Printer for stickers/decals

[player]

The more info you give the more I think a Gerber Edge setup would work for you. The newer software & machines do the perf cut/kiss cut/back cut that works for those types of products. It's also small and odorless.

How do the costs compare between the Edge and Ecosol?

 

[Billct2]

As far as I know the Edge is more expensive. For what it does and ease of use (once you learn it's quirks) it is a great machine. For small decals in short runs it is a great choice.

 

[hazelsmrf]

Thank you! I will keep looking into the Edge as well, it does sound like it would do what I need, although more limited if I decide to expand my product line to something like wall graphics. Nursery wall graphics would go well with my current lineup so it was something that I had on my list of things to look into for future growth. That and t-shirt transfers.

Gino, thank you for your concern about my and my kids health. This is true, it's something I need to consider and part of why I came here asking for advice in the first place. I do not have a well ventilated area so anything I buy will need to take that into consideration. Eco-sol, thermal printers etc, if one would be better over the other for my particular situation.

 

[knucklehead]

What is the problems you stated, everyone is having with the Summa print/cut machine? Don't care, just wandering?

 

[hazelsmrf]

They were saying it was banding? Probably just bad settings. I am waiting to get some print samples from them, I am not ruling them out!

One thing that I see with the edge printers is that you can only print one color at a time, is that right? How does that work for something with 10-12 colors? Looking at my current stickers, most seem to have 6 to 8 colors. I've never limited my colors in my drawings so it wasn't something I was really paying attention to.

I wonder if something like this would be a good idea too:
http://www.primeralabel.com/cx1200_features.html

It looks like if you had both the label system and the finishing system it would take care of printing, laminating and die cutting all in one workflow. It would be about 20k for the whole setup though. (Edit: Ack nevermind, more like 50k. Nope!)

Right now I use a Primera LX900 label printer, but it's a 3k printer, big difference between 3k and 20k!
http://www.primeralabel.com/lx900_features.html

 

[reQ]

Big difference between label printer and wide format printer that are used in sign industry....

 

[hazelsmrf]

Yes, the label printer I have is great for the 4 inch circle labels that I do on it, and wine bottle labels. But those are the only things that I do on it. If I want different shapes, I need to cut them out myself, so I need a solution that will allow me to cut stickers to shape and print, and I really want a wide format to lessen the amount of manual work. Right now I CAN do everything I need but my printers only go up to 11X17, so I have to print on several sheets instead of just one.

 

[Billct2]

The Edge can print 4color process files or spot colors. It can also print metallics and print on a wide variety of vinyls

 

[player]

From what I have read about the edge the 4 colour process is not the best. Would that be a fair statement?

 

[signage]

From what I have read about the edge the 4 colour process is not the best. Would that be a fair statement?

The new FX does a better job than the oder ones!

 

[hazelsmrf]

I'll send Gerber a message to see if I can get some print samples of 4 color process stickers. I think the Edge FX is out of my price range for now though, unless I get it financed.

 

[hazelsmrf]

I received a call today from a salesman for a local Montreal company that sells several brands of printers. He told me that the Summa DC5 was not for me as it was more suited to spot colors and not CMYK. This seems strange as I saw videos of it printing out photographic posters? Anyways, he told me to definitely look at inkjet with eco-solvent inks.

This thread has definitely made me think hard about my current business.

 

[player]

If your niche is in decals, it might be wise to get the best decal maker, and not worry about larger format right now. Just a thought.

 

[hazelsmrf]

My photography stickers are still my best seller, they are printed on a matte vinyl, they're about 2X6 inches and die cut into shapes. These are not personalized so they would be easy to outsource if needed though.

 

[Craig Keller]

Logos are a non issue, I am a graphic designer, I make all my own vectors in Illustrator. I print out my own products to sell, as well as sell stock graphics. I am not looking at starting a printing business as much as just wanting to be able to print out my own items for resale. Right now I have a Primera label printer that I use to print my photography stickers, and an HP laser printer that I use to print out my name labels. These are fine for my current volumes but I've pretty much pushed this setup as far as it can go, I can't scale well from here and go mass production. I've looked into having my stickers printed by a print shop but that would only be viable for part of my products, not personalized ones where I need to be able to produce them and turn them around in 48 hours.

I am NOT running by the seat of my pants and hoping not to get caught, I want to build a legit business and so I came here looking for help, I do not mind investing in the proper equipment but just telling me that I'm stupid and can't do it really isn't helpful at all, is it? Are you saying that it's *impossible* to do these decals? Because obviously all those companies I listed above do it just fine! And yes, they use the same sticker material for both dishwasher and washing machine. My current labels do not survive in washing machines so I just don't bother with that. These companies from what I can tell print on 3M vinyl (scotchcal?) with eco-solvent inks and use a laminate.

Can this primera print bumper stickers for outside on cars?

 

[Craig Keller]

Can someone that has experience with these primera printers give me a call 254-459-2009. I got some questions Thanks