for being reliable and also means you can turn the machine off without the need to clear blocked heads. Other printers (which offer slightly better print quality) are known for blocked heads unless you are running them everyday. Many people on here use Ricoh's or Epson's. I know nothing about Epson but a search on this forum and you will get a feel for if its for you.

In my opinion the 3d phone covers are miles better than the standard ones. Currently I think they only do them for a few models but if this was my area of expertise I would definitely invest. Purchase from a reliable supplier like BMS and you will be fine.

A Roland will be way over the top for phone covers, but you will have fun with it as it is a superb machine.

[Scotty@BMS]

I'd trust your initial instinct and buy a cheaper (but still decent) subprinter and press. There is no point chucking £1000s at something you may not make a success of, that's not being negative, merely pragmatic. And if you do well with your original set up you can always upgrade your equipment and expand your product range at a later date.

[themav]

@SocialGiraffe - thanks for that great reply. in my mind the 3d covers will more of a stand out and able to charge that bit more. Alot of phone cases on ebay are 2D and those using 3D are few and charging £5 more.

Ive just been on BMS and they do blank 3d cases and also mention a 3d vacum press starting at £995 - so would I get a vacum press instead of a flat press? http://www.printerowners.co.uk/hardware ... ackage.htm

Also in your options of what i should choose was that all 3 or should it have been the 1st 2 or the sublimation machine?

Ricoh Printer (A3 is always better but not necessary for just phone cases).
A good quality heat press (Adkins or Stahls for example)

OR

A 3D sublimation machine


I want the print quality to really stand out so i can justify charging top price ....


@Scotty thanks for the advice aswell


If I go with the Rioch printer what should i be looking for to get the best quality print - this one seems too cheap? http://www.printerowners.co.uk/hardware ... rinter.htm

and heating press wise which one is a favourite on this forum and for what reasons?



I'm also looking at printing on protein shakers - what would i need for that - a mug press?


Thanks The Mav

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Mav

You will probably need all 3. This is because of the limited number of blanks currently available for 3D sublimation.

The printers are cheap, the ink however is a different story!!!!

In order to do dye sublimation you need to source blanks that have been coated ready for the dye sublimation process (a polymer coating). If you can find protein shakers that are ready for dye sublimation then all you will need is a mug press suitable for the item in question.

[Scotty@BMS]

You would also need to have a puck made to insert in the shaker to stop it warping during pressing.

[themav]

Ok guys been doing some more research:


If i went the sublimation printer and press route is this what i would need to get started - am i missing anything?


- Printer? Is the Ricoh SG3110DN any good? I'm looking for the best print possible - bright rich colours? DPI is upto 3600 x 1200 dpi.
- Swing Press? Is 380 x 280mm plate size big enough?
- Sublimation paper - A4 sheets size?
- Heat resistant Tape
- Sublimation cases


Where would I get a puck made?

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Mav

Pretty much

Ricoh will produce nice colours as long as you are using Sawgrass ink (its the only legal one for this size printer) and you install the correct profile. It is important you purchase from a recognised dye sub seller as they will ensure that you have the correct ink and most of them supply a CD with the profile and an instruction manual.

The swing press will be plenty big enough, but if you are only doing phone covers it is probably a bit too big. Firstly the bigger the platen the more electricity it uses, plus the more room it takes up. It is far better for you to seek out a good quality heat press but with a smaller platen. Personally I recommend Adkins which are sold by TMT and Xpress but others will be able to advise on other good makes.

For paper make sure you get a decent brand. I recommend TRUPIX, but other members will be able to recommend other papers just as good.

For the puck, this will be sold by the company that sells you the blank product. You need to find a company that sells the shakers for dye sublimation and they will have the puck.

[pisquee]

If you're wanting the best possible prints, then you should be considering more than just a four colour printer. We moved from 4 colour Epson pro printers to 7 colour, and there is no way we would go back to only using 4, as we get so much better print (colour) quality now.
This is with printers from the same model range (Epson Stylus Pro) with the same inks, and all with custom ICC profiles made with the same system.

[themav]

Hi thanks for your replies. I've done a search under phone cases and got 5 pages of threads so have been busy learning.

@ pisquee thanks for the heads up I like hearing about your experiences, is there an epson model you recommend and can I use sawgrass ink?