Purchasing an Eco-solvent printer

[mchldelf 1]

I am in the process of purchasing Inigo solvent printer to make decals and hopefully use it for heat transfer images. I am able to get a good deal on a printer but not one that can handle metallic and white ink. I understand the importance of having white ink for heat transfers, but is it really worth the price difference? Thanks 

[Wildgoose 4,200]

I investigated printers pretty heavily at one point and then talked myself out of actually owning one. I think if you are going to drop the kind of coin it takes to get into ANY of the decent machines you might as well go for broke and be able to print white. I don't know that is is a must have but it will limit you to printing on white backgrounds almost exclusively. That may or may not make a difference to your business plan but it's worth a thought before pulling the trigger. A lot of "stickers" I see are printed on clear and probably benefit from being able to print white. 

Your mention of metallic is tending more toward a thermal printer like the Gerber or Summa. They will print in all sorts of metallic as well as white but are less suited to banners and such. If I buy a printer, which I still consider from time to time, I will probably go with a thermal just because they can sit for long periods without having a problem and because they can print chrome and gold and all that plus the lack of need to laminate. I would primarily go after the sticker market were I to pull that trigger. My current niche is about 50% construction guys like hoodies and tee's and I can see a decent amount of hard hat stickers and small implement logo work around here with my regular clients. I have not pushed it at this point and when I have someone asking I get a quote to outsource it, usually to someone on the forum.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

can you post a link to the printer you are looking at the only indigo printer I see isn't solvent . . . keep in mind that every day the solvent printers will turn themselves on and pull ink thru the heads to minimize head clogs about 4 times a day - with white and silver ink being even more expensive than the CMYK colors you need to print very often to make it worth it - seems very few people have been around long after purchasing the white/silver option - not sure if it is a cost issue or they just move onto more profitable ventures.  also heard the white is more prone to causing clogs