TrackHawk707

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Posts posted by TrackHawk707

  1. Posted

    45 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

    All you can do is make the decision as best you can.   I can only offer an opinion from owning 3 eco solvent rolands, 2 of which used the sale inks as the bn20.   I worked from home and learned a ton from that first one.  I was naive and had to learn too.  If you make enough with it you can move up in a couple of years.  Keep in mind how much you have to sell to break even (the point you would be at doing nothing but watching tv).     It’s like gambling, pay your money and take your chance.   I am great full I got the first one back when we could sell for twice as much and didn’t have solvent printers everywhere competing.  
     

     

    its funny cause I appreciate the input and opening my eyes more. I got excited when my girlfriends  father came to me looking for 8 dozen hoodies for his company hes a supervisor for and even though its only two colors on different style hoodies and zip ups the way I been making them on my graphtec ce6000 plus just seemed like it was super time consuming. Oh and little chest logos as well as right sleeve text. so I know the owner loved my work to ask for an order like this so I figured BN would pay close to itself in that one order but your right I need to keep in running and that might be hard to do around the times Im slow. Its hard to come to a conclusion cause besides this order I do get alot of can you do this and that and alot of the times I cant thats why i got into sublimation but the poly garments are hard to sell in my area i guess no one ever wants them. I didnt know about the cromablast till I had already started with the sublijet. got to really do even more research and maybe just jump on in cant get anywhere without taking a chance ... right ? lol 

  2. Posted

    8 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

    used AMD based systems with all 3 of my roland printer.  main thing is have enough work to keep it printing every couple of days - even with the daily self cleanings they do not like to not be used -the reason I sold my last one is we are going on more and more 3 week vacations (wife retires in 4 months so those times could increase) and I got tired of replacing heads on my sp-300 series because of non use.  on the sp-300v and sp-300i the heads were $700 a piece with the black requiring changing the most - with a bn-20n the head is about $1850 - either you change it or pay a tech - if done incorrectly we have seen several people fry the mainboards that on other rolands have been $2500-$4000.
    what you are diving into is not like your desktop printer - do your weekly swab cleanings and plan one once a year doing things like wipers  - as needed will be heads and cap tops.  personally I always  kept a spare head on hand so when I had a problem I could swap one out quickly and not have problems with ink drying in lines etc from setting.  another thing people don't consider is during those 3-4 times a day self cleaning you printer will be drawing ink that will go into a waste container to be disposed of.

    Best advice is go to a trade show or to someone nearby that has a printer and learn from them.   Vinyl printers are sexy but they are not buy it and forget it till I am ready to use it type of thing.  We see a lot of people buy them with tax refunds and run them a year or two till a problem emerges and haven't planned on cost of upkeep  - then we don't see those people anymore

     

    Oh wow. Ok I was reading mixed things on pretty much everything you have mentioned. The inks I heard last "forever". which I promise I don't believe cause like you said the self cleaning waste a lot of ink and I learned first hand with my sawgrass printer lmao man that burnt me up when I jumped into that and realized it later. I did read the BN is very I guess well say forgivable when it comes to letting it sit. I wouldn't want to do that but again I do this in my home so getting jobs could slow up as I also have a full time job at nights. I agree accounting for everything like an extra head but inst this printer suppose to be a "tank" for your average in home use and thats why they say its not really for your production runs? guess I was reading in all the wrong areas cause now id be worried keeping multiple jobs coming in to use it? but I am smart so even if I had to run it for personal use promotion stickers or something thats an option i guess?

  3. Posted

    Hey all!

    So most of you know I work a full time job and do side work of shirts, decals and some sublimation. I taught myself pretty much everything from scratch and I feel I learned plenty to take on the next step and seeing the price is dropped on the Roland BN20 I think Id like to take that jump. Now I know its slow and and not a "production print and cut machine" but for what I will need it for is plenty for my in home shop and with the price drop really just puts the icing on the top lol. I been researching forever it feels but I still think I'm missing a few things. I see the Roland site claims you have to have Intel?? I'm curious if my computer will work even though its not intel based. I built a AMD (3600 processor) build, 16GB of ram and just curious if anyone knows if this is ok? 

    Next is actual sticker. Now i know clearly laminating them makes it a hell of a lot more durable but is it truly necessary?  I don't want that to come off as I push crap out but I feel like depending on the situation you wouldn't need the laminate. (there is just so much printable vinyl out there and this will be my first time using these i didn't know if one is better then the other for certain jobs and so on.

    All in all if anyone can guide me with thoughts and input printing and will this next chapter be extremely difficult for a first timer. I do learn fast but some users on a roland bn20 facebook group got me worried with some post I seen scrolling threw. lol 

    Thank you and hope to hear from some of you guys!

    (sorry if posted in wrong area I searched in the search area and no matter what I typed it said no results)

  4. Posted

    I just always heard windows is better for this field so I would like to just jump in because I'm building one just to have a desktop in the house since my laptop is starting to lose it a little and the storage is maxed so now i rely on an external ha. not the end of the world but I like to explore so windows i should pick up pretty fast.

  6. Posted

    Thank you guys I will be looking more into it. Im in the mix of building a PC just cause Mac has limitation to this field and just trying to explore other options out there now ! hopefully I can kill this subscription cause its driving me nuts lol 

  7. Posted

    My subscription is almost up ! Im just curious am I the only one who pays for illustrator or is there an older version that works just fine for our field of work home business or not ?! that price is a killer last nov I believe it was 250 for the year with my student discount LOL 

    Thanks again for any input ! 

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    Hey everyone!

    So I have a CE6000 and Im currently using a mac with illustrator and graphtec studios.

    My real question is I know mac in this field is limited but am I missing out on anything that could help me grow, save me time designing and or anything else I can possibly be missing out on. My main forte is shirts and hats (sublimation and vinyl for hats) and i don't like sublimating on the poly shirts, not much interest there for my area as is. 

    Im asking cause Im planning on building my first computer thats just a hobby I just enjoy and never got around to actually doing it.  I understand the system requirements for this field is very easy to achieve so thats not a worry. Love my mac but want more out of my home business as well. Im terrible at explaining so if you understand what I'm trying to figure out Id appreciate all the info / help! I heard apparently graphtec offers a free program for windows thats easy 1,000 bucks but you have to have a windows, i don't know how true that is but i stumbled on it on another site. 

    THANK YOU FOR ANY INPUT :)

  9. Posted

    5 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

    Hats are fickle. I mostly use my "kids" platen as I have stated before which is called the Allstar now. It's only 2-3/4" tall so the designs have to be no more than about 2-1/2" and I try to maintain more like 2" to 2-1/4" just for easier placement. The foam hats look like they have room for taller platen. The standard platen is 3-1/2" and that seems to be just a little too tall to allow the crown to settle down on most of the hats I sell or at least the smaller one is a LOT easier to get them to lay flat. The extra platens are pretty pricey and I think you have to go directly to the stahls website to get them. AND they aren't cheap. 

    For me the secret is the smaller designs and choosing hats that fit my press better (and steering my customers to those styles of hat). Never tried a pillow on there and I don't see how it would be very productive to try and get it all stuffed in there and settled down. I just pre press them and then vigorously stretch the hat so it lays as flat as I can get it to the lower platen. Some edges tend to roll off and as long as your design doesn't lay over the edges that won't hurt anything. Having the print loaded hold down is really nice and I would hate to try and get a consistent job without it. 

    Thanks goose and yes you definitely did mention the all star platen I just realized that. Sorry.  I’m probably going to invest in that honestly if it makes things easier then the time alone is a big benefit. The pillows did work decently but like you said it can be a pain to stuff in there keep it lined up doing so and all that. 

  10. Posted

    11 hours ago, Dakotagrafx said:

    I am not sure what takes the sublimation ink off a platen - you can try the easy off or even some rubbing alcohol first - if hotronix the platen is probably covered in a coating anyways but this is how we learn, there has to be a couple of missteps in the process.  we all do it and continue to make mistakes even years later.   forgetting to mirror htv will be the one that returns for years

    Lmao yes the mirroring method! I done it so many times in the past that I think I finally got it down now. Appreciate the help I’m going to try tomorrow. The hotronix is coated from what my directions / info says so that’s good to know. Do you guys know of any firmer pillows or foam or do you guys just not use them at all? The pillows are better then nothing but still gets under my skin I can’t get these hats super smooth for a nice perfect press even after pre press and pulling it more. 

  11. Posted

    funny you say that goose. I legit cut it to size so that it was easier to line up perfectly. lol welp your idea is a home run much rather do that then have markings. even if it takes a little longer to center. thank you on the compliments the foam hats are super comfortable and the prints are nice and bright! the pre-press your talking about I do but I never thought to try and move it and confine it after the small press. I feel like i need to get more platens this one leaves a big gap in the center so unfortunately i don't think it will work but I'm def going to try. 

    & Dakota yes I think I saw something on paper but figured if teflon was no good to use don't cover it but now I'm little mad at myself for getting this on my platen. I have some ez off think it could work? I never had to use it before so not really sure how to tackle that.

    • Like 1

  12. Posted

    Hey guys so my hotronix hat press came in and I was extremely happy up until I pressed my first hat. It was a foam hat and I did exactly what I was reading. (This was for sublimation) I placed my print lined it up and threw heat tape on it with no Teflon (which another bad idea) I don’t know why they tell you not to use it  but some ink got on my heat platen and you’ll see it on my white hat below. Craft paper should probably have been used. but anyway so now the press completes and it has markings from the heat tape and a box around the print from the paper. I figured I needed more of a firm base so I didn’t get bent out of shape I ordered Teflon pillows and still getting creases in the hats I tried different pressures but did stay around the area pressure you should be at when applying subs and or vinyl.

    If anyone has any feedback I’d appreciate the help. I will attach some photos and maybe just let me know what you think. The red hat creased in the middle and the gray and white foam hats I’m sure you’ll see the marks. (Gray hat done with no pillow) everything else had the pillow. I looked for a firm heat safe foam but can’t seem to find anything safe for heat up to 400 degrees. One hat came out perfect and I think cause it’s a different style hat. 

    1139725F-76FD-46AA-88EF-0C76F457C707.jpeg

    586334F3-08F9-448C-BC37-9F5E3C1A1072.jpeg

    99E0BF46-9A46-458C-8019-BC4D4C85CF97.jpeg

    312A2461-CA34-444E-A2D8-39F335C66D25.jpeg

    8EDCE708-68FC-43A5-8B9A-38077DBB6330.jpeg

    • Like 2

  13. Posted

    57 minutes ago, cardudenc said:

    welcome aboard.  seems ive already posted on a different thread of yours or something. Im always late to the game . lol. we def need more jeepers. that's my other biz, used to just build crawlers, but when I jumped n to it full time I will build whatever they pay to.  serious mall crawlers.    spare room or not, looks like you have a nice set up

    Thanks ! That’s awesome wish I was able to build lol not much of a auto mechanic but I can do super light work and basics haha & yeah the spare room is awesome (wish I had a little more room) but just what I need for now I guess so I appreciate the feedback!! 

  15. Posted

    Build my inventory slow pretty much but I recommend asking for deposits cause when I first started I’m a super nice guy and never did that and I can’t tell you how many times I ordered product and then they didn’t want the shirts anymore or never got back to me with a design ETC

  16. Posted

    So basically I order $50 bucks worth of product when ever I get a customer order. I ask for 10% - 20% deposit depending on what and how much they need. Normally they don’t need $50 dollars worth but I order what they need and then I use business money to get other product I use more frequently to get me to the free shipping. So long story short I order what ever the customer wants lol I just ordered some racerback tanks for 5k run for these girls and they are prefect. 

    22 hours ago, Luvmydane said:

    Thank you, I also use JiffyShirts and love them.  Do you mind telling me which tanks you use?  I have ordered a few and they feel more like athletic wear than the cotton feel I am looking for.  I have used the tshirts from them that feel like cotton but have not found the tank.  Any advice is appreciated, looking for 100% polyester so I can sublimate on it without fading post wash.

     

  18. Posted

    17 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

    that is how the colorprint pu works with a transfer tape - all you need is a solvent printer!

    Is that good for business though the ink will hold up? Always nervous with quality of new stuff I find out. 

  19. Posted

    So as I scroll threw Instagram I came across what looks to be a new way to transfer full color images to me anyway. How is this done? clearly I can’t use my sawgrass as to that’s for polyester clearly. This looks to be transfer paper anyway not F&M stuff. I have an HP ENVY printer is this possible with that? I google searched but a few different things show up and I’m not exactly sure what’s what. I will attach images but I don’t own the rights just sharing for learning purposes and to give you all an idea. 

    Sorry if this is a repost in anyway I just wanted to show what I found see if that’s something I can offer or even use it for hats with my new press :) 

     

    8E6EF10E-7D45-4547-B823-211BF79059AA.jpeg

    E0D9B95A-F193-4C17-BC1D-6EAF3F9BDF03.jpeg

  21. Posted

    if possible go right for the graphtec ! I mean I started small and it became an addiction and I love what I do and continuing to grow daily. just bought a hat press without testing the waters. hey if it don't work Im into hats thats what I collect so I will just make myself a bunch worse comes to worse LOL. I know you said a hobby but believe me even as a hobby the graphtec will be great and the learning curve is extremely easy to overcome. DO IT YOU WONT REGRET IT. haha no pressure 

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    its ordered and Im really excited to get it !

    it apparently counts as a special order item so Im not sure what that means but all i know is my inks will be here tomorrow for my printer but no email or info on press yet .... booooo lmao

    • Like 1

  25. Posted

    Very awesome to see you knew nothing to growing now ! Congratulations to you and awesome work. Happy to see you went graphtec! I started with a titan and now use a graphtec and still have the titan as a backup but what a difference with certain work. Good for you keep go stay motivated this field is filled with so many people and most I met here are extremely helpful and it’s awesome community to reference back too!