hockeygirl

Adding my vote for Graphtec.

Looks like I'm getting the Hotronix. Talked to my rep today and he can get me a lightly used demo for almost $500 less than the Hix. Thanks all for your advice!

I'm looking to buy another heatpress. Had the Sunie forever and it served us well. Anyhoo, looking at the auto-open clam, either Hix or Hotronix. Any opinions on either or if one is better than the other? Thanks!

Thanks! Appreciate the input. Looks like I can't go wrong with either.

Anyone here has a wholesale supplier for Tie-dye shirts? Thanks.

Depends on what cutter you have. If you have a cutter that's accessible over the network, then you can theoretically use a tablet to send jobs to the cutter as long as the driver/sw is available for that. I think Adobe has design software for Android/iOS. Although if it were me, I'd probably get an Ultrabook instead of a tablet. You can virtually do everything a tablet and a PC can do.

Did you have to install a driver for USB connection for the cutter? If so, try uninstalling and reinstalling it

Have you tried reinstalling the driver? It's an easy thing to try...

Found this on google http://autovinylsolutions.com/3M_1080/camouflage

Roll the vinyl back and forth and adjust the pinch roller tension as needed to make sure it's tracking straight.

I've pressed on Nylon with Siser Easyweed Extra. Heat is not the problem, but you have to be careful with the pressure though, so light pressure is all you need.

Wondering if its because the vinyl isn't fresh? Never had any issues with Oracal 651

These machines aren't known for their tracking. You'll need to take the time to make sure the vinyl is feeding perfectly straight before cutting.

It can also be printed on opaque material for blacks. I print on Siser Colorprint and they can be applied to light and dark shirts. If you're getting some requests for printed work, but not enough to justify buying a printer, outsource them... there's more money to be made that way.

DTG aren't any cheaper than printers and dare I say, maintanance is probably worse... same advice apply, if you want to get a DTG, talk to someone who owns one and learn more about it. As for the Roland at $8500, you're probably talking about the BN-20. Know that media at that size is very limited and it also limits you to what you can do. After talking to several people, there are definitely more ink waste on the BN-20 than on the bigger printers. Unless you have a true need for metallic or white ink, you probably want to steer clear of them - they are too expensive to waste (CYMK 220mL costs $65 each, white is $110, metallic $230) and they clog easily... I bought my printer at Denco Sales... and according to their tech, they receive more service calls for the BN-20 than any other printers. Reasons being - metallic ink is just trouble when it's not being used and most who buy this printer doesn't have enough work to keep it running. It's never a good thing to let your printer sit. BTW, a good printer can be had for under that price. I bought my printer as a dealers demo for $7k, with new printheads and other consumables installed prior to delivery, and came with a 1yr service contract.

Not sure which mask you're looking at, but I've only used the mask for printed transfers (ie using Siser Colorprint, etc) or I think it's also used for rhinestones.

I'll probably catch some flack for this post and many of you will disagree with me... but here goes anyway. My advice for those who are wanting to sell printed decal (not talking about the 8-10mil laminated aqueous inkjet kind you print on your desktop printer): Visit print shops, learn about the business. Learn what it takes to own and maintain a printer and how to run a printer - it's not rocket science, but it's also not plug and play either. Talk to your local dealer. Get demos of the different printers they sell. Do your research and get all the costs associated with it. Understand that you really cannot do it on a $3000 budget. Unless you already have enough business lined up to justify the cost of the printer, outsource your work. Spend the extra time on the business side and secure more capitals and customers before taking the plunge. Partner with someone who has a printer that you know you can trust and get reasonable turn-around time on the jobs. I have done it for years before buying my own printer. I have a 30" and I still outsource my larger print jobs and they send me their smaller jobs when they're at capacity. Yes, you can buy a new printer for $3000 and blindly go into debt. Believe me, many dealers will try to sell you a printer and offer you an attractive financing option. And I'm not saying that's not the right thing to do, I'm just saying, think before you buy and educate yourself. It is a big investment and it's not something you can just take back to the store if it doesn't work out 30 days from now.

Laminate for UV protection, moisture resistance, protects from abrasion... I'm not aware of any 54"+ solvent printer/cutter in good working condition that sells for much less than that... and you will need that size for vehicle wraps.

Vector magic is offering up to $50 spent online towards purchase of the DT license... something to consider... http://vectormagic.com/desktop Try both the Online and the Desktop EditionUse the site without worry, and evaluate the quality of the results. For a limited time only, the first $50 you spend on this site is creditable towards a license for the Desktop Edition.

Yes, wraps will need to be laminated. You'll need a laminator. http://www.uscutter.com/Laminators Definitely want to talk to them and find out all the maintanance involved with the printer before jumping on it. Also, you want to make sure the other printheads are good and the heater working properly too. If it had not been plugged and running everyday, the other heads might be clogged by now and replacing them will cost more than the printer itself.

Tee Square it http://www.heatpressessentials.com/documents/tsi_instruction.html

Owning a printer is not cheap - it may be a better investment to sub out your print job.

Yea, you pretty much have to turn it off between cuts to clear the memory out. And on the large cuts, sometime you have to tile them into separate cuts in order to fit everything in memory.

Is the surface painted?

Did you also pre-press the shirt for a few seconds to get the moisture out? I've used shirts from Michaels or JoAnn in a pinch, and those never gave me any problem. I work with Siser Videoflex Glitter a lot (the local high school drama club wants silver!)... I usually press them at 315F for 20 seconds and cool peel. Never had a single complaint in the last 5 years...