# Thinking of buying this 4 color screen printing press package



## zo76 (Nov 13, 2007)

This is the link to the package in question

Econo 4 Color Press & Package

So my brother and myself are thinking about getting this press package. We are going to use it to make shirts for ourselves and our friends. We are not trying to start a screen printing business. However if people like our shirts we would like to start selling them. Would this be a good package to start off with? I have gone on youtube and watch nearly every video there is on screen printing and I think it is some thing I could do. I already have adobe illustrator cs3 and photoshop cs3 and have made a bunch of designs all we need is a press. If any one has used this press or has bought this package please let me know what you think about it. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

That price is a piece of crap to be honest. Used it before, it's only really good for a 1 color print since it doesn't have micros. It is really hard to register multiple colors on that press because the clamps are horrible (they slide and move a lot). 

You can get by, if you decide to use it as a hobby, but don't expect anything extraordinary with it. In my opinion you're better off checking craigslist for a used press with micros and buying all the misc stuff separate. 

SSS is great for misc supplies, but their presses are crap (not talking about riley hopkins, workhorse, etc. im talking about their generic ones)!


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

micros are for impatient people!

I have this press and have printed 4 color jobs with NO registration issues and they came out great

a lot of these guys are biased towards the presses with micros... why? If you burn your screens right and have a good pair of eyes you can easily register your prints...

I have the SAME PRESS... No problems here

here's some or my prints:

































PLEASE, POINT OUT MY REGISTRATION ISSUES... I don't have any

Alonso, these prints were all done on that very same press


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

Nice job !!! Brian. The designs are impressive, thanks for sharing. I really like the way the bike looks. ...... JB


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

COEDS said:


> Nice job !!! Brian. The designs are impressive, thanks for sharing. I really like the way the bike looks. ...... JB


Thanks, I've been a professional graphic designer for 15+ years now... it really helps in this business!

The motorcycle is a 35 line screen printed off a 110 mesh screen

I output it on an epson 1280 INKJET printer on vellum... it turned out great

(actually, i designed and printed all of the designs shown here)


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## n.signia (Nov 21, 2007)

did you use "ezscreenz" for the katana halftone?

I checked out your site, very well thought out.


I laughed when I saw your samples page because I just sold my Katana


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

nope, EZSkreenz is strictly for CMYK output

I made the halftone in PhotoShop... actually using the same process that I use in the Plug-In

Thanks for the compliments on my site, I just recently re-designed it

(i'm a website designer too... lol)


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

It CAN be done, but I see you're using wooden frames. We use aluminum and the screen tightners slide around.

One thing you have to think about, how long does it take you to register a four color print? In your photo gallery, I only see 1 and 2 color prints...

Funny thing is I actually live 30 mins away from Silkscreeningsupplies and bought mine in person. The sales rep even said the press was crap lol but I bought it anyhow when I started, and it really is. It's fine for 1 color prints though.


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

i haven't done any four colors recent enuff for the website... i was printing a few years before i went "online" with it

I can register up my 4 color jobs in less than 10 minutes... it's really not all that hard


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

How long have your productions been? (quantity of most orders)

We've always had problems with that press. Now it sits there lookin pretty lol.


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

TeddyRocky said:


> How long have your productions been? (quantity of most orders)
> 
> We've always had problems with that press. Now it sits there lookin pretty lol.


most of my runs are 100 or less...

I might have a 400pc. one coming in next week

we'll see how it holds up


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

lol let us know.


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

I've used it with great results. It's more the printer (operator) than the press that gets good results. A guitar virtuoso can make a $50 guitar sound amazing, while a novice can't make a $5,000 custom Stallings guitar sound any better than the $50 pos.

A little patience goes a long way, along with a little mechanical ingenuity - I found that the feet on the screen clamps rotated & moved aluminum frames, too, but instead of giving up I used some epoxy to fasten a thin strip of metal across the 2 feet on the clamps, put oil in the ball joints on the feet so they'd spin properly, & glued some thin wet/dry sandpaper in the bottom of the clamp's c-channel - that eliminated the problem.

Where the bolt head drops into the white plastic thing for registration I found it would shift around a little & lose registration on longer runs, so I bolted 2 pieces of wood to the sides of the arm that holds the platten - then when the arm holding the screen clamp comes down it was captured between these wood blocks and forced into the same place every time. Fixed that problem, too.

Then, when I wanted to get serious about printing production, I bought an American M&M Rototex 8-color, 4-station monster, and never went back.

But if you're just printing shirts for yourself & your friends & want to learn how to screen print, that press will get you a long way. Still, if I knew what I know now, I'd check Craigslist and ebay for used machines first before I'd pay the money for a new one of those. You can find some pretty darn good deals.


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

Sheepsalt said:


> I've used it with great results. It's more the printer (operator) than the press that gets good results. A guitar virtuoso can make a $50 guitar sound amazing, while a novice can't make a $5,000 custom Stallings guitar sound any better than the $50 pos.
> 
> A little patience goes a long way, along with a little mechanical ingenuity - I found that the feet on the screen clamps rotated & moved aluminum frames, too, but instead of giving up I used some epoxy to fasten a thin strip of metal across the 2 feet on the clamps, put oil in the ball joints on the feet so they'd spin properly, & glued some thin wet/dry sandpaper in the bottom of the clamp's c-channel - that eliminated the problem.
> 
> ...


FINALLY! Sumone who doesn't instantly call it crap becuase it doesn't have micros!!!!!

THANKS 1 BILLION TIMES...

I swear, every post on this site that involves this or a similar tabletop press everybody jumps in and says CRAP!!! NO MICROS?!?!?

Whiney bunch of knob twisting primates... lol


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

A Perfect Pixel said:


> FINALLY! Sumone who doesn't instantly call it crap becuase it doesn't have micros!!!!!
> 
> THANKS 1 BILLION TIMES...
> 
> ...


 No buddy INSTANTLY called it crap. Calling it crap from experience is a valid statement and not bashing it just because it didn't have micros. Like the man above said, he now has a rototex which is a solid press (have one also) and will never go back. 

And another thing he said which is what i suggested, "if he knew what he knows now, he would rather buy a used press off craigslist then buy the SSS press new." lol Sorry, but SSS lures people to buy this crap press, so that they are quite disappointed or outgrow it pretty quickly, and then turn to them to buy another press such as riley hopkins. 

It's all strategy.


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## n.signia (Nov 21, 2007)

A Perfect Pixel said:


> FINALLY! Sumone who doesn't instantly call it crap becuase it doesn't have micros!!!!!
> 
> THANKS 1 BILLION TIMES...
> 
> ...


"knob twisting primates" lol

I dont know your background with priniting, so forgive me for assuming, BUT...I assume that you have never used/owned a press with micros?  

I think that once you (or any of us) move to a larger more production oriented press you will more understand peoples comments and why they might have a neg opinion of presses with no micros. 

but I agree with sheepsalt, that press can take you a long way, look at the guy who made his press out of 2x4's! his prints look great!


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Yes exactly. I rather build a press with 2x4's for $100 then buy a $450 (forgot exact price lol) junk press.


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

n.signia said:


> I dont know your background with priniting, so forgive me for assuming, BUT...I assume that you have never used/owned a press with micros?


I've used manuals with micros and even ran a 12 screen auto at the place where I originally got into screen printing (i was designing shirt art for them and they taught me how to print on both the manual and auto presses)

I guess I just prefer to do it my way...

Sorry if i'm coming off like a jerk... I don't mean to...

I'm one of those "work with what ya got" kinda guys....


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## n.signia (Nov 21, 2007)

A Perfect Pixel said:


> I've used manuals with micros and even ran a 12 screen auto at the place where I originally got into screen printing (i was designing shirt art for them and they taught me how to print on both the manual and auto presses)
> 
> I guess I just prefer to do it my way...
> 
> ...


thats why I hate to assume... 

no worries!


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## zo76 (Nov 13, 2007)

Thanks a lot for all the great input. I been reading about this press and it's really 50/50. Half love it and half hate it. From reading everything I think it just come out to having the patients to line up all the transparencys on the same spot on all the screens. I think i can do that plus I don't want to spend over $1000 on a press thats only for hobby. So I'm going to get it. Thanks again for all the input.


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## frankiko (Jun 13, 2008)

buy the 6-color press package...... you probably be printing less than 4 colors a lot but if you get 5 or 6-color projects then you don't have to worry. you're all set.

i have SSS press and it works fine (spot or CMYK printing)... like the other guy said, you just need to have a good eye and proper burning of screen.... you don't need a micro registration.....
....and the other guy said, "all strategy".. that too...


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

with or without micros i think its crap. i have a rototex 6/6 station with micros. the only time i touched the micros was to tighten them down so hard that they would never move. i learned to register without them. saying that you can put micros on that press and it will still be crap. i also had a caps press with micros, guess what it was crap. micros has nothing to do with holding tight registration. whats the point of having them if the screen is just going to move anyway. im sure its a descent hobby press, but then again so is two clamps and a table, same thing. you can even use a 2 x 4 to make your frame snug when it comes down on the table. my opnion only. kudos to all the great guitar players with crappy guitars. i know i had to do a few gigs, i mean orders with them


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