If you are interested in starting a digital printing there are several steps that you must take. This is not the type of business that you start on a whim, and hope that you become a success overnight. With that being said, anybody can start a digital printing if this is an industry that they are truly interested in. To get started, it is important to have a plan that will guide your growth. This may not seem like a big deal, but in the competitive world of digital printing it is more than necessary.
Here are several steps that go into starting your own digital printing business.
1. Learn about the industry before you dive in. If you have already worked for a digital printing company, you will know the ins and outs. Of course, if you are starting fresh there will be a lot of knowledge to gather. The more that you know about every aspect of digital printing the better off you will be.
2. Make a comprehensive list of the services that you are going to offer. This is very important for a couple of reasons. First off, it will help you to decide what type of equipment you need. Additionally, a service list will also assist when putting together a marketing plan. Obviously, your services have a lot to do with the clientele that you will be chasing.
3. Where is Tyour digital printing going to be based? This is one of the biggest problems that you may run into. Do you have a building in mind? If not, where are you going to search? You will have many options ranging from expensive downtown space to more affordable options in the suburbs. Before you decide to lease or buy workspace, make sure that you do your homework. Not only do you want to impress clients, but you also need to have enough room. And remember, you may expand in the future.
Is there money to be made in the digital printing industry? Most definitely. If you know what you are doing and offer a high quality service, there are clients to be had. Sure, you will be competing with established companies and big names, but over time you will be able to join them at the top. The key to success is having a plan, and then offering more than the competition.
Overall, the steps above should give you an idea of what to think about when starting a digital printing business. As you become more vested in your idea you will begin to see if moving forward is the right move
Read More..
Sunday, 22 November 2009
What is Sublimation
The actual process of sublimation involves placing a sublimation transfer that has been printed on paper onto polyester or polymer-coated material and then applying heat (usually with a flatbed heat press) to both. The heat changes the solid print on the paper into a gas, which then prints into the polymer surface
The operative word here is into. In addition to the heat causing the sublimation process, it also opens up the polymer so the gas actually goes into the surface coating. Seconds after the surface starts to cool, the gas reverts back to a solid and the polymer closes back up, trapping the solid. This is why you can run your finger across the surface of a sublimated metal plate and you will not feel anything.
The two most common methods retailers use to produce printed transfers is with an inkjet printer or a single color desktop laser printer. Either one requires the special sublimation cartridges used to produce heat transfers.
Laser Printer Sublimation: We provide laser printer sublimation toner cartridges for over 500 different types of older and newer laser printers. The most common printers used are Hewlett-Packard's. Everything from the still excellent HP II & III, to the more modern HP 4000 & 4050 are great sublimation transfer printers. The list is too large to list all the other printers. Call us to see if your printer is supported, or before you buy one for sublimation.
The four most common colors used in single color laser printers are black, blue, red and green. Black is by far the most commonly used color and there is a reason for this. Laser printer transfers print deeper and cheaper on gold, silver and bronze polymer coated metal than inkjet printers. The print is deeper because the sublimation toner lays down heavier than what is possible for an inkjet so the metal color does not bleed through.
The transfers are cheaper because the prints are done on ordinary copier paper (all inkjets require more expensive coated paper) and the yield per cartridge dollar is much, much higher with laser printer sublimation cartridges.
Almost every personalized badge, button, wall sign, desk name plate, plaque, legend plate, trophy plate and more, that displays crisp black print on a gold, silver or bronze colored metal plate, has been printed, using the laser printer sublimation process.
Blue, red and green also sublimates very bold and clearly. It is possible to put two colors on the same plate (a blue logo and black text, for example) by printing one color first and then printing the paper again with the second color.
While laser printer transfers will certainly sublimate onto fabrics (t-shirts, for example) its main use is for metal plates. As one nationally known sublimation expert recently wrote, "There is no comparison with a good (looking) metal plate done with laser printer sublimation - especially in price. If the need is to quickly produce lots and lots of lettered plates, there is no (better) option."
We will close this section with a business thought. No matter what sublimation process you eventually decide upon, always keep single color laser sublimation in your mind.
It is just too profitable to ignore.
If you would like to see how great our cartridges print transfers, click here and send us your request for free samples and transfers. We'll even include a free e-mail subscription to our sublimation business newsletter, "Toner Times".
Inkjet Printers: Inkjet printers are most commonly used if most of the sublimation is going to be done on white fabrics like t-shirts, ball caps, mouse pads, etc., some white plastics, and polymer coated coffee cups and the need is for a full color process.
Inkjet cartridges do not print good colors on metal especially on gold. The bright color of the metal bleeds through and produces a slightly faded appearance. This is true, even if you are printing with black. On white metal it does look good.
Be aware that most inkjet printers are not suited for sublimation inks. The two most common inkjet printers used are the Epson 980 and Epson 3000 and (unlike laser printers) they should be dedicated solely to sublimation.
The Epson 980 has a much smaller price tag but only uses two cartridges, one for black and one for cyan, magenta and yellow. The Epson 3000 printer has a much higher price and require's a separate cartridge for each of the four colors.
The 980 may be a good choice if you know that you are not going to do very much sublimation and the lowest possible entry level price is your most important consideration.
However, the operational cost of the 980 may be much higher than the 3000. You will frequently run into situations where one color is used a lot more than the other colors. The cartridge is sealed and cannot be refilled. If you run out of one color, the entire cartridge has to be replaced, no matter how much is left of the other two colors.
If we were using a 980 to print sublimation transfers we would definitely keep a couple of extra cartridges on hand. After all, have you ever run out of anything at a convenient time?
The Epson 3000 has a much higher price but, if you are going to use it a lot, is probably cheaper in the long run. It holds four cartridges, one for each color. This, by itself, can quickly make up for the difference in price between the 980 and the 3000. When a color runs out, you only replace the one cartridge.
For the price, most of our laser printer sublimation cartridge customers seem to be fairly satisfied with the Epson 3000 when they need full color, especially on whites. When they need single colors on metal, they always go with their laser printer.
For diversification a great number of our customer's use both processes, although most started off with laser printer sublimation. There are two primary reasons for this fact. First, is cost. A sublimation print from an inkjet costs about twenty times more than a print from a laser printer. Second, is the fact that while there are several dozens of "white" items that look great in full color, there are many hundreds of items that look great with a personalized metal plate attached. Read More..
The operative word here is into. In addition to the heat causing the sublimation process, it also opens up the polymer so the gas actually goes into the surface coating. Seconds after the surface starts to cool, the gas reverts back to a solid and the polymer closes back up, trapping the solid. This is why you can run your finger across the surface of a sublimated metal plate and you will not feel anything.
The two most common methods retailers use to produce printed transfers is with an inkjet printer or a single color desktop laser printer. Either one requires the special sublimation cartridges used to produce heat transfers.
Laser Printer Sublimation: We provide laser printer sublimation toner cartridges for over 500 different types of older and newer laser printers. The most common printers used are Hewlett-Packard's. Everything from the still excellent HP II & III, to the more modern HP 4000 & 4050 are great sublimation transfer printers. The list is too large to list all the other printers. Call us to see if your printer is supported, or before you buy one for sublimation.
The four most common colors used in single color laser printers are black, blue, red and green. Black is by far the most commonly used color and there is a reason for this. Laser printer transfers print deeper and cheaper on gold, silver and bronze polymer coated metal than inkjet printers. The print is deeper because the sublimation toner lays down heavier than what is possible for an inkjet so the metal color does not bleed through.
The transfers are cheaper because the prints are done on ordinary copier paper (all inkjets require more expensive coated paper) and the yield per cartridge dollar is much, much higher with laser printer sublimation cartridges.
Almost every personalized badge, button, wall sign, desk name plate, plaque, legend plate, trophy plate and more, that displays crisp black print on a gold, silver or bronze colored metal plate, has been printed, using the laser printer sublimation process.
Blue, red and green also sublimates very bold and clearly. It is possible to put two colors on the same plate (a blue logo and black text, for example) by printing one color first and then printing the paper again with the second color.
While laser printer transfers will certainly sublimate onto fabrics (t-shirts, for example) its main use is for metal plates. As one nationally known sublimation expert recently wrote, "There is no comparison with a good (looking) metal plate done with laser printer sublimation - especially in price. If the need is to quickly produce lots and lots of lettered plates, there is no (better) option."
We will close this section with a business thought. No matter what sublimation process you eventually decide upon, always keep single color laser sublimation in your mind.
It is just too profitable to ignore.
If you would like to see how great our cartridges print transfers, click here and send us your request for free samples and transfers. We'll even include a free e-mail subscription to our sublimation business newsletter, "Toner Times".
Inkjet Printers: Inkjet printers are most commonly used if most of the sublimation is going to be done on white fabrics like t-shirts, ball caps, mouse pads, etc., some white plastics, and polymer coated coffee cups and the need is for a full color process.
Inkjet cartridges do not print good colors on metal especially on gold. The bright color of the metal bleeds through and produces a slightly faded appearance. This is true, even if you are printing with black. On white metal it does look good.
Be aware that most inkjet printers are not suited for sublimation inks. The two most common inkjet printers used are the Epson 980 and Epson 3000 and (unlike laser printers) they should be dedicated solely to sublimation.
The Epson 980 has a much smaller price tag but only uses two cartridges, one for black and one for cyan, magenta and yellow. The Epson 3000 printer has a much higher price and require's a separate cartridge for each of the four colors.
The 980 may be a good choice if you know that you are not going to do very much sublimation and the lowest possible entry level price is your most important consideration.
However, the operational cost of the 980 may be much higher than the 3000. You will frequently run into situations where one color is used a lot more than the other colors. The cartridge is sealed and cannot be refilled. If you run out of one color, the entire cartridge has to be replaced, no matter how much is left of the other two colors.
If we were using a 980 to print sublimation transfers we would definitely keep a couple of extra cartridges on hand. After all, have you ever run out of anything at a convenient time?
The Epson 3000 has a much higher price but, if you are going to use it a lot, is probably cheaper in the long run. It holds four cartridges, one for each color. This, by itself, can quickly make up for the difference in price between the 980 and the 3000. When a color runs out, you only replace the one cartridge.
For the price, most of our laser printer sublimation cartridge customers seem to be fairly satisfied with the Epson 3000 when they need full color, especially on whites. When they need single colors on metal, they always go with their laser printer.
For diversification a great number of our customer's use both processes, although most started off with laser printer sublimation. There are two primary reasons for this fact. First, is cost. A sublimation print from an inkjet costs about twenty times more than a print from a laser printer. Second, is the fact that while there are several dozens of "white" items that look great in full color, there are many hundreds of items that look great with a personalized metal plate attached. Read More..
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Create Your Own T-shirt
Have you ever been out somewhere and someone's t-shirt showcasing a witty line or funny image catches your eye and sense of humor? It is most likely happening more often because more and more people are not relying on shirt manufacturers to be clever, but they are applying their own ingenuity into making their own shirts. The possibilities are now limitless in making your self, your friends, and the rest of the world envious of your duds by engineering your own shirts. You don't need many tools to accomplishing this fashion feat!
What You Will Need
- Software
- Artwork
- Transfer paper
- Printer
- Iron
- Hard surface
- Pillowcase
- T-shirt
There are kits that you can buy that supply almost all of the provisions you will need. Here are some tips to remember during the process.
Print a Preview
Always print a preview copy before printing it on the transfer paper. Do this to make sure that colors print correctly, the image does not delve into the printer's no print zone,' and to see a life-sized version of the image.
Flip the Image
You have to flip the image, especially if you have text in the design. The text should be backwards on screen or on the print out.
Use the Right Side of the Paper
The transfer paper has stripes on the non-print side. Put the paper in the printer so that it prints on the clear white side.
White Does Not Print
Consider the background color when selecting the color of text or the color of an image. For instance, white does not print, you will just get an outline of the desired image, but not the complete image.
Test Your Design of Scrap Fabric
Wasting the transfer paper is bad, but wasting a t-shirt is worse. Some fabrics will take to the image more readily than others, so keep this in mind.
Make it HOT
It is easy to get anxious during the process, so be sure to set the iron on the hottest setting without producing steam. It will take a great amount of heat to produce the image, so be sure to keep the iron on for a while and evenly cover the design onto the fabric. Peel the paper while it is still hot.
Use a Hard Surface
A harder surface will retain heat better, so make sure that you are using the hardest surface you can find in the process. Ironing boards are not the best surfaces to use for this particular process. Read More..
What You Will Need
- Software
- Artwork
- Transfer paper
- Printer
- Iron
- Hard surface
- Pillowcase
- T-shirt
There are kits that you can buy that supply almost all of the provisions you will need. Here are some tips to remember during the process.
Print a Preview
Always print a preview copy before printing it on the transfer paper. Do this to make sure that colors print correctly, the image does not delve into the printer's no print zone,' and to see a life-sized version of the image.
Flip the Image
You have to flip the image, especially if you have text in the design. The text should be backwards on screen or on the print out.
Use the Right Side of the Paper
The transfer paper has stripes on the non-print side. Put the paper in the printer so that it prints on the clear white side.
White Does Not Print
Consider the background color when selecting the color of text or the color of an image. For instance, white does not print, you will just get an outline of the desired image, but not the complete image.
Test Your Design of Scrap Fabric
Wasting the transfer paper is bad, but wasting a t-shirt is worse. Some fabrics will take to the image more readily than others, so keep this in mind.
Make it HOT
It is easy to get anxious during the process, so be sure to set the iron on the hottest setting without producing steam. It will take a great amount of heat to produce the image, so be sure to keep the iron on for a while and evenly cover the design onto the fabric. Peel the paper while it is still hot.
Use a Hard Surface
A harder surface will retain heat better, so make sure that you are using the hardest surface you can find in the process. Ironing boards are not the best surfaces to use for this particular process. Read More..
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