want to start print shop, what equipment for start ?

Discussion in 'Printing Business Practices' started by nitewulf, Oct 12, 2010.

  1. nitewulf

    nitewulf New Member

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    Hi all, I would like to start a print shop mostly for my own needs (I do have a company that needs a lot of printing services (flyers, posters, business cards, books, catalogues, brochures, etc..). I always did give a job to print shops, but its a hassle all the time, plus I'm very interested in printing. I do own Canon copier CLC1150 with rip and Xerox Phaser 7500n for digital printing and computers for managing. I'm lookin now into buying small offset printer or such that would be a entry level, used just to start on. I would like to ask you if you can recomend what would be worth getting and what else is needed, besides cutter, binder. Any particular brands to look into ? models ? I;m also planing on byuing a plotter for printing big banners.
     
  2. Raphael D Coccia

    Raphael D Coccia Member

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    To get started you would need a digital press, cutter,folder,stitcher and pallet jacks and a very large line of credit. I would just broker it out youll make more profit and have less risk. Good Luck!
     
  3. garyrdc

    garyrdc Member

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    You need a lot equipments such as digital duplicator, paper cutter,Binding machine,fold machine and so on.

    But you can look through our website: www.nbrdc.com
    Our company specilized make the office equipments. Hope it can give you helps

    Gary
     
  4. nitewulf

    nitewulf New Member

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    Thnx for reply. I would like to know if its good idea to start with a old offset machine like ryobi or heidelberg, but I dont know anything about them, any ideas where to start ?
     
  5. nitewulf

    nitewulf New Member

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    Hi Gary,

    can You send me price list for your products ? Also i see only 220V / 50hz, so do you make 110V / 60hz units as well ?
     
  6. garyrdc

    garyrdc Member

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    We have the price list , can you tell me your email ? or MSN

    can you tell me which country are you in ?

    Gary
     
  7. Gutenberg

    Gutenberg Member

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    Agreed with mariewilliam.

    Take your time to study the machinery you require, look at the Used machinery market.

    If you're a printing beginner, you're best off hiring a certified and experienced freelance technician to consult you on the right equipment for your budget. May cost you a pretty penny to get a quality opinion, but it's well worth it. Freelance technicians often have a network of other technicians, so finding personnel to install and run your machinery would also be a much easier undertaking.

    In any case, what overall budget do you have in mind for your business?

    Cheers

    PS: I know a German freelance technician who mostly works as a surveyor for the German government. If you want his details, drop me a line via PM and I'll send them to you.
     
  8. Chris from Printshop

    Chris from Printshop Senior Member

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    Hi, here's my thoughts ...

    If you want to go offset litho then there a really only two options I would suggest and these depend on the type of work you do.

    If you want to produce high-quality offset printing in one or two colours for flyers, posters, business stationery etc. then you would do well to consider a Heidelberg GTO or PM46-2. Both are very capable presses and are made by the company who it is widely agreed make the best printing presses on the market.

    OR

    If you want to produce full-colour (CMYK) work but with possibly more technical constraints (although still very capable), you could do worse than consider a Ryobi 3302 (2-colour portrain press) or the 3304 (the 4-colour version) ... the ryobi may be better suited to working alongside digital machines as the paper will feed and therefore register on the same axes as a digital machine, which would be useful if your work requires a combination of both technologies and close register.

    In my experience, if you ask a Ryobi operator to tell you what they can produce on their press press, they will give you a long and impressive list of specific types of job it will do ... "Flyers, posters, booklets, NCR, ...." however if you ask a GTO operator the same question, you'll get a one-word answer; "Anything."

    The only drawback with the GTO is that it's not as quick as the Ryobi to setup or run. And, like-for-like, the GTO would cost more to buy.

    Either way, the other main pieces of machinery has to be a guillotine and some form of making plates. Guillotine will need to be at least 52cm, preferable 72cm wide so that you can accept and cut whatever paper is on offer from the paper merchants and get the best price. As for plates, I'd suggest a poly-platesetter (such as the Esko DPX) as these reduce the required skill levels and time needed to produce top-quality work.

    All other equipment is secondary and you won't know exactly what you need until you've started doing it. Numbering, perforating, collating, booklet-making, binding, laminating machinery etc. is all stuff that most print shops tend to hate buying because it sits idle for 11 months a year and will cost more than the core printing equipment to buy. Spend the money on a smart van instead with your name on the side (which will help grow the business) and wait until you really can't cope without the finishing machinery.
     
  9. viper743

    viper743 New Member

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    You should start by purchasing the work from a reliable source and such as my shop :) and ask them to sit in on some runs so you can see what is involved. If it were me in your shoes I would let the print shop do the work and have the expense and aggravation. Just be a Broker for the work. Collect the money have the shop do the work.
     
  10. Chris from Printshop

    Chris from Printshop Senior Member

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    Viper743 is right. Printing is a highly skilled trade and take a long time to learn. Frankly, unless you are going to become a Printer, don't bother trying to learn it as an extension of your current business. Whatever anyone says, the ability to print, particularly small-offset requires years of experience before you can truly call yourself a printer.

    Negotiate a deal with a local printing firm and send it to them for a trade price. Sort the artwork out yourself so that all they have to do is fire it at their RIP and it all works ok and they'll be good counterparts to work with for years.
     
  11. chase_graphics_ct

    chase_graphics_ct New Member

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    I'd suggest having a good set of digital workhorses for quick turnaround stuff. Most digital copiers can staple and fold so that takes the headache out of short run booklet stuff. You can pick up used ones real cheap too!

    We've actually just upgraded our black and white digital press and are looking to sell our old one, I'm sure there are many printshops out there that are doing the same thing! This printer bailed us out of a lot of jams and got the job done for us time and time again, and I'd definitely recommend something along these lines to a start up looking for some essential pieces of equipment.

    Here's the link to the ebay page so you can check out the specs and stuff: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:L:LCA:US:1123
     
  12. JTDesign

    JTDesign Member

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    Hi, i noticed you are using the 7500N which is the printer I'm planning on purchasing. Can you give me your reviews on this product? I am new to printing and will be using it to print mainly business cards and brochures for clients.
    Thanks in advance!
     
  13. FSA

    FSA Senior Member

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    How much capital do you have to start this dream. I would suggest you find a operator to check anything that you want to purchase, do a test print before you buy. Ryobi 3302(used) 15- 20 k 3304 (used) 45-150k, cutter(used) 5- 10 k, plate maker(new) 11k
    good luck

    FSA
     
  14. Inder

    Inder New Member

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    Hello,
    Recently joined this group, while I was browsing found out you need help to setup printing business in Toronto. Are you still looking for business startup, the reason is friend of mine is selling his existing business in Toronto. If you interested we can talk further.
    IP.print2post
     
  15. keenanan3j

    keenanan3j Previous User

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    The types of equipment you need depend on the market you are going after.
     
  16. William Taylor

    William Taylor Senior Member

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    It may seem that you have a lot of your own work to produce but it does not mean you have enough to survive as a print shop.
    Have a look at and get some info from a few print franchises. They will show you round a couple of stores and then give you an idea of how much cash you would need.
    In my opinion, it sounds like you already have a supplier for your needs so if its not broken don't fix it. What you see on your glossy brochure hides the fact that the industry is in a downturn and many companies are struggling to keep their heads above water. This would be especially difficult for an entrepreneur without industry know how to get started. Good luck either way.
     
  17. keenanan3j

    keenanan3j Previous User

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    I think william taylor has a good opinion. :)
     
  18. Chris from Printshop

    Chris from Printshop Senior Member

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    Agreed. It isn't an easy industry to start up in at the moment and I would strongly encourage a newcomer to think again but if you're sure you want to do it, there are some good suggestions on this thread about what you'd need in terms of machinery but little mention of the expertise you'd need.

    Whatever anyone says about their presses and their ability, printing is not just a case of putting paper in at one end and it comes out printed at the other end. Anyone who says it is is either A) Lying, B) Has never actually done it for a living, or, C) An expert who doesn't realise just how much experience they've got.

    Laying bricks looks easy when you see a pro doing it. So does car body repair. If you've ever tried either, you'll know that it's down to the person holding the tools, rather than the tools themselves.
     
  19. themd

    themd New Member

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  20. OkiTech

    OkiTech Senior Member

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    So Themd we have your email and you need all price for????? We're currently discussing and trying to talk nitewulf out of opening his own printshop. May be you should start your own tread with specific question and everyone with an answer will try to help.
     
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