If you were going to get a new piece of equipment, what would it be?

[Doug S]

I would definitely consider buying a vinyl cutter.  You could get a nice one and still have plenty of change left over.  Ours has paid for itself time and time again.

[im_mcguire]

Enough discussion on the current  "State of the DTG" to deserve it's own thread, but not really helping mcquire invest his $10,000 equipment money.
Mcquire, perhaps run down what you already have going.

We have a 6/8 Auto thats fairly new
6 head embroidery that we just added
LED exposure unit
screens galore

Things id be interested in looking into:
Tri Loc
DTG
Vinyl Cutter / Printer
LASER ENGRAVER

Im looking for the best ROI for what id be putting into the business.  Im actually looking to grow, but our offset side of the shop needs to grow first, so our press plans look like they won't happen for another 2 years or so.
I know 10K isn't much, but I know it will get some things going, to help with production.

[mimosatexas]

if you dont already have a triloc or something like it, that would be number one for me.  Vinyl cutter would be 2. 

[GraphicDisorder]

$10k wouldn't go far in the DTG world anyway...

A laser is pretty freaking cool.  That glowforge is pretty neat, but it has a lot of drawbacks.

Brandt, what brand/model did you get?

We have a Universal Laser, its a USA based company. On the higher end of costs as well.

[3Deep]

That's a pretty cool piece of equipment to have Brandt, puts you ahead of other printers in your area somewhat, good thinking on your part.

[Admiral]

$10k wouldn't go far in the DTG world anyway...

A laser is pretty freaking cool.  That glowforge is pretty neat, but it has a lot of drawbacks.

Brandt, what brand/model did you get?

We have a Universal Laser, its a USA based company. On the higher end of costs as well.

What products do you offer with that?  We wanted to get one a few years ago, but kept expanding elsewhere.  Universal, Trotec, Epilog were the 3 brands we considered.  I really wanted one in house...

[GraphicDisorder]

$10k wouldn't go far in the DTG world anyway...

A laser is pretty freaking cool.  That glowforge is pretty neat, but it has a lot of drawbacks.

Brandt, what brand/model did you get?

We have a Universal Laser, its a USA based company. On the higher end of costs as well.

What products do you offer with that?  We wanted to get one a few years ago, but kept expanding elsewhere.  Universal, Trotec, Epilog were the 3 brands we considered.  I really wanted one in house...

You can do a zillion things on these things but we have only bother with Leather products really to this point. We did some wood trophies and wood Christmas ornaments as well but mostly leather stuff.

[Colin]

Stampinator is a great choice - there are caveats to running it in head one though - do your due diligence and make sure its right for you.

[zanegun08]

Stampinator is a great choice - there are caveats to running it in head one though - do your due diligence and make sure its right for you.

I said cure in 1 head, not use in head 1, although it works for fiber matte, but we use ours in head two to heat press and cure the base in 1 head, rather than going print, flash, flattening screen taking up 3 stations, can achieve a better base in two with the stampinator.

The price is no joke, if they were like 1/2 the cost I'd be they'd sell three times as many, it's pretty niche but now $6000 is too expensive when a heat press with more moving parts for 16" x 20" is about $2200, they are like the same price as a quartz flash which it is "replacing" but damn.

[Colin]

Stampinator is a great choice - there are caveats to running it in head one though - do your due diligence and make sure its right for you.

I said cure in 1 head, not use in head 1, although it works for fiber matte, but we use ours in head two to heat press and cure the base in 1 head, rather than going print, flash, flattening screen taking up 3 stations, can achieve a better base in two with the stampinator.

The price is no joke, if they were like 1/2 the cost I'd be they'd sell three times as many, it's pretty niche but now $6000 is too expensive when a heat press with more moving parts for 16" x 20" is about $2200, they are like the same price as a quartz flash which it is "replacing" but damn.

Ah, you are right, I did misread that as head one.  I think they are a great tool.  It was originally designed to do heat press inline.  Great little tool.  Liquid is/was running it right after the base white with a 1 second press.  Impressive to watch.  You just have to be running hot platens to make it work, and a "thin" ink deposit.

[Rustytraintrack]

Enough discussion on the current  "State of the DTG" to deserve it's own thread, but not really helping mcquire invest his $10,000 equipment money.
Mcquire, perhaps run down what you already have going.

We have a 6/8 Auto thats fairly new
6 head embroidery that we just added
LED exposure unit
screens galore

Things id be interested in looking into:
Tri Loc
DTG
Vinyl Cutter / Printer
LASER ENGRAVER

Im looking for the best ROI for what id be putting into the business.  Im actually looking to grow, but our offset side of the shop needs to grow first, so our press plans look like they won't happen for another 2 years or so.
I know 10K isn't much, but I know it will get some things going, to help with production.

I'd go with the tri loc. You will be amazed at how it helps with setups. If you do a bit of research on here you can turn it into a FPU and get it pretty close to CTS results on registration. Most bang for your buck in my opinion.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Homer]

I would use 2k and get set up with Order My Gear, spend a few k on dye sub equipment, maybe spend the rest on a great website.

[farmboygraphics]

Maybe diversify? if you want to learn something new maybe look outside this industry for something else you would enjoy and be able to use to off set slow times with.  I invested in a coffee roaster a few years ago and already have a nice size customer base. Of course I love doing it so there is that. As for a printer/cutter, I have a 30" and 64" here that were purchased 5 or 6 years ago. Knowing what I know now I would just send that work out. Signs 365 and Signs To Trade are stupid cheap and fast.

[balloonguy]

I too am thinking of a screen registration system. Right now that seems to be our biggest slowdown. I guess the question is are you trying to improve your current process or do you want to add a new service?

[tonypep]

That is an excellent question. Process improvement or diversification. With regards to triloc etc, the carrier sheet options are less than optimal.
 However as previously mentioned, combined with a CTS it is a win.