thinking of expanding to TShirts and Mugs

[arcticmonster 4]

There's no place that does mugs in my area.   Is it a worth while investment?     If so any recommendations on types of machines that will do coffee and beer mugs?

 

TShirts.   We will just use a press with siserweed vinyl and a heat press.

 

Any recommendations there?  

 

I was thinking of going the economical way to see if it will actually pay off and then invest in better machines like I am about to do soon with my USCutter34. 

 

I would really like to get a contour cutter / printer but too much at the moment.

 

Thanks all for the replies I know you will have (good or bad).

 

 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

on the heat press I would seriously look at this one for a starter and keep an eye on cl for a hotronix, knight or mighty . . .. . over the center pressure adjustment is found on all the better machines

 

http://sunie.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

 

on the sublimation I love the ricoh printers as they are very forgiving when not used for a couple of months at a time.   -  use cactus wraps for sublimating mugs as in the oven all the mug is heated - with a mug press the bottom and handle act as big heat sinks and cause fade when doing full coverage in that area - I have 10 wraps and do 5 in at a time, unwrap the 5 that are done and put on new mugs before the current set is done in the oven.  makes for a smooth workflow that can crank out a lot of mugs

 

 

almost forgot this killer deal on a mighty press  http://www.vinylforum.org/smf/buy-sell-trade/stahls-mighty-press/

[arcticmonster 4]

the second link to vinylforums is not working.   even if I am logged in.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

go to buy and sell section of the forum - carl has a mighty for sale

 

not sure what is up - I just clicked it and it took me there

[arcticmonster 4]

I must need some posts to view that section as I can't see it.

 

I just registered yesterday. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

yeh someone else just said that - didn't think it was set up that way but parts of the forum are off limits till you hit 25 post

[arcticmonster 4]

TIME TO POST WHORE away.  ;D

[arty-rc 719]

on the heat press I would seriously look at this one for a starter and keep an eye on cl for a hotronix, knight or mighty . . .. . over the center pressure adjustment is found on all the better machines

 

http://sunie.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

 

on the sublimation I love the ricoh printers as they are very forgiving when not used for a couple of months at a time.   -  use cactus wraps for sublimating mugs as in the oven all the mug is heated - with a mug press the bottom and handle act as big heat sinks and cause fade when doing full coverage in that area - I have 10 wraps and do 5 in at a time, unwrap the 5 that are done and put on new mugs before the current set is done in the oven.  makes for a smooth workflow that can crank out a lot of mugs

 

 

almost forgot this killer deal on a mighty press  http://www.vinylforum.org/smf/buy-sell-trade/stahls-mighty-press/

I bought this press last month and have been very happy with it.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

TIME TO POST WHORE away.  ;D

or just pm him over there crshirts

[OWJones 1,981]

If you're going to do mugs, be sure to advertise them as more than just a "photo mug" - you can buy "photo mugs" for <$9.50 at Wal-Mart, which won't leave you a lot of profit if you try and match/beat their price.

 

I have had better luck with selling things like can coozies, coasters, pet tags and other items that Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc. don't offer through their photo centers.  They also have the advantage of being done on a flat press, same as the t-shirts, which means you don't need other equipment.

 

If you want to do pet tags, I recommend checking out Chewbarka as a supplier.  They have a much larger selection of tags and a variety of sizes, vs. the 3 shapes that Conde and most other places sell.  They are slightly more expensive, but they are also double-sided, so there is room for more information on the tags.  Their prices also don't include the connector to attach the tag to the pet's collar, but they sell split rings for $0.15 or $0.20 each (depending on size) which I greatly prefer over the connectors that Unisub ships - I've had to replace at least 3 pet tags that fell off of a dog's collar because people don't squeeze them down tight enough - the split rings eliminate that problem.

 

A blank tag with a split ring will run you right around $1.05 each (in qty <50) and they will easily sell for 8 times that much, especially the double sided tags.  They also sell the type of tags that slip over the collar itself and don't dangle, for people who prefer a stealthier pet, and those don't require any sort of connector, so they're even cheaper.  One of these days I need to build a POS display and try and get the local vets to keep it on their counter to promote my pet tag sales...

[jaybyrd 3,770]

If you're going to do mugs, be sure to advertise them as more than just a "photo mug" - you can buy "photo mugs" for <$9.50 at Wal-Mart, which won't leave you a lot of profit if you try and match/beat their price.

 

I have had better luck with selling things like can coozies, coasters, pet tags and other items that Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc. don't offer through their photo centers.  They also have the advantage of being done on a flat press, same as the t-shirts, which means you don't need other equipment.

 

If you want to do pet tags, I recommend checking out Chewbarka as a supplier.  They have a much larger selection of tags and a variety of sizes, vs. the 3 shapes that Conde and most other places sell.  They are slightly more expensive, but they are also double-sided, so there is room for more information on the tags.  Their prices also don't include the connector to attach the tag to the pet's collar, but they sell split rings for $0.15 or $0.20 each (depending on size) which I greatly prefer over the connectors that Unisub ships - I've had to replace at least 3 pet tags that fell off of a dog's collar because people don't squeeze them down tight enough - the split rings eliminate that problem.

 

A blank tag with a split ring will run you right around $1.05 each (in qty <50) and they will easily sell for 8 times that much, especially the double sided tags.  They also sell the type of tags that slip over the collar itself and don't dangle, for people who prefer a stealthier pet, and those don't require any sort of connector, so they're even cheaper.  One of these days I need to build a POS display and try and get the local vets to keep it on their counter to promote my pet tag sales...

I've seen chewbarka on ebay but they always post the engravables, never knew they had that variety of sublimation tag styles. I'll be spending with them shortly and thank you for the link.

[OWJones 1,981]

I've seen chewbarka on ebay but they always post the engravables, never knew they had that variety of sublimation tag styles. I'll be spending with them shortly and thank you for the link.

 

I found them when I was looking at getting into engraving (Holy crap - and I thought my Graphtec was expensive equipment!) and noticed they had a large selection of sublimatable pet tags, too.

 

Twenty one different shapes, many in 2-4 different sizes plus two sizes of luggage tags and military style dog tags - it's the biggest selection of sublimatable tags I've found anywhere.