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Posted

Figured I’d ask, with oversea shipping being a nightmare right now and DTFsuperstore out of stock, just curious if anyone else has seen the mini shaker units available in the US somewhere. 

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, WDeBlase said:

Are you going to break down and buy one?  Didn't you build your own?

I did buy one from Andy After I made mine, I wanted to see it's function, how well it worked, and I wanted two machines. Overall, the functions are the same, however the implementations are not. My cart works perfectly fine, But it is bigger, and it is louder. The time it would take me to replicate the cart, far exceeds what it would cost me to buy one. Anyway, Our previous peak sales wouldn't have been met without his machine added to mine. So after printing thousands of transfers on them both, I decided I wanted another one like his so things would be easy to maintain and setup. Basically a " duplicate" setup so parts, running it, ETC would remain identical. The cart will remain in use as well in a different location while the two bought machines sit in the corner and do their thing after my slight modifications.

 

I also purchased a Pre-built printer from china, like this one: 

https://kingdomdtf.com/collections/dtf-printers/products/dtf-printer-knight-8-with-software

 

I wanted something "ready to roll" that would be completely universal like the Epson printers, since it is an Epson conversion. I like Ekprint, So much so I won't buy a printer that won't work with it. If not for the reason that it works perfect for me, But for the reason of taking the time to learn new software. The same reason applies to this purchase, I do not have the time to create, build, test, redo every aspect of my current printers to reach a level of " problem/inconvenience free" printing. When printing thousands of prints, I'll admit the cartridge swapping gets annoying when doing thousands, as well, with these auto machines ( not the one I built) the alignment has to be pretty spot on or the film will buckle under the head, so I wanted that as well. While I will be modifying the take-up rollers to include a guide to prevent this on the machines, It doesn't hurt to " double up". 

Anyway, For $1600+shipping I can have a fully functional ready to go unit that I can easily replicate without the hard work or effort onto my other machines, since this machine will be converted to a P400 when it arrives with spare parts. Once it is, I'll " reverse engineer" the functions I like and apply them to my current printers, much less time consuming. 

 

So yes, Overall My original self-built units will continue to function, as well as the purchased ones. I've always worked this way. Start off cheap( mostly out of necessity, who has that kind of money to blow), test it's function, know the "in's and out's" and understand the downfalls. Once that has established it will work for me, and the machines I made provided enough return to buy a more " convenient" machine purely off the profit they made( If it's running costs are similar) , Then I do so. If it doesn't, it never makes it past my initial " DIY version". This way, I never actually invest in a BS situations again. 

I did the same with white toner, Modified a 4 color printer to include white in place of the black ( like some machines out there), and several other aspects like this in this " industry". In that situation I was only out $100 for the white toner I ordered from china, after realizing the transfers sucked, cracked, and overall wasn't worth the $5,000+ price tag. I also did the same with DTG starting with a DIY C88( wood base), Then 1430( Wood base), Jumping to the P600's then the P800.

Had I purchased them, Right now I would have never have come close to any Return on my investment. I have 6 of them in a non-use storage situation( Due to DTF), purchasing them ( The DIY versions) would have cost me over $24,000. Making them or DIY them myself,  about $7,500 total invested. Had I purchased an actual F2100 in comparable print speeds/time, looking at over $30k, plus the cost per print was 4X as much. 

 

I always recommend DIY so you can learn the "in's and out's" of what to expect. If you give up before you even get started, you just saved yourself some serious cash. If new tech comes out, or if your business crashes( or doesn't start), you aren't out of pocket much, if at all. The Xp-15000 is a great example. I genuinely know what I am doing for the most part, so it literally worked for me out of the box, due to past experiences. For others, Its a cheap learning experience. Most will give up, some push forward. Those that push forward will find that what they learned from that experience, is priceless if you are devoted to making it work.

 

For the time thing, I have a family. A wife and 4 kids to be exact. For the last 7 years I have done nothing but pour my soul into this stuff, bringing us into a level of " comfort"  so we can at least pay our bills and put food on the table. My previous "job" that I poured my youth, heart and soul into didn't work out at all, having a child helped me realize that. My oldest is 9 now, So if that puts it into any perspective, time is more precious now than ever. so If something I made was able to cover the cost of something that will give me more of that, It's a clear choice that I have to make. 

 

While we all experience things differently, Life in general always ends the same. It's the smaller paths we choose that ultimately lead us where we are going. Without sacrifice, ingenuity, persistence, and time, I don't think anyone will ever find where they truly going until it's far too late, at least, for the people I know that have already lived their lives. 

 

Sorry for the book- Short answer is below:

 

Yes, I did break down and purchase one

 

Edited by johnson4
Posted

HAHA.........

 

I just started laughing at the end after reading the short answer.

 

Your philosophy is spot on. I did as much research as i could before buying a printer and converting it myself. There's no way i could afford one already done by someone else.

I also tried the white toner, I bought a laser printer used off ebay and white toner. Quickly it sucked. Found DTF and thats where i'm at.

 

 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, WDeBlase said:

HAHA.........

 

I just started laughing at the end after reading the short answer.

 

Your philosophy is spot on. I did as much research as i could before buying a printer and converting it myself. There's no way i could afford one already done by someone else.

I also tried the white toner, I bought a laser printer used off ebay and white toner. Quickly it sucked. Found DTF and thats where i'm at.

 

 

 

lol, yea. I write books man. That’s also why I added the short answer :) 
 

DTF is good stuff, no mistake there for sure :) 

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