3D Sublimation Machine Questions

[LonR]

Hi everyone this is my first post and hopefully you can help me with some information and good feedback.


Firstly I found this site via Google after searching for 3D Sublimation Machines or something along those lines. I was searching for 3D Sublimation Machines after stumbling across them on the net, and being extremely impressed with their phone/laptop case printing capabilities.


From what I have seen there seems two different processes available for phone covers. One needs heat proof tape and each case individually wrapped and basically the other one doesn’t. Its the one that doesn’t that I am interested in.


I am UK based but welcome comments on the following from people were ever you may be.


How many UK based manufacturers do we know of that are actually manufacturing within the UK and not importing and re-badging machines?


Are there any UK based businesses importing machines and covering/providing warranty services for machines? I class these different from the above as the customer is informed they are imported machines.


What if any are peoples experiences ofusing these machines for case printing and how would you rate the quality?


The UK based manufacturers I have found are very keen that you only use their ink,cases and foil with their machines. Again any feedback or thoughts on this?


Jigs for the machines seem extremely expensive so if you want to provide a wide variety start up costs can spiral. Can jigs be purchased from 3^rd parties?


There’s lots more I can ask but hopefully this can just generate some feedback, questions and comments.


And thanks to Justin for being so welcoming via our conversation.

[customwrapz]

Hi everyone this is my first post and hopefully you can help me with some information and good feedback.


Firstly I found this site via Google after searching for 3D Sublimation Machines or something along those lines. I was searching for 3D Sublimation Machines after stumbling across them on the net, and being extremely impressed with their phone/laptop case printing capabilities.


From what I have seen there seems two different processes available for phone covers. One needs heat proof tape and each case individually wrapped and basically the other one doesn’t. Its the one that doesn’t that I am interested in.


I am UK based but welcome comments on the following from people were ever you may be.


How many UK based manufacturers do we know of that are actually manufacturing within the UK and not importing and re-badging machines?


Are there any UK based businesses importing machines and covering/providing warranty services for machines? I class these different from the above as the customer is informed they are imported machines.


What if any are peoples experiences ofusing these machines for case printing and how would you rate the quality?


The UK based manufacturers I have found are very keen that you only use their ink,cases and foil with their machines. Again any feedback or thoughts on this?


Jigs for the machines seem extremely expensive so if you want to provide a wide variety start up costs can spiral. Can jigs be purchased from 3^rd parties?


There’s lots more I can ask but hopefully this can just generate some feedback, questions and comments.


And thanks to Justin for being so welcoming via our conversation.

Hi,

I have just recently purchased a 3d heat press and im currently getting set up, so im pretty new to this but what i can say from speaking to others is that you are better to buy british, although it will cost more at the time, if you buy from china you will have to pay customs and taxs on top of your purchase, so they pretty much even out. Also most british companies seem to be just retail agents for their chinese parent companys. Dont know if this is any help.

[XpressDesigns]

The machine he is talking about is different. It uses gold film as the vacuum screen which you directly print on correct? I am 99% sure that the 3D heat Press mentioned by Customwrapz can also use the gold film as it has a airtight seal but you need some experimentation to make sure it fits right. The difference between wrapping with heat transfer paper and gold film have their own advantages.

I use the wrapping style machine because i am retailing to end consumers (ergo people walking around the street) so i need to be able to produce 1 or 2 at a time if need be. The process of hand wrapping is much slower for sure but produces exact measurements and picture quality. Cost is also slightly cheaper this way because gold film is more expensive for Sq. Inch then heat transfer paper (of a same quality). There is no difference in color as well assuming you use same quality of ink.

Pro: Can produce the amount you without wasting material.
Cheaper to produce a single case
Image is precise in sizes and proportions.
Less waste material

Con: Slow production rate due mainly to wrapping
If wrapping done poorly, image will be affected
Time consuming

For the gold film wrapping method, this requires no wrapping at all. All it involves is printing out on a gold film and placing blanks onto a 4/6 blank holding mold. Then you slip on the gold film on top of the cases and let the vacuum do the rest. Good thing about this method is that it saves time and can do bulk orders more easily. There is no fuss or mess of paper when wrapping and stuff. Basically it is the fastest and easiest way to create 3D cases. Now the bad. For mugs and stuff it is a great promotional tool as 1 cup fits all whereas cellphone cases need to fit the model and brand of phone. As a promotional tool, it is too costly and not many companies will go this route. Also note that (tell me if i am wrong) most of the gold film machines need to use one entire sheet of film no matter how many you print on it. So if you have an order for 1 cases as a test sample, you need to find 3 - 5 other cases which you want to make else you are wasting a large portion of film. There is also the fact that the image will not match the screen image in terms of proportions and such because it stretches a bit and will sometimes skew your images.

Pro: Fast at producing bulk orders
No hassle production
Color is no different from any other 3d press

Con: Cost more per case
Must make a certain of cases per batch or else is wasteful of resources
Image comes out larger then intended or slightly warped due to stretching of film.

So yea, i really depends on a few things. Who you are selling to, Are you bulk selling or selling singles, Do you hate extra work?, do you case about time or cost more. Let us know a bit more details so we can help out more. I find that wrapping is easy once you get the hang of it and the method down. I now wrap a single case in 2 - 3 mins. Not too bad. still slower then the 30 second (if even) gold film. As for where to order. That is really up to you. Shipping and VAT will hurt for shipping from china (not too bad for UK residents as it requires no overseas whereas i live in Canada which kills everything that flies!). But the prices are literally 60% the price of normally getting from UK providers. Shipping will still hit hard by Tax will not be as bad. For example my 3d heat press cost me $500 + $130 shipping + $60 Vat. Total of $690 for a single machine. Please note also i had the suppliers stuff in 100 iphone cases, 8 Iphone Molds, 100 Crystal Keychains, Extra parts of the machine etc. At the time other non-china suppliers were selling around $800 - $1000 each machine (look out of model number as older ones have problems and sell for a lot less) without shipping or vat added. This is the price to ship to Canada not UK and would certainly be cheaper for you guys in UK. Advantage of buying from china supplier is that i can actually buy every part in the machine if i need replacing. Basically if the motor blows or something breaks i can order that part and replace it my self pretty cheaply. The advantage of buying UK is that you can go after the supplier if your machine is a bust and many of them give you warranty for a year. Also blanks and stuff is DEFINITELY Cheaper. I get ready to sub iphone cases at 60 Cents (CAD) Each. I even went beyond that and got custom made cases (molds cost me a bit) which have high quality material and will never have scratches before subbing them because they are covered in a removable plastic film that prevents scratching! This only cost me about $1.20 CAD each. I am more then willing to share info, please let me know your setup and stuff.

EDIT totally forgot to answer your questions.


How many UK based manufacturers do we know of that are actually manufacturing within the UK and not importing and re-badging machines?

I don't think any one outside of china manufactures these specific machines without costing an arm and leg. I have seen one or 2 make outside of China that start at $1,500 CAD. They do appear a bit better in quality however outcome seems the same.

Are there any UK based businesses importing machines and covering/providing warranty services for machines? I class these different from the above as the customer is informed they are imported machines.

A bunch to say the least. I think it is typically 1 year and you need to pay for shipping back to them and back to you. This means incurring like 200 Euro extra charges just to get the warranty.
What if any are peoples experiences of using these machines for case printing and how would you rate the quality?

Quality of color is based on your ink. Quality of print is based on your paper. Machines work on the sample vacuum principle and vary depending on vacuum pressure and heating distribution. Basically the same. Gold film method a little more then slightly stretches your images a bit and the corners are a bit wonky.

The UK based manufacturers I have found are very keen that you only use their ink,cases and foil with their machines. Again any feedback or thoughts on this?

I would never use inks from china truth be told! Can't trust them on chems or food products ( i am Chinese fyi XD). Machinery and stuff though they are definitely good IF you make sure they are a reputable company. Like said above. It works on the same principles. Heat and pressure. There should be no difference in Ink which you use or film. The quality of ink and film should be the point of skepticism. Like most large companies in the printing industries, they take a loss on the machine but make it back in the ink. Ergo printers have invested so much in "ONLY MY COMPANY INK BRAND MUST BE USED" software. I recommend you to use what ever quality you are looking to find.

Jigs for the machines seem extremely expensive so if you want to provide a wide variety start up costs can spiral. Can jigs be purchased from 3^rd parties?

Use the ones specific to the machine if you are using the gold film. They have to be positioned very carefully else it will miss the blanks. If you are using the wrapping method, go crazy. I know that the company i buy from sells jigs to me at $10 CAD with cooling and heating jig. Some others go as high as $50 EACH for just the heating jig. I just did the following. Bought 8 Heating jigs at $5 CAD each. Found 8 boxes which i use for shipping at home and cut them up and taped them to correct sizes. Boom instant cooling jig. No issues with warping. cost me a total of like 30 Cents and 10 mins.