Printwear & Promotion The Total Promotional Package
Like many of us, Derek Muller, owner of Goccopro, has had to find a new way of working during lockdown. To pass the time he took home a MiScreen, much to Mrs Muller’s dismay. Here he details just what he got up to.
Well what a crazy time we are living in! When all this lockdown began, I thought I’ll take home the small digital screen maker, the MiScreen, and make some social media posts to show how good it is.
So much to my wife’s displeasure I arrived home with a single colour desktop print press a bunch of ink and a MiScreen digital screen maker. This is the baby of the range all made by RISO. I personally love this little machine I see it as being so very useful and ideal for all sorts of businesses who could do with a screen print solution, but don’t need all the hassle that goes with a traditional set up. Also being digital you only need a few simple computer skills to work it.
Anyway, I decided I needed a decent work table to mount the single colour printer press on and my wife was not happy about me using the dining room table! I had an old folding work bench in the shed, so necessity being the mother of invention and I think I may have invented the first folding screen print press for home use! The right height and everything. (Disclaimer: I may be wrong about this being the first as I’ve not checked but I have not seen any!).
Well that was not enough, as more is always better and upgraded a week later to this four-colour folding screen print carousel.
I bought the carousel from eBay for £80 last year and the folding work bench about 25 years ago but you can get them today for about £30.
So, the home print studio takes shape and this is a viable print system to run your home business. The MiScreen digital screen maker will produce a high-quality silk screen straight from your PC in 35 seconds with no water or chemicals or wash out booths. It just works.
Screens can easily print up to 100 garments and is brilliant if you want a logo or inside T shirt branding solution for your print shop. The maximum image area is A4 so there were some jobs it may be too small for but the uses are massive.
Screen printing a garment or item still works out exceptionally cost-effective compared to many of the other garment decorating options. A single screen can cost as little as £2.90 each and the ink you use for an A4 image is just pennies. You cane ready to print in five minutes from receiving the artwork and because the screens are disposable when you are done the clean-up is very quick and very easy with you just popping them in the bin.
At a glance
The main points I like about the MiScreen are:
1) It’s so easy to use.
2) Labour time. Wow, it’s so quick.
3) It can be used for many different print jobs and its running costs are cheap.
4) If you are creative or artistic then it can really add a new dimension.
5) A printed garment can cost pennies.
So that’s what I like but obviously there are going to be things that customers will not like:
1) It’s screen printing and that’s scary.
2) The image size can only go up to A4.
3) Yep, it’s a new skill you need to learn.
See all of these disadvantages, I like to think of them as advantages. Ultimately the MiScreen is fun to use. You really feel while pulling the squeegee over the shirts that it’s like printing money!
