I’m doing this.

[ImCanadianEh]

I’m new here.
This is it, I brought the 30x40 air driven Joto home last night. Picked up the f570 the day before, driving for an hour tomorrow to pick up my double joto mug press.
All used, but all in new or in pristine condition, and I got smoking deals on all three of them, to boot.
I have a home based custom picture frame shop in BC and I’m getting into metal sublimations, and mugs and such.
And I don’t have a clue what I’m doing when it comes to sublimation. Lol.
I know I’m going to learn so much in the coming months and years ahead. Looking forward to it.
I don’t have any stock.
I need paper, mugs and blanks ..
I’m going to max at 24x36 metals and smaller. What sizes, colours and sheens do you recommend for the basics.
The same request for the coffee mugs and water bottles.
Thank you for any advice.
John

 

[GC Decor]

Let the Journey Began
No ones gonna be able to tell you exactly what to sell because its different in every area, business model & Local VS ecommerce situation.
I would find a supplier to start (Jplus Maybe) & ask there rep what their best selling products are.
You can view Suppliers websites & filter bestsellers but this can be miss leading - If they do a sale or clear inventory its gonna jump to the top.
Finding a local supplier is normally best so you can keep small amounts of stock and have large amounts available close by.
My Main advise is keep it simple to start - I would see what's most popular and focus on one product to keep cost low.
The quickest killer of a small business is dead inventory - As soon as you order you need to be ready to move your investment to keep working capital flowing & Profits strong.

 

[ikarasu]

Another Canadian...we're going to outnumber the Americans soon.

Where in BC are you located? I tried to dabble in sublimation... I bought a sawgrass from Able auctions. It had no ink and I didnt want to spend hundreds, so I bought some cheap Amazon crap... and some Amazon paper... The colors were so dull, and all the blanks I found were selling for almost what people were selling printed stuff for...so I turned around and sold it on craigslist for more than I paid!

That said...the lady that bought it from me said she was using a megatank printer and was tired of all the issues it brought her, she made tons of money and decided to buy a legit dyesub printer... So There must be enough demand for it, just not something I specialized in or wanted to.

I love the look of dyesubbed metal though! If you find a supplier, hit me up and I'll buy some stuff from you just to have kicking around as samples / tests. I hear dyesub doesnt' last too long, but I'd love to throw one outside and see for myself.

There is a guy who goes to the cloverdale flea market every sunday - He does a ton of picture frames and dyesub signage / mugs.... I guess he'd be your competition, but you could always ask him where he gets his supplies from.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Welcome!

 

[Greg Kelm]

Don't buy anything other than chromaluxe metal. It's expensive, but by far the best quality. Most stuff comes from China, but if you're not comfortable buying direct, I'm sure Conde or JDS will ship your way. I plan on getting the f570 myself, but I was told by my supplier that its not good for textiles (probably no profile for them), but will be fine for all our metal and ceramic based products. FYI, Skinny tumblers and air fresheners are high demand right now. If you're not on tik-tok, I suggest you create an account to find out whats trending.