Sign in to follow this  
cardudenc

excited with new toy/heat press

Recommended Posts

well this wasn't what I was looking to do right now.   but it was def something in my head when I purchased my cutter . was just waiting until I upgraded cutters and computer 1st. then a friend hit me up fri afternoon wanting  shirts printed for his new business for a meeting 7/25. I started looking  who could get me a press here in time. that def made a challenge. while I was shopping for my cutter and every time U S has a sale . Ive looked at about every brand . and had somewhat decided to order 1 of the 15x15 swing arm models from here. I did get  to talk with a couple sales reps. from a couple companies, it was too late to get something from any of them. so I got on the only web site I knew I might be able to get something before mon. even on there options were slim to get it  here. finally found something. not at all what I wanted, but I figured it would get the job done and I was out very lil $. so I ended up with a 9x12 swing arm del sun. I already had some siser htv . so today I got it set up and started. I believe I like this better than any of the other stuff ive done with my cutter in the past yr .so I guess its time to really get busy in my vinyl biz so I can afford about 5k in upgrades.

pics of my 1st project

IMG_0843.JPG

IMG_0845.JPG

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Way to go dude! You're hooked now! ha ha! Shirt work is tons of fun and a great revenue stream. EVERYONE wants a shirt as you will soon see. You will probably outgrow the small press but can use it for a lot of things even once you get a bigger one. The only real issue with them is it's harder to align larger garments on a small press but it can be done. I have a smaller platen that I throw on my fusion for youth and smaller women's tee's. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

yep, Hooked is the correct word! o yea, I see a fusion in my not so far away future .I talked with a rep fri. just no way could I get 1 here. really been talking about this since I bought my cutter. so much so , I bought a sample pack of siser htv with or maybe with my 1st vinyl order. T shirt shops are up and dn the strip here. I kept telling the wife if we were doing custom to order shirts it would set us apart from the other stores. all the stores  Ive seen are doing transfers that all of them carry. I hate to say it, I want to upgrade cutters really bad. But I see the heat press bringing in more biz.

and yep, I can tell a bigger press would make alignment a lot easier. and that's exactly what I thought. after upgrading can always use it for some small stuff. or put it on CL and turn it. I'm only out a lil over 100. so no big deal either way. just hate I waited so long. but I didn't want to do as my cutter, but 100 isn't a huge deal to put on a shelf. but the way it looks it will pay for its self this week

last edit.. lol

I did the back of my hat to just see if I could

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

HTV is a little less picky to cut too so the cutter quality is less an issue other than large order multiple copies. I do a LOT of custom one-off shirt work and it brings more business by word of mouth than I can keep up with. It will build up as you establish yourself. The Fusion is awesome and a great end goal but don't get feeling like it's a must have because you can totally get by fine with a lesser press. I ran for a couple years with a 15"x15" swinger just fine. The 20"x16" platen is great and helps alignment but is occasionally too big and I end up throwing on the 11"x15" platen for smaller shirts. (15 second change out)  It's also SUPER huge and heavy so not something you are going to be moving around much and needs a ton of swing space. Wouldn't trade it for anything though. I also run a hat press and do some HTV on hats. I have since bought an embroidery machine and do more embroidery than HTV but still have certain clients that like the vinyl. 

If you get a big order and need to compete with the screen print guys check out F&M Expressions. Great way to be competitive in that market too. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

thanx for the tip. I have been trying to get different local shops here to print me some shirts for months now. still waiting, so I have started looking at equipment. I found a 4 color 1 station on cl cheap, if they had called me back it would already b at the shop. but that's the story dn here, my neighbor calls it "Beach Time" . 1 of the reasons I have a cutter. 2 different sign guys told me they would be here tomorrow, over a yr later and I'm still waiting for that tomorrow. Hell the big sign guy across the street from me had 2 phone #s for me @ for my wife and emails for both. still haven't heard from him. I talked with them the day I rented the building. but its in everything here.no wants to work

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

well it looks like the 9x12 maybe upgraded faster than expected. The friend I did the rush order for was asked who did his shirt. so he sent the guy to the shop. he just placed an order for 30 shirts, lettering both sides and rear door of enclosed trailer, and replace some lettering on the side of his truck. wow! I knew I shoulve started this a long time ago. lol

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice order!

LOL...after making 30 two-sided heat press shirts you may not want to do any more!

Hope you priced them to give you some "spending money".

Sue2

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

lol, lets hope not. the bad is I need to meet the guy already printing his shirts price. but I can hopefully make it up on the other work

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If the other guy is screen printing you won't be able to meet his price and make a profit.

Hope the other work balances it off.

Sue2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, cardudenc said:

lol, lets hope not. the bad is I need to meet the guy already printing his shirts price. but I can hopefully make it up on the other work

20 shirts it about my maximum for heat transfer vinyl shirts.  After that it's worth it to me to save my time and order Plastisol transfers. The time saved is WELL worth the little bit of added cost.   I can have 50 shirts done with only putting in 1-1.5 hours of work.   

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Go-C Graphics said:

20 shirts it about my maximum for heat transfer vinyl shirts.  After that it's worth it to me to save my time and order Plastisol transfers. The time saved is WELL worth the little bit of added cost.   I can have 50 shirts done with only putting in 1-1.5 hours of work.   

Hmmmm.....good idea to keep the business in house.

Who does your transfers and what is their turn-around time?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
16 hours ago, Go-C Graphics said:

 

http://www.fmexpressions.com

I normally get them within a few business days.

Yeah they rock. Great way to compete with the screen print guys without having all the equipment and knowhow. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
17 hours ago, Go-C Graphics said:

 

http://www.fmexpressions.com

I normally get them within a few business days.

Thanks guys...I might try them next time someone wants a larger quantity of shirts.

How do they hold up?  Do they crack?

Do they look like heat press or screen print?

Sue2

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this