Newbie looking for startup advice.

I am new to the printing industry, trying to figure out where to get a start. I would like to purchase an offset press and equipment, hopefully a setup that could run process color (sometime in the future once I learn how to do simple jobs). At this point this is going to be a hobby/educational project. I have a budget of maybe $10k. Can I get the equipment I need for that price?

Are there any good books on operating offset presses?

 

a ryobi 3302 or itek/abdick equivalent, an hp laserjet 5000/5100 12x18 post script laser printer, a small paper cutter, and either adobe illustrator or corel draw depending on your design/typesetting skills ,requirements. you can run real good tight register poly plates off of the hp laser with postscript options and 120 line screen (works best) @1200 dpi. you`ll probably need more then 10k but can piece it together as you go. you can run 4 color on this press with 2 passes. books depend on what press you have and usually come with the press you buy. you should see if you can get a job somewhere, even work for free if they teach you a little and find out what all this entails.

 

I already have Corel Draw so I would be set there.
I have a Ricoh cl7000 laser printer, would that work, or is there something special about the hp 5000?

 

The HP 5000 is supposed to have a proper fuser for the poly plates. There are other printers out there that can do the job, but the laser plate manufacturers all usually recommend the HP. Check cheaphpprinters.com I bought mine there a couple of years ago and its still going strong. If the fuser is not hot enough the toner will flake off during a run and makes a huge mess. I recommend using markers advice, I would not work for free but I would get your feet wet at real job before you jump in head over heels and decide you don't like it. Printing takes a lot of patience, skill and direction from people with years of experience. If you plan to just jump in I would go the all digital route and not get into offset, you could job it out to someone who knows what they are doing and save yourself time and money in the long run.

 

If I was starting off again in the print industry I'd buy one of the small format heidelbergs TOK, QM 46 or the newer QM Printmaster.

If I'm to be honoust they are no good for full colour work (people may disagree and I myself have run process work on a TOK) however they have no sidelay so running with a tight register is difficult.

The reason I would recommend these presses are the automation even with the older TOK you could teach 10 year old to print a sellable spot colour job within 10 minutes. Quickmasters come as standard with autoplate, auto blanket wash etc... We found them to be very profitable as the automation allows for very fast change of jobs ideal any single/two colour work. The 3302 is without a doubt the better choice for running process work however the heidelbergs are the simplest if your just learning lithographic printing.

 

If this is going to be a hobbie and interest of yours to start out i would find and older single color press (they are a dime a dozen) to spend the money you are looking at it sounds like you can test the waters for awhile. I hate giving advice but take your time there is a hell of alot to learn especially when you get into 4 color work and equipment. If you have the demand for full color work i agree with with the last post you should look at going digital for now and farming out the bigger full color jobs. One thing you have going for you right now is that there is a hell of alot of used equipment out there and the values/prices have dropped alot in the last year alone.
If you by a Heidelberg you will need more than 10k for the press alone at least if you are looking at the QM's. We have a couple and they are awesome machines and so simple to run (just like running a copier) anybody can run it. Be careful and not get one that needs all new rolls and that doesn't have to many impressions. Parts and service are expensive.
We also have a Ryobi 3302 that is great for full color work, in my opionion you wouldn't run 4 color work on the QM's. but going back to your budget you would spend your budget for the press alone. You still need a plate-maker, cutter, folder and all your pressroom supplies and this will add up fast when you have to have ink, foutain solution, wash-up solution, plates, blankets, powder.... the list just keeps going but it sounds like you have a basic knowledge of what you would need.

I have always been a little weary of the HP 5000 poly plates. We have had the hp's 5000 for years infact i have to older ones we really don't use much anymore if your interested i would sell you one. I would suggest you get a little more feedback on the plates produced on the Hp. I haven't looked into them at all but they produce great hard copy for making plates. I would be interested in the run length/life for these plates.

Like i said the timing is perfect for buying because of the economy and because all printers have equipment that just sit around collecting dust. If you came here i could sell you old equipment that is absolete for us and i could hook you up with everything you would need to start your printing business.

EBAY is a great place to find used printing equipment but can be difficult because you would want to test run it and get trained on any machine you were buying because of your lack of printing. If i were you i would go around to the print shops and see what they have sitting around.

 

I've been looking at eBay
Could I do process work on a single color press, even though it would not be practical time-wise since you need to run every page 4 times?

 

I have printed several 4 color jobs on a single color Davidson 501 & Multi 1250 years and years ago. You are right as far as being a little time consuming. This takes some time, practice and getting used to the machine to be able to fine tune machine and registration. But you can do it if you have it set up right and use stock (paper) that runs well with your machine... usually the thicker the better. You will have to see what level of quality you can produce and there will obviously be higher more difficult jobs you probably wouldn't tackle but there will be plenty of easy ones. The nice thing about designing the jobs you will know what to stay away from when your designing.

I can tell you this, we can run the same stack of paper through our Ryobi 3302 press over and over again and the registration is dead on. I know there are several Ryobi single colors out there that have the registration board so i would think it would have a pretty tight registration. I am not familar with the single color Ryobi so i cant be of much help there.

It would be smart of you to get a press technician to come set up your press when you get it and put new chains and ect. componets. Most press technicians are helpful when it comes to showing you how to run and set up the press, however they are usually not worth a damn when it comes to actually printing.

 

If your seriously thinking of printing process work on a single colour press there are a few things you need to remeber. You obviously cannot see the finished product until the paper has travelled through the press 4 times because of this you should purchase a device called a densitometer this measures Ink density of colour bars around the edge of your sheet (this will help you achieve more pleasing results). Also the amount of time it takes to print a full colour job can be tedious

As for a printing press I would consider the heidelberg GTO 52, the GTO can achieve very tight registration good ink coverage and they have proven realiability.

You'll then have to decide how you're going to make plates I know a few people using the DPM 2340 and say it can produce pleasing plates for process work (although I haven't used them myself)

 

If your really interested in doing film, you might try the hand processing route. I know several mom & pop shops have done this for years. And if your any where relative to my location I am willing to part with an argyle camera and carbon arc plate burner(s) cheap. Look up my contact info and yell. I still recommend the HP5000 to start and be warned if you do this by hand your still going to need a dark room, sink, tongs, trays and chemicals for processing film and plates. Good luck with whatever you do, I'm just glad to see people are still wanting to get into the trade.

 

Hi VanQuill

I am in melbourne CBD. How can I see some of the obsolute products that you have, because I am also in the same position.I do have a bit of an experience in the digital printing field. Do you think i should go in and try the offset industry for more profitability.

I would appreciate it if you could correspond to me at your earliest convenience

Thanks & Regards

Rana