Wanting to buy a printer!!!

[mrobbins]

Hey guys, I am wanting to buy a printer. Definately something used because 6-8k is just not an option as of right now. This is for me only and would upgrade before trying to sell or even demonstrating my work. This is strictly for the learning curve. I am new to vinyl printing but I have done a lot of reading on the various types of inks and what not. Every time I find a printer on craigslist or ebay, I do searches on them and get the same result. Either printing on paper only, or indoor ink only. But these are also amazing deals at 500-1000 dollars for a 24" printer!! I understand the wf1100 is a pretty good price, but I really would like to have the 24". Most of what I find are designjets and others like that. But according to other forums, some say the designjets work, others say no. So how am I going to find or be able to tell what will or wont work for me? Thanks in advance for any replies!!

 

[Flame]

Let me be the first to say. Not going to happen. 6-8K is CHEAP!!! DIRT cheap. 500-1000, wrong business man. Your luck you'll end up with an encad chroma that will make you want to pull your hair out. Even buying a 4 year old Sp300 for around $6K is taking a risk, as you have no idea what condition the heads are in, what kind of maintenance it's had, etc.

This is not like buying a car, if something breaks, you can't drop it off at a local mechanics. You'll have to hire a guy to come to you at over $100 an hour to fix it, and if you put off fixing a faulty machine for a week or two, BAM, your heads are dead and you'll essentially have a very expensive paperweight.

My suggestion... start outsourcing prints. Keep outsourcing until you build up enough business to justify the payments on getting a better machine (or the cash for one). For your first printer I'd suggest new just because of the warranty, tech support etc. There are a variety of brands out there you can pick up new with payments at only $400 a month. And you get a sparkling new printer with fresh parts and warranty to keep you going until you get a handle on the print biz.

 

[mrobbins]

Alright thanks for the reply. Lets say I wanted to do a half wrap up the side of my racecar (24"), could I use the workforce 1100 and tile it and just have a seam? Any other input appreciated

 

[Flame]

Aw.... so you aren't a sign shop, you just have a racecar? Or...? Please introduce yourself.

With that said, absolutely not. You can't just buy a wf1100 and be off and wrapping. It is not meant to print on vinyl, it is decent of t-shirts tranfers and the like. But that's it. It absolutely, positively will not work.

 

[mrobbins]

Well I'm Mat from Alabama. No I don't have a sign shop. But I have been doing vinyl cutting on the side for a while aside from racing. And I've had a few cars that I do on a regular basis for various people. I was just looking for the cheapest route to get started learning how to print.

 

[Locals Find!]

Hi Matt, I am going to tell you the cheapest route to learn how to print. Now listen carefully this is super top secret advice don't share it with anyone.....Ready??















































GET A JOB AT A SIGN SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ProWraps]

oh god. if this doesnt get good, i dont know what will.

 

[rushworks graphics]

 

[AUTO-FX]

oh god. if this doesnt get good, i dont know what will.

Aye...

 

[MikePro]

if not finding a job at a sign shop... outsource your prints. learn how to build a client-base and what you need to charge to make a profit before "diving in" to printing.

whatever you think you're going to spend on a used setup.... double, or even triple, the cost. someone's selling it cheap for a reason. because it's a piece of junk that will cost them more than its worth to get going right.

 

[Bly]

So check the classifieds.

http://www.signs101.com/pp-classifieds/for-sale/p882-mutoh-1304two-of-them-.html

 

[Pat Whatley]

Sub out your printing until you're doing enough business to jsutify buying your own machine. Buying dirt cheap is doing nothing to help you with "the learning curve".....it's just you trying to find a cheap way to do it.

 

[Dakotagrafx]

ohhh lord the picture of that race car with little sheets tiles is too much LOL

unless you are racing remote control cars then you would be ok if you race indoors . . .:ROFLMAO:

 

[njshorts]

Sub out your printing until you're doing enough business to jsutify buying your own machine. Buying dirt cheap is doing nothing to help you with "the learning curve".....it's just you trying to find a cheap way to do it.

this.

We're a merchant member based in Florida, let me know if we can help!

 

[CS-SignSupply-TT]

When to start printing in house?

Sub out your printing until you're doing enough business to jsutify buying your own machine. Buying dirt cheap is doing nothing to help you with "the learning curve".....it's just you trying to find a cheap way to do it.

+1 Then the cash flow will justify the capital investment

 

[CS-SignSupply-TT]

Tiles...

ohhh lord the picture of that race car with little sheets tiles is too much LOL

unless you are racing remote control cars then you would be ok if you race indoors . . .:ROFLMAO:

Tiles...pixels...heat shields...reminds me of an up-close picture of the Space Shuttle. hey, maybe at 200mph, nobody will notice