News
What's the Difference Between the Riley Hopkins 250 and 300 Presses?
Ready to step up your screen printing game? Whether you’re printing in a spare room, garage, or commercial space, a press upgrade can jumpstart your shop. Beginner presses like the Riley Hopkins 150 are perfect for learning the ropes. But eventually, you may find yourself wanting more printheads, stations, and upgraded manual press technology. There are two options in the Riley Hopkins press line: the 250 and 300. Which is best for you? Let’s break it down.
Best Practices to Keep Your Screen Printing Platens in Great Shape
When you take care of your platens, you’ll be able to keep them around longer without having to replace them. Platens can be expensive, so you’ll want to replace them as little as possible. So how do you take care of those precious platens? Here are a few best practices to get the most life out of your platens.
Should You Go Auto or Hire Another Printer?
Boxes of shirts are stacked from the floor to the ceiling. You’re covered with pallet adhesive and ink. Your wrists ache with pain, your legs are numb, fingers are stiff. You pause, staring at the 716th shirt you printed that day. You stare at the stack of t-shirts behind the press, printing 1,500 to be exact. The clock reads 11:17 PM. This order is due tomorrow. You look down and sigh, staring at your cracked, callous hands. This is the 12th time you’ve had to work late to finish a high-volume order this month. You can’t take it anymore. Something has got to change.
So, you, the printer, have two options. Hire another printer or go auto. But which should you do? Let’s explore these options so you can decide which is best for your growing shop.
How Boyd Creative Print Shop’s commitment to Quality Produces Booming Business
Garage shops are the bread and butter of the manual screen printing industry. They’re perfect for printers interested in working close to home or making their real estate investment do double duty. One such shop is Boyd Creative Print Shop. Owners Andrew and Chantel Boyd opened the shop in 2020, running it out of their garage in Des Moines, Iowa. Their commitment to quality has made them a big hit in the print community.
How Do You Know it's Time to Upgrade to an Automatic Screen Printing Press?
Should you screen print on a manual or automatic press? That’s the million-dollar question. Some printers swear by a manual press, while others have goals to jump to automation as soon as possible. So when do you know it’s time to upgrade to an automatic screen printing press? Here are three questions to ask yourself before you make the jump to a new press.
How Moving Shops Helped Abi-Saad Print & Design Work Toward Goals and Create Community
Moving to a new shop space is exciting but also intimidating. The process can be riddled with challenges or go smoothly. Anthony Abi-Saad found both when he moved his shop, Abi-Saad Print & Design, to a new location in Taunton, Massachusetts. It wasn’t the first time he’d moved, but it was a big new challenge. One main challenge: creating a darkroom from scratch. With a bit of creativity and some expert help, he was able to make it all happen.
WTF is DTF: Comparing Screen Printing and DTF for DIY Screen Printers
So you want to decorate garments. There are so many ways of doing that. Do you want to use transfers? Interested in direct-to-garment printing? Want to try out screen printing? With so many options to start, it can be overwhelming for a DIY printer to decide. Let’s compare two popular methods: DTF and screen printing.
A Walkthrough of Screen Printing on Zipper Hoodies
Screen printing on zipper hoodies is a great way to diversify your printing options. Zipper hoodies can be a bit difficult to print on. A normal platen won’t cut it, and print placement is key. Don’t worry though: we’ve got you covered. In this video, Josh Wells walks through the basics of printing over zipper hoodies.
Want to Screen Print? Here’s How to Choose the Best Start Up Press for You
The day has come: you're ready to jump into the screen printing world. A key factor needed to get started in this adventure is a screen printing press. With tons of press options, it may be difficult to choose the best press to get started with. Luckily, there’s a guide to choosing the best startup press for your shop. Keep reading.
Tips for Printing Puff Plastisol Ink Additive to Achieve High Detail Designs
There’s no doubt that Puff ink is awesome. It’s a favorite for printers of all types because it can be added to so many different types of prints. Whether the design is block text or fine-line detail, Puff makes it stand out. How much detail can you achieve with Puff? Print expert Colin Huggins wants to find out.
XY Versus XYZ Micros: What’s the Difference?
There are a lot of options when it comes to buying a screen printing press. Before you even purchase a press, you have to consider versatility, budget, production volume, and so many other factors. One small component of screen printing presses that often gets overlooked is micro registration. Even if you’re taking micros into account, which do you go with? Are XY or XYZ micros better to have on a press? Let’s talk about why micro registration is important and the differences between XY and XYZ micros so you can make the best choice for your shop.
Tips for Adding Many FN-INK™ Specialties into the Same Design
With seven new specialty inks from FN-INK™, there’s a lot to explore. Gold, silver, puff, extender base, and many other inks and additives all create different awesome effects. With so much to experiment with, why not try to add as many specialty inks in one design as possible? Print expert Colin Huggins is on the case.
