Screen Printers Open - A Forum for Screen Printing and Embroidery

Hey everyone. We're thinking about investing in a bottle press (cylinder press). Has anyone here used one/owned one? This is the hardest thing I have had to find information on. All manufacturers are in China, and even though we've communicated with them, the language barrier is tricky. I can find no videos/information on how to setup, or screen mesh or anything like that. (Besides the videos that are in other languages) I'm assuming they're printed with high mesh screens- but how high? We have work already lined up for this business, and I see a big opportunity, I just want to make sure this is doable.

Also, anyone have any inside information on wholesale glassware/bottles, etc? I've found some local stuff, but perhaps they don't sell glassware like they do t-shirts. Too bad sanmar and these other big guys guys don't carry it. :-)

Killer, I called Libbey and they wouldn't sell me anything directly. Is your press a manual press? We're looking at some autos. We've got a local brewery (next door to us) that wants us to print their bottles for them. No one in our area prints on bottles!

Stitch, yes. That looks like the machines we've been getting quotes on. We currently outsource that work as well, but would like to be able to make an extra buck on it, especially on beer bottles. They're willing to pay $1/ea for a 1 color print.

For glass and ceramic you really need to use frit ink which is kiln fired....When I go into a location that has decorated glass and/or ceramic wares I ask to buy one from them.....Then I take it to a sink and use a scouring pad and a little dish soap and see what happens to the imprint.....9 times out of 10 it comes off.....That would be epoxy inks...The 1 out of 10 would be frit ink.....Once their imprint comes off it becomes an easy sale if you explain to them you are selling them kiln fired wares....

Now for beer bottles you can get away with epoxy......As far as printers there is All American, Dubuit, SystAuto and AWT-GPI which have 1 or more incarnations of cylindrical printers....

And there are lots of neat videos on YouTube....

Killer, there is a large explosion of breweries in San Diego, and SoCal, and I get the impression that labels are becoming the "cheap-o style", as the say. The larger ones around here, such as Stone Brewery, screen print all bottles. There is one "nano-brewery" here that also screen prints all their growlers and "purrowlers". Screen printed bottles are the ones that are "cool". Customers might not care/know the difference, but a lot of these breweries seem to care. Also, I have many walk-in customers who want wine glasses printed for their weddings. "I only need 150 with 1 color, and I'd like to use these glasses that I can get at Ikea". Well, can't do it. I could be charging $2 a print on that stuff.

With this printer you could up sell them to 5 colors

5 Color Auto Screen Printer for Glass Bottle

Killer, there is a large explosion of breweries in San Diego, and SoCal, and I get the impression that labels are becoming the "cheap-o style", as the say. The larger ones around here, such as Stone Brewery, screen print all bottles. There is one "nano-brewery" here that also screen prints all their growlers and "purrowlers". Screen printed bottles are the ones that are "cool". Customers might not care/know the difference, but a lot of these breweries seem to care. Also, I have many walk-in customers who want wine glasses printed for their weddings. "I only need 150 with 1 color, and I'd like to use these glasses that I can get at Ikea". Well, can't do it. I could be charging $2 a print on that stuff.

Eric the way you make things...like I do...this printer might work.

And don't forget a pad printer will do alot of that also.

I think I still have one of those too...I just don't know off hand where it is.

With different tits and home made plaster paris molds you can print on pretty much anything.

But to give you a heads up, cylinder and pad printing is a whole different world with a whole different set of rules.

What I mean by that is it Will take you a while to get it down...and when you start you can not stop til you are done.

This would be a good one and is like mine, but mine is all in a blue box.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MANUAL-CYLINDRICAL-CUP-BOTTLE-PRINTER-USED-/200661167560?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb8566dc8

I will go take a pict of mine.