Please help a total Newbie

[mikeydreslim]

Hello everyone,

My name is Mike and I really need some help.

I am thinking of starting a "newspaper" publishing business in my local community (although newspaper in a loose term- more like a daily newsletter).

I want to buy a cheap printer/printing press that would give me the flexibility of publishing when/how I want (I am in Africa and there are certain restrictions on commercial printers where I live).

My budget is £2000 (maybe a bit more), but I am hoping to get a printer that allows me print full colour newspapers.

Please can someone help me with an idea of what to get and where to get it from.

Thanks

 

[rolandman]

what sort of quantities you looking at 2,000 aint going to get you much tbh

 

[mikeydreslim]

what sort of quantities you looking at 2,000 aint going to get you much tbh

Thanks for replying. Really I'm just seeking advice for the cheapest printer that would allow me print a newspaper. As you can probably tell, I have no idea what to go with but I have a good graphic designer (also works in a printing press) who would help me out...I just worry I'll buy the wrong kind of printer (you know, envelope printers etc)

What do you mean quantities.

Thanks

 

[Michael4]

By quantities he means the amount the sheets/copies you plan to run on a weekly or monthly basis. You may be able to lease a digital machine that could print, fold and staple your material.

an offset press would require a skilled press operator, as well as additional bindery equipment. I'm not sure how much your budget equates to US dollars. but i don't believe you could purchase much for that amount..

 

[mikeydreslim]

By quantities he means the amount the sheets/copies you plan to run on a weekly or monthly basis. You may be able to lease a digital machine that could print, fold and staple your material.

an offset press would require a skilled press operator, as well as additional bindery equipment. I'm not sure how much your budget equates to US dollars. but i don't believe you could purchase much for that amount..

Ah I see, when you say lease a machine, would they lease to me in Africa ?
if not, what is the cheapest equipment/machine I could get that could print say 5,000 copies of a newspaper.

Thanks

 

[Michael4]

If you have a print provider in your country i would day sure. Look into Canon or konika Minolta, Oce, Xerox etc..
How often would you run 5000 copies? daily? monthly?

Do you make a profit from these newsletters?

 

[mikeydreslim]

If you have a print provider in your country i would day sure. Look into Canon or konika Minolta, Oce, Xerox etc..
How often would you run 5000 copies? daily? monthly?

Do you make a profit from these newsletters?

Yes, I would be making quite a tidy profit from ads in the paper (I hope), I am looking to run it daily.

Unfortunately there isnt a print provider (or at least not one I have seen), I am researching now, but they seem to be so many kinds of printers I'm not even sure which does what.

Can you possibly recommend a cheap printer that I could start off with ( I have people with experience that could manage whatever I get so long as I get the right equipment, the problem I am facing now is the fact that my capital might not be able to get me ANY equipment).

 

[Michael4]

5000 sheets a day is a decent volume. For digital printing i would recommend a Konica Minolta C6501 or C6000 (with a finisher if you want to fold and staple like a magazine)

Offset: i don't know to many machines. Maybe an AB-Dick Duplicator 900? for one or two color jobs..
Maybe someone else can chime in with some offset ideas. I have lots of knowledge in digital..

I hope you have a print provider in your area, a lease would be perfect for you.. might cost 1kUSD a month plus .05 centsUSD per page..

 

[mikeydreslim]

Thank you so much.

I would look into the Konica (is it 4 colour ) ?

Unfortunately, I am certain I can't rent a printer around here...besides, the nature of the buisness requires me owning mine. I only expect to use this printer for a few months before upgrading to something else.

So if it comes down to it, which should I go for the C6501 or C6000 ?

Thanks a bunch
any other input would be really appreciated

 

[FSA]

mikeydreslim, get ready for a real learning curve, copiers I would say you should make sure you have someone to fix it because copiers go down often. If you were to start out with a old ABDick 360 or 9810 you will still need to make plates for what you want to print. Your next solution to find is were you will get supplies, ink, paper and etch for the press. Now if you go with a copier you will need to get toner. Some copiers require more power that other, do you have a location, how much power do you have ? I have seen on E-bay some really cheap ABDick 360's like $100us, that would get you going, you could print a newsletter in the finished size, but you need plates. If you were to get an lpaper plate maker, you will need chemicals to process the plates. Good luck with your business.

 

[mikeydreslim]

mikeydreslim, get ready for a real learning curve, copiers I would say you should make sure you have someone to fix it because copiers go down often. If you were to start out with a old ABDick 360 or 9810 you will still need to make plates for what you want to print. Your next solution to find is were you will get supplies, ink, paper and etch for the press. Now if you go with a copier you will need to get toner. Some copiers require more power that other, do you have a location, how much power do you have ? I have seen on E-bay some really cheap ABDick 360's like $100us, that would get you going, you could print a newsletter in the finished size, but you need plates. If you were to get an lpaper plate maker, you will need chemicals to process the plates. Good luck with your business.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate all the help. Most forums are not this helpful.

I am still struggling to understand the difference between a copier, offset press and digital machine...please can someone be kind enough to enlighten me ?

Also, knowing my budget and my rank inexperience, what machine would you suggest (whether copier, offset or digital any input very welcome) that could print up to 5000 copies daily of a fully coloured 20-25 page magazine ?

Please bare in mind that I personally would not be handling the operation of the machine, I intend to hire someone to deal with that (labour is very cheap where I live so hiring a skilled operator would still work within my budget).

 

[Michael4]

He's right. The digital printers (Copiers) require maintenance. Thats why i was pushing a lease, you can get a service plan along with that.
The paper plates for an ABDick are cheap and easy to make (your designer can set these up and print them. A kimoseter is a good plate printer.

 

[Meny]

Do not start something if you do not know how you get out of it...

Guys
starting a business in Africa with 2000 GBP = ¬3500 US$ is no use.
shipping the equipment assuming it is free to get , will cost about that mach.
no matter how cheap manpower is , you will not get up and running before one month and this is prior to paper , ink , and what have you.

I would not miss lead the guy -he has a dream , that's fine . but a dream has to be realistic and practical.

Before putting the first dollar on equipment , build a basic business plan to check if you are going the right way or down hill with no brakes.
a 1000 US$ in the US is small money , same 1000 $ in Africa is a fortune and very hard to gain , don’t make him loose his money & future for the wrong dream.

sorry to be the bad guy but 2000 GBP with nothing else and no knowledge is way more then 2000 GBP lost in no time !
Be aware

 

[Michael4]

I believe he has a business already operational , with a budget of 2000 pounds for a printing unit.
If the business is brand new i would have to agree. You need enough money banked to stay open for over a year. You never make a profit in your first year or two (sometimes longer).

He says he has associates with graphics and pre-press knowledge. I think he simply wished to add this newsletter business onto what he has going already.
correct me if i am mistaken, I haven't the ability to view the prior posts from here...

 

[mikeydreslim]

Guys
starting a business in Africa with 2000 GBP = ¬3500 US$ is no use.
shipping the equipment assuming it is free to get , will cost about that mach.
no matter how cheap manpower is , you will not get up and running before one month and this is prior to paper , ink , and what have you.

I would not miss lead the guy -he has a dream , that's fine . but a dream has to be realistic and practical.

Before putting the first dollar on equipment , build a basic business plan to check if you are going the right way or down hill with no brakes.
a 1000 US$ in the US is small money , same 1000 $ in Africa is a fortune and very hard to gain , don’t make him loose his money & future for the wrong dream.

sorry to be the bad guy but 2000 GBP with nothing else and no knowledge is way more then 2000 GBP lost in no time !
Be aware

Thanks, I might have underestimated the cost of actually getting this started.

So how much is the minimum I should have at hand in your opinion.

 

[mikeydreslim]

I believe he has a business already operational , with a budget of 2000 pounds for a printing unit.
If the business is brand new i would have to agree. You need enough money banked to stay open for over a year. You never make a profit in your first year or two (sometimes longer).

He says he has associates with graphics and pre-press knowledge. I think he simply wished to add this newsletter business onto what he has going already.
correct me if i am mistaken, I haven't the ability to view the prior posts from here...

Sorry if you were misled. I actually have nothing but an idea and a bunch of people with pre-press knowledge (they worked for a large christian church making all their sunday magazines etc).

I just want to go on and bring my idea to fruition. Seeing as I am under budget, how much should I be realistically looking at to
get into operation ?
I am ready to carry on saving (like ive done for the last two years), it would take a while longer but the will is there.
For all the machines I would need (pre and post press) how much should I be looking for ?
Thanks

 

[Michael4]

Tough call. Are you looking for a business with a physical store/location for walk in business, etc? Your budget could be huge...
Or is this something you could run from home?

 

[mikeydreslim]

Tough call. Are you looking for a business with a physical store/location for walk in business, etc? Your budget could be huge...
Or is this something you could run from home?

This would be run from home. I ave quite a big house here, plus I don't need any permission to do anything on my land (a libertarian dream - not good for neighbours though), plus, Labour is very cheap that is what I believe I have in my favour.