Info on ProvoCraft/Cricut YuDu Screen Printer

[socialgiraffe]

Advantage of this sort of system is the smaller footprint. One big disadvantage is that you are paying a premium for the small footprint, and if something were to break you basically have a piece of kit that you have to keep although some of it will not work.

The best carousels are made by Adelco and Someone else who I can not remember right now! However Back in the day I owned a machine made by http://www.customcarousels.co.uk/ which although not up to the standard of the Adelco was ok and in my opinion be perfect for the novice. They do a package that is follows: 6 Colour Carousel + Tunnel Dryer + Flash Dryer + Training £1995, all you would need then is the screen exposure kit which I am fairly confident you could pick up for less than £500.00 secondhand depending on the sort of kit you wish to purchase.

Its also worth looking at Wickedprintingstuff.com although having seen one of their carousels I would not recommend them for that part of the set up as the registration was constantly a problem for the user.

[kevinjplee]

That is a great website socialgiraffe, very concise and informative, shall call them tomorrow.
I take on board point about units breaking on an "all in one"
There is a WickedPrinting piece of kit on e-bay, but the problem is that he is 700+ miles away!

[socialgiraffe]

At £999 I think it is a tad overpriced having seen this particular model in action.

Out of interest why do you want to get into screen printing?

Only reason I ask is because if you have £2500 saved already it might be worth you saving more and going for a DTG

[kevinjplee]

At present I am using sublimation and vinyl cutting but I would like to have a go at screen printing, as these seem a bit restrictive in what I can do. Also not too impressed with results from sublimation.
Had not heard of DTG before reading your post, but initial Google searches suggest that it is a bit out of my price range

[socialgiraffe]

When you say restrictive can you clarify, what do you actually want to print (i.e. garments or something else) and colours etc?

As an example. there is the new white laser toner system that might be a better option. This is available from The Magic Touch

I don't want to sound negative but screen printing is a steep learning curve and is also really for mass market items and I am just making sure you have thought of all the options out there.

[kevinjplee]

Hi, I want to be able to print on garments up to A3 using half tones, and also be able to print up to 4 colours.
My sublimation printer is A4 and I have a 24" cutter.
I found a DTG printer on E-bay but price is way out of my league.
had a quick look at the OKI C711WT printer and this is a more affordable option but bit worried about the longevity of images printed on t-shirts.
Do you have any experience with this, or similar, machine?
Cheers

[socialgiraffe]

Ok

Well I would steer clear of screen printing. I have talked to very experienced screen printers and even they have no idea about halftone and CMYK screen print, which if you wanted to print on a dark garment would actually be five colours.

I have not had much experience with the white laser printer and garment decoration. However if you contact the Magic Touch they will be more than happy to send you some samples to test.

If longevity is the problem then you may want to consider different vinyls or protective films (i.e. Siser Smart-Pro). How long are your garments lasting? Most vinyl pressed garments should last a lifetime if the garment is looked after and washing instructions are adhered to.

DTG may be out of your price range now, but reading between the lines I personally would recommend you perfecting your skills with what you have and saving more money to purchase a DTG as I think that is simply the best option if all you are looking at is garment decoration.

[Paul]

if ou not impressed with what you can achieve with sublimation then i dont hink you will be happy with screen printing.

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Paul

Reading between the lines I suspect it is not the quality of sublimation that bothers Kevin but probably its restrictions. For example unable to print dark garments or limited availability of garments, and their price!

[kevinjplee]

You are quite correct socialgiraffe.