There are a few different kinds of screen printing presses you can choose from, but most individuals and smaller businesses start with a manual press. Good screen printing equipment pays for itself. If you buy for tomorrow and not for today, you’ll not only have a better product, but you’ll be setting up your operation for long term success. So how do you pick the right one? Here are 5 important things to consider when buying your first manual press.
SPACE
The biggest factor most printers face when starting out is space limitations. Since most manual screen printing shops start out in spare bedrooms, basements, or garages, space is at a premium. Getting a great press is key, but you’ll need something that fits in your shop.
The good news is that many small-space presses produce high-quality prints. Take the Riley Hopkins 150 4x1 Press, for example. With the platen installed, the press’s diameter is five feet, so it doesn’t take up a whole room. And since it’s a tabletop press, you can put it on a cart and use it as a multifunctional space, storing screens or inks underneath it. Finding equipment that helps you get the most out of your space while producing high quality products is essential when you’re starting your print shop.
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Plenty of screen printers start out small, then upgrade when they get more space or more know-how. Josh Dykstra, owner of PRNT SCRN Screen Printing, started printing merch for his band out of the dining room in his one-bedroom apartment. Josh started with a Riley Hopkins 150 4 color, 1 station press. When he outgrew it and moved his shop into a garage, he found a used Riley Jr. (now the 250). By starting out small, he learned the tricks of the trade and was able to upgrade his press when he had more space.
Photo by Josh Dykstra
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If you have more space, like a two-car garage or a commercial shop, you could take a look at bigger presses like the Riley Hopkins 250 or 300. Before you snag your dream press, take into consideration what other equipment and setups will be shared in the space with the press. Conveyor dryers, shipping and packaging stations, flash dryers, ink mixing stations, etc. all reduce the available space in your shop. Take measurements, do your research, and pick the best press that’ll suit your needs and fit in your space.
BUDGET
Coming in a close second behind space considerations is the budget. If you’re just opening your print shop, you’ll need to purchase a few things to get started: a press, flash dryer, exposure unit, squeegees, ink, cleaning chemicals, and more.
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Make sure that you don’t overspend when buying a press. A big, tricked-out press like the Riley Hopkins 300 may be your goal, but if your budget says no, listen to it. Some printers go all in when they purchase their first press, but it’s not necessary in order to be successful in the screen printing industry.
Every print shop had to start somewhere. Most of the time, successful print shops started where you are right now. Take Golden Press Studio, for example. Jonathan Overmeyer started the business in a two-car garage.
“Do not forsake small beginnings. You have to start somewhere,” Jonathan said.
You can always grow into a bigger press. Shops like Golden Press Studio and Avila Design Co. still have their old, smaller presses. The best part? They still use their small presses.
Joey Avila, owner of Avila Design Co., started printing in a spare bedroom in his house in October 2020. Just over a year later, he upgraded to a used Riley Hopkins WIN Series 6X4 press. While he cleaned and reassembled the WIN Series press, Joey continued to print on his Riley 150, moving it into the shop next to the 6X4. Once both presses were up and running, Joey was able to take on big orders without worrying about deadlines.
Photo by Joey Avila
No matter what your budget is, make sure you’re getting the best press for your business. Starting small is a great way to learn the trade and make sure that when you do upgrade, you’ll know what to look for.
VERSATILITY
When choosing the best press for your business, make sure you’re taking into account not only what you’re printing now, but what you’d like to print in the future. Want to print on sweats? There’s a platen for that. Want to print oversized prints? You’ll need to make sure your press can handle a larger screen. Want to print multiple color jobs? You’ll need a press with multiple printheads. Let’s talk about these options a little bit more.
PLATEN CAPABILITY
Make sure that whatever manual press you start with will be compatible with your future press purchases. If the same kind of pallets and accessories can fit on each press, then you won’t have to worry about buying those again when you expand your press options.
The Riley Hopkins press has configurations ranging from one color presses all the way up to eight color, eight station screen printing machines. All of these presses have the same platen compatibility across the board. No matter whether you have a Riley Hopkins 150 or a 300, you’ll be able to use leg and sleeve platens, mask platens, pocket platens, and more.
SCREEN SIZE OPTIONS
You may only be printing with smaller screens at first, but eventually you’ll want a press that can hold larger screen sizes for the future. Allow yourself the versatility to expand your print size. Depending on the model, many of the Riley Hopkins presses are built to hold screens up to 23″x31″ and can be used interchangeably for smaller screens and automatic sized frames alike.
MULTICOLOR JOBS
While printing a multicolor job on a Riley Hopkins 150 1X1 is doable, it isn’t necessarily the best option. Having to replace and re-register your screen every time not only takes time, but can be incredibly frustrating if you don’t nail it. For this reason, getting a press with multiple printheads is a great idea, even if you’re only printing one-color jobs right now.
Bigger is better, right? Printers talk about how they wish they had a six-color instead of a four-color, or an eight-color press instead of a six-color. When you go to buy your first manual press, make sure that you are thinking about how many colors you will want to be able to print tomorrow without blowing your budget out of the water.
Photo by Golden Press Studio
A Riley Hopkins 150 4X1 press is a great press for printers to start experimenting with multicolor jobs. If you’re ready to speed things up, go for a Riley Hopkins 250. With the option to have more platens, you’ll be able to flash and print at the same time. Plus, the 250 has more features like XY and tilt micros, which makes registering multicolor jobs that much easier and faster.
Feeling bold? Pick up a Riley Hopkins 300. The press is built like a race car, and will last as long as you need it to. With up to eight-color stations and six print stations, you’ll be able to take on those big jobs and fly through them.
Whichever press you choose, make sure that it is capable of everything you want to do in your shop.
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CONSISTENCY AND DURABILITY
Get a press that has been proven to last a lifetime. Quality equipment and a solid warranty go a long way. Ask yourself, is the equipment sturdy, and has it been proven to stand the test of time?
Make sure you know what you’re buying before you spend the money. Most presses found on sites like Ebay aren’t going to give you quality, consistency, or durability. Jerome Haygood, owner of Aerogant Printing Company, learned this the hard way. Not knowing much about screen printing equipment brands, Jerome bought a press from Ebay to start. The press was green, but it wasn’t a Riley Hopkins.
“I assumed that [a screen printing press] is just a green press. I didn’t know anything about brands or anything like that,” Jerome laughed.
He soon realized that this knock-off press wasn’t going to cut it. Jerome used it for about a year before upgrading to a Riley Hopkins 250 6X4 press.
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All Riley Hopkins presses come with a limited lifetime warranty and the best guarantee in the industry. If you’re buying your first manual press with the future in mind, make sure that your press has a proven micro registration system, consistent gate/printhead registration, and parts that can easily be replaced or don’t wear over time. That’s an investment that will quickly pay itself back.
Photo by Jerome Haygood
If you have a durable, consistent press, you’ll have it for life. There’s one more thing to consider before you buy a press, though: portability.
PORTABILITY
Most printers don’t want to move their press around. They buy it, set it up, and keep it in a spot in their shop that gives production the best flow. But one factor about buying a press that most printers don’t consider is the press’s mobility.
Usually, printers who want a press that can travel are using it for live printing. Live printing is popular because customers get to see the print coming together instead of just paying for the final product. It gives customers a window into the industry and helps the community appreciate screen printing as an art form, not just an end product.
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Another reason you might want a portable screen printing press is to keep production running when life happens. Nothing is perfect in life, and there may come a time when you won’t be able to go to the shop every day. If you have a smaller, portable press, you can bring work home with you and still get orders out the door.
When you upgrade to a larger press, you can keep the smaller press around for quick, simpler orders and save the big jobs for the larger press. Say you have two jobs: one is a six-color design and the other is a one-color design. The jobs’ deadlines are a day apart. If you still have your smaller press, you can use that to print the one-color job and use your bigger press to print the six-color job. Deadline conquered.
He soon realized that this knock-off press wasn’t going to cut it. Jerome used it for about a year before upgrading to a Riley Hopkins 250 6X4 press.
RELATED: HOW CUTTING OUT THE MIDDLEMAN LED TO AEROGANT PRINTING COMPANY
All Riley Hopkins presses come with a limited lifetime warranty and the best guarantee in the industry. If you’re buying your first manual press with the future in mind, make sure that your press has a proven micro registration system, consistent gate/printhead registration, and parts that can easily be replaced or don’t wear over time. That’s an investment that will quickly pay itself back.
Starting small and working your way up is a tried and true method in the screen printing business. If you’re low on space or budget, don’t stress it: your only limit is your creativity. No matter which press you’re looking to buy, make sure you buy a quality press that will perform to your standards and last you a lifetime.
