Equipment Regrets?

[royster13]

My biggest regret is buying a small startup package when I started.

Not sure why your would regret that.....You did something many others never get around to......You started....You should be proud.....

[bulldog]

My biggest regret is buying a small startup package when I started.

Not sure why your would regret that.....You did something many others never get around to......You started....You should be proud.....

LOL thanks. I don't regret starting! I regret buying equipment that made life very difficult for a while. Basically, I wish I would have just bought top of the line stuff when I started instead of buying something once...then buying it again. But I didn't know any better.

[Inkworks]

Amen to that! I've never regretted buying quality equipment

[3Deep]

Remember do not name brands just what you regretted buying, I got a few other items I regret buying because I wanted to be like the Jones, always a lesson learned or good money out the door.  Oh I bought the curve hat attachment for our manual paid for it on one order 1200 caps, I kind of like it even though now we rarely use it, embroidery took over.

[GraphicDisorder]

Amen to that! I've never regretted buying quality equipment

I gotta say this rings so true.  I've never heard anyone in any profession say they regretted buying quality equipment. 

[Doug S]

For us it was direct to garment before the bugs were completely worked out.  I won't mention any brand though.  The brand has already been mentioned earlier in the thread.  We live and learn.  I ended up practically giving it away.

[mk162]

I don't have a problem naming brands...especially in my case where it was an old piece that was a little too abused and needed too much work, coupled with the low margins, it was a bad idea.

We probably could have done well in a different market though.

I regret buying a numbering attachment as well.  It's much easier to cad-cut them, but at the time there was no charcoal material I could find.  I have since found it and it's great.  The unit still has the ink in it from 3 years ago...i will probably clean it out and recycle the aluminum.

[tonypep]

That's a hard ROI unless you're in the "Trophy Shop" segment. Even then..........

[balloonguy]

After thinking about this a little I did buy a halogen exposure unit. I still use it as a light table but I hated burning screens on it. I am thinking I may try a DIY conversion to LED.

[Inkworks]

We're also regretting the diptank. I think it'll become a post exposure tank and we'll go back to the stack method of reclaiming as we find it just as fast and we end up with a cleaner screen.

[alan802]

We're also regretting the diptank. I think it'll become a post exposure tank and we'll go back to the stack method of reclaiming as we find it just as fast and we end up with a cleaner screen.

I tried the stack method two weeks ago and it was pretty fast but I had 2 screens lock up because I guess the 701 dried just enough while de-inking the other screens that it locked in the emulsion.  I guess we could still do the stack method but spray out the 701 right away instead of working 5 screens in a row and then let the emulsion remover soak while we're working the other screens.  What is your technique exactly?  Is it like the video that was posted 2 weeks ago?

[Shanarchy]

Most of my regrets were bought used and sold for about what I pad for them. So not really regrets, and you don't know unless you try.

That said:

Numbering attachment. I'm sure it's great for the right shop, but for my tiny shop cutting and heat pressing numbers works. Bought it new, used it a couple of times, and sold it for less than half of what I paid for it.

Hat attachment. I bought two different types. Both new. I wasted way more money of hats that went in the garbage. But we blew Bink out of the water with our 25% success rate. All this to do orders of 12. Sold one for about half of what I paid. Plus the cost of the just for men for all the white hairs it caused me.

Old embroidery machine. I bought it used. Not a bad price. Never saw it run. It sat for a while and now the tech tells me it probably needs more work than what it's worth. Note to self: make sure I see things run before I buy it.

[Inkworks]

I tried the stack method two weeks ago and it was pretty fast but I had 2 screens lock up because I guess the 701 dried just enough while de-inking the other screens that it locked in the emulsion.  I guess we could still do the stack method but spray out the 701 right away instead of working 5 screens in a row and then let the emulsion remover soak while we're working the other screens.  What is your technique exactly?  Is it like the video that was posted 2 weeks ago?

I wouldn't stack with 701, it needs no dwell time to work. We do it similar to the video, but with less wasted movement, and we clam-shell the screens shirt side together so the mesh touches in pairs to help keep them from drying out. Usually stacks of 10-14pcs.

First screen goes squeegee side up, quick scrub with a gong or scouring pad dipped (alternating ends so you don't get too much chemical) in chemical scrub, flip screen, dip, scrub. Second screen starts sgueegee side down, dip, scrub flip, dip scrub, flip. Third starts squeegee side up, etc. etc. Basically whatever orientation the top screen in the stack is, the next screen starts in the same orientation, but ends up opposite after the flip. Clamshelling them like this really helps keep the chemical wet on the bottom of the stack while you work.

If you really wanted to do it right, you'd flip the stack and start pressure washing from the bottom, but I'm not sure if I'd try that with Newmans, and it's definitely a 2 man job. We mostly don't bother.

Edit: ...Actually, upon reading your post more carefully I'm not sure I understand. 701 locked up while you were de-inking? We do the stack 3 times with the same batch of screens so we'd never have 701 sitting on screens while de-inking.

De-ink 10-14 screens & rinse all of them
emulsion remover 10-14 screens & rinse all of them
De-haze 10-14 screens & rinse all of them

[Croft]

using a homemade exposure unit toooo long over my msp3140

[Croft]

having too many sizes of screen frames