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View Full Version : Hi some questions for a newbie



jaffacat
26-04-2010, 01:24 PM
hi

New to this so been looking around for sometime. I have some questions (apologies if they have been asked before) any help/tips or advice you can give to me up front I would really appreciate it.

Got my eye on a 5 in 1 combo press (bout £260)as I dont think ill be doing bulk orders at the minuite and they seem fairly reasonable (in case it doesnt work out)! Anyone got any thoughts on that or recommendatoins on other all in one systems? Im going to do gifts and try and sell local to shops so they can retail them out, if it works then will up grade the equipment at a later date.

What im struggling with is the following:
which printer system (bearing in mind I dont want to spend a fortune)to buy Iknow most people have preferences but Ive seen a S21 Epsom & CISS system on ebay for £65 then the inks are £75. Most people seem to use the Epson 1400 - does anyone know where I can get one from or can I just buy one from a retail shop & then buy the empty cartridges and fill them - if this is the case where do you get empty cartridges and what sort of ink? Is the CISS better or the cartridges, wont be using it daily I dont expect?

Templates for printing to, where do you get the templates so you know your printing to the right sizes? i.e: if printing on a mug I understand there is a full wrap around and a part wrap so how do you know where to position your image/text etc?

Where is the best place for blanks?

With regards to a cutter/plotter any recommendations? Lovecut do one for under £300 but is it any good?

And finally, which is the best program to use? I have photoshop but is coreldraw better? Ive seen logos etc on ebay in EPS format will photoshop use that format? Does anyone know where you can get these without haveing to pay £8-£10 on ebay, do you find them on google images?

I love this forum, so glad I found it, some great posts just need to find the time to read them all.

Thanks & cant wait to get chatting to you all.

Lisa

bms
26-04-2010, 03:47 PM
Lots of good questions. I'll be brief in the replies...


which printer system
Only buy one of the following: Ricoh GXe3300, Epson B40W, Epson B1100, Epson 1400 or Ricoh GX7000 (these are in cost order with the GXe3300 being the cheapest). The inks are the most expensive part and for £75 it won't be sublimation inks. The GXe3300 is £249 +vat for the printer and inks and is an entry level printer for sublimation. There are a couple forum users here with this printer. The Epson B40W is more expenive but you get a lot more ink.


Templates for printing to
Paul supplies templates from his website if you want some ideas and there is a free download on the forum somewhere (Paul?) for use in PhotoShop so you can try before you buy or you can make your own.


Where is the best place for blanks
Ah..., now we are a supplier so I won't comment on the best, but I'll let other members make recommendations - that might be less biased!


With regards to a cutter/plotter
Can't comment on Lovecut - but any cutter should come with software to load in an EPS file as these are very common vector formats for cutting

Hopefully other members can add to your questions, but feel free to ask away... ;)

PhoenixRisen
26-04-2010, 06:34 PM
Hi Lisa

Photoshop will take .eps files. I usually use Photoshop CS2.

Mal

Paul
26-04-2010, 06:54 PM
Got my eye on a 5 in 1 combo press (bout £260)as I dont think ill be doing bulk orders at the minuite and they seem fairly reasonable (in case it doesnt work out)! Anyone got any thoughts on that or recommendatoins on other all in one systems? Im going to do gifts and try and sell local to shops so they can retail them out, if it works then will up grade the equipment at a later date.
I got 5-in-1 and is doingreat job. but I dont make much money of it. sometimes I sell mug or two to the friend but thats all.



What im struggling with is the following:
which printer system (bearing in mind I dont want to spend a fortune)to buy Iknow most people have preferences but Ive seen a S21 Epsom & CISS system on ebay for £65 then the inks are £75. Most people seem to use the Epson 1400 - does anyone know where I can get one from or can I just buy one from a retail shop & then buy the empty cartridges and fill them - if this is the case where do you get empty cartridges and what sort of ink? Is the CISS better or the cartridges, wont be using it daily I dont expect?
martin said everything :)



Templates for printing to, where do you get the templates so you know your printing to the right sizes? i.e: if printing on a mug I understand there is a full wrap around and a part wrap so how do you know where to position your image/text etc?

if you need some ideas you can have a look in here for free one: viewtopic.php?f=39&t=59 (http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=59)
or for blank templates here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=175 (http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=175)



Where is the best place for blanks?
here is list of some suppliers:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=110 (http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=110)
I did not used them all but I used BMS, THE TRANSFER PRESS and SUBLI SUPPLIES. never had a 1 problem with those. so go and compare some prices you self.


With regards to a cutter/plotter any recommendations? Lovecut do one for under £300 but is it any good?
I can recomend only 1 cuter coz I never used anything else. craft robo. A4 little machine. good for vinyl for t-shirt etc...
Regards to LOVECUT I contact them about few sheets of sublimation paper so I can do some tests and write review. well..., they refuse to send me 2 sheets! where the cost for one page is about 0.07p :) so answer that one youself.


And finally, which is the best program to use? I have photoshop but is coreldraw better? Ive seen logos etc on ebay in EPS format will photoshop use that format? ?

I think with Photoshop you go more flexibility. you can work on pictures if then need adjustments etc.. preety easy to use too.



Does anyone know where you can get these without haveing to pay £8-£10 on ebay, do you find them on google images
you can get them free here: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/ but you need to pay loads of money if you want to use them any way...

jaffacat
27-04-2010, 09:50 AM
Thank you all for your responses, it is a great start. Off to read some of the threads cause im sure my other questions are on here somewhere

Lisa

Glen
27-04-2010, 06:49 PM
Hi Lisa..we use Martin at BMS .. and Grame at Transfer Press and honestly never had any problems yet..