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Professional Wrestling

First let me explain what i do, and i pretty much guarantee i am the only here who does it. I make professional wrestling costumes (lets the weird feeling sink in). Okay, with that said, i have begun using heat press transfer vinyl in many of my designs. I tested it from a local custom t-shirt shop, and it has worked very nicely. I had no problem farming it out when i needed it, but the place has gone downhill by not treating their employees right and now they mess up almost every order in some way, shape or form.

So, I am getting the equipment myself, I have wanted to anyway, and now i have a good excuse. I have a few questions that i haven't been able to find in the forums, some are probably here, but the search feature is acting up on me, so i have just had to sit and read, a lot. After this reading and talking with a sales rep or two, I have decided on a Graphtec 24" CE5000-60 for my plotter. My questions arise after that, i don't really need instruction, just opinions.

-I've pretty much settled on a mighty press, due to budget, and local shops have used them to press my orders and they have come out wonderful. My question here is... Is it worth it to bump from the standard to the digital? Is the digital feature really that useful?

-Heat press vinyl, i have seen a bunch of topics on different types, but here are my needs, unique as they are, and i was wondering some opinions. -my materials are nylon knit and poly-backed garment vinyl... i had the tshirt shop test them out with their spectra cut II and stuff comes out nice even though its not really made for my materials, so i would be satisfied with it if i have to be. my question is.. is there something better? my main concerns are color selection, durability, and a 19" width would be preferred as i want the design freedom to do graphics up to 18" wide. Recommendations?

-and one plotter question i haven't found.. blades. how often do you replace them? and can using a 60 degree blade work poorly on materials most use a 45 for? (just in case i forget to change blades)

And to anyone who has taken the time to read this, i thank you for listening to my long winded typing.

-Patrick
Maineventringwear.com
 

Shovelhead

New Member
:Welcome:
 

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Kottwitz-Graphics

New Member
Welcome from MD.

And so many questions... I am far from an expert, but I'll answer what I can.

The Graphtec is a good quality machine. I looked at them when I started looking for a plotter, but I personally am a Summa man (long story short, I've used Summa for about 7-8 years now, and love the fact that they are easy to use). At least you didn't post up some cheap Chinese made plotter on e-bay.

The mighty press is a good machine. When I was looking for one, it seems that I saw one in every tee shirt shop that I have gone into in Ocean City. I got mine on e-bay, and I got the digital, and I love it. It is easier to set the tempature for small changes.

One thing you didn't ask about was the design program. I would hate to assume that you already have it, but if you don't, Consider Corel X-3.

Now, my question for you...How did you get lined up making wrestling costumes? And which wrestlers do you make them for?
 

Pro Image

New Member
Howdee from VA............

The equiptment you want to get will do you just fine but I would suggest the digitial heat press..........
 
well first, thanks for those quick replies, im getting fed up with the local shop and itching to order my equipment. as for design i am an illustatror man, have been since i got started on it in high school. i have cs2, and the graphtec cut software has a great plug in which was part of my decision on that.

i got into wrestling costumes through the facts that, i have a degree in fashion design, have been doing graphic design since i was 16, and knew a guy who was a wrestler. one day he said, "hey, you can sew right? could you make me some new gear?" and that was that. i went on to find out, there are very few high quality, reliable people out there that make pro wrestling costumes. so that was that, a few thousand on materials and equipment (sadly buying some i didnt need), alot of scissor cutting and stitching later, here i am, 3 years later, making a living at it.

as for who i make stuff for, unless you are a indy fan, i wouldnt have many names you know, but maybe a few. my biggest names are Colt Cabana (currently in the WWE development territory, hopefully will be on tv before long), Adam Pearce (current NWA World Heavyweight Champion), and Matt Sydal (seen all over the US, Japan, and on the short lived wrestling show they mistakingly tried to squeeze into a half hour on MTV). other than them i do lots of gear for regional stars, many of here in the midwest.

anyway, i will let other people reply, hopefully i can figure out which vinyl to use next... i think im going to go with the digital press.
 

Bogie

New Member
There are ALL kindsa niche markets for folks out there... I know one older lady who does costumes for strippers... She _knows_ velcro...
 

Just Me

New Member
Adam Pearce (current NWA World Heavyweight Champion)
i worked with Adam many times in the past on shows, he was from the same state i was (wisc.) last i heard of him he was out in Cali.?? You need to hook me up, i need a new singlet.. K& H did my last one, it has lasted for years but is real thin:Big Laugh I run my own indy fed based out of the Chattanooga area. Welcome to the forum!
 

KR3signguy

New Member
There are ALL kindsa niche markets for folks out there... I know one older lady who does costumes for strippers... She _knows_ velcro...



I'm very interested in persuing this niche.
Please reveal detailed photos of her work with and without the costumes.:biggrin:
 

Ken

New Member
KR..I thought you would have LOTS of those photos..kidding.
Mainevent..when you change to a blade of different angle, you need to change blade offset setting.
Cheers!
Ken
 

Ken

New Member
So Flamey..is that your own quote as your signature? If not..you should attribute it to someone..
If it is yours ..then I salute you!
Ken
 

OneUpTenn

New Member
I am a newbie and just ordered a digital heat press. I don't know why ..because I don't know anything about them but the salesperson told me to.

hmmmmm!!!!!
 

MrKoob

New Member
I built Jake "the Snake" Roberts webpage back in '00 - '01 (Then he went bankrupt and moved to the UK, he still owes me $200) The page has since been turned into a Porn Site (not my doing). But no hard feelings, real nice guy. Anyways... to answer your initial question. I don't know about the proper blade type and quality. I will say some materials aren't Vinyl Cutter "friendly", meaning you'll ruin a blade very quickly. For substances like "Twill", they (the mfg) suggest a laser engraver. As far as a digital press is concerned, by all means if you have it in your budget get it, not only that, go for an auto release if the Mighty Press guys have one.
 
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