DSF

Hi there

I am just starting off in the sublimation printing business and am seeking advice from those of you more familiar with it. I have an opportunity to set up a stall at a ladies night event to display my sublimation products. I realise as a consumer myself that prospective customers want the immediate sale ie. I should have all my equipment ready to take a photo and print it out and put it on a mug. However that would mean having to bring my mug press, laptop, printer, etc with me and have them plugged in as well as room to use them, display pre done items etc. I dont have a mug cooling system and use warm water to cool them in at the moment, so I would need a source for warm water also. I also fear that I would ruin some items trying to do them under pressure.

The other alternative is to display what can be done and take orders and do them the next day for delivery in the local area. This would be the handiest way of doing it but do you think I would be losing out on a lot of custom as a result? I am thinking, take the photo and have them fill out an order form with their details and ask them to pay a 50% deposit. Then print out the actual mugs the next day and deliver them.

If anyone has had experience of this sort of event or stall set ups for sublimation, perhaps you could advise?

Thanks in advance!

Kind regards

Dee

Get small desk fan and coll them that way.

If it is a ladies night fear not!!!!!

Photographs are generally taken prior to the meal and presuming you have some sort of viewing screen they purchase them there and then (in cash normally which is a shame LOL!!!!) You can then either print them out immediately or print them during dinner and distribute them while they are eating. This will give you the opportunity to flog other items (for example photo slates will go well I think) and heat press them while they are eating.

I know a lot about ladies nights so PM me and I will give you a lot more info over the telephone as it would take all night for me to type


S>

If it's a weekly event, you could do the 'togging at the start of the event along with the sales/orders, and then deliver the finished products the next week? - depending on the scale/size of the event, you could be there every week, with rolling orders.

I've thought about the whole kit thing at events (camera, laptop, printer, mug-press, water, electricity) - isnt it a minefield for the H&S-concious? How do you 'experienced' people manage it?

I to have had a similar opportunity, but think that taking all my kit and machinery is asking to make errors when trying to line up and print things under pressure. I'm gong to try taking orders and getting 50% up front payment I think.

What you want to do is the next step up from the normal event photography.

Normal event photography is quite simple - the photographs are taken, the customer chooses the image they like, the image is printed (normally a photography dye sub printer is used) and handed over to the customer.

Very straight forward, quick and easy to do.

Selling dye sub printed products is a minefield when it comes to workflow processes, risk assessments and health and safety issues. Then there is what kind of stock products do you bring with you - mugs, photo slates etc.

Plus you don't want to show members of the public how relatively easy it is to do.

So producing the items there and then on the spot is not really a practical option.

Stick with take the order and delivery within 72 hours.

Thanks to you all for the advice above. I am thinking that I might do this one taking orders and see how it goes... but still cant make up my mind 100%!!

Thanks Socialgiraffe. The ladies night I am going to does not involve a meal - from advice so far I am tempted to display and take orders for my first time event. Think it will be fairly low key so will probably be more of an experience builder than anything else! Not sure how to PM but thanks anyway!

Is this the kind of event where you get to try and sell chippendale mugs instead of chippendale furniture? :rolleyes: