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I run a small clothing line on the side out of my home. I have been doing it for years now and it is a wonderful hobby that I hope one day will expand into a steady business. Until I reach a point where I feel I am ready to make the leap and start purchasing professional screen printing equipment though, I will always be on the lookout for printing alternatives. Recently, I was fortunate enough to come across the Yudu personal screen printer while perusing the isles at my local Michaels craft store.
At first glance, it looks perfect! Light table? Check. Mesh screen and T-shirt platen? Yup. Squeegee and paint? Got it. Transparencies and emulsion? All right! Seemingly everything you would need to get started all for around $175-$300 (depending on where/when you got it.) I lucked out and got mine on super sale for about $180 total. Once I got it, I went through the whole process and successfully produced a screen ready to print on shirts. For what you pay, it is a pretty decent unit. The one thing that caught me off guard was the cost of additional materials to keep producing said screens.
Provocraft (the makers of the Yudu machine) hit you pretty hard when it comes to getting replacement/additional items. You already blew a few hundred to get the machine; at least it came with enough stuff to get you going right? Well, yes and no. If by "get you going" you mean make one, count them, one screen and enough ink to print a few shirts, then sure. You are off to a grand start.
The purpose of this article is to provide you with alternatives and money saving options to use in conjunction with the Yudu machine. Provocraft likes to get you where it hurts: ink, emulsion and transparencies. All three are equally important and all three are just as expensive!
INK - Provocraft sells the ink in packs and individually. They come in 3oz bottles and will set you back about $10 for one, and $25 for the 3-packs. So what's the alternative? Use a different brand! My personal preference is Speed Ball screen printing ink. They have 8oz, 16oz, and 32oz jars available in a pretty wide range of colors and finishes. Depending on where you get them, an 8oz jar will run about $6-$8 and the 32oz can be found for around $20-$25. This has saved me a GRIP of money and I highly recommend switching inks.
EMULSION - Provocraft sell packs of emulsion at about 20 bucks a pop. For anything else, I probably wouldn't fret about $20, but you get the shaft pretty good on this one. Your $20 gets you a whopping two, count them two, sheets of emulsion film. If you are making a large image, then one whole sheet is gone. If it is your first time using the Yudu machine, there is a bit of learning curve when it comes to applying the emulsion sheet to the screen. I, like most, completely mess up the first application and have to break out sheet number two before I know it. Just like that, the entire pack is gone and it’s time to buy a new one. That $20 can add up pretty quickly!
*Money saving tid-bit: if you are burning an image that is relatively small, cut the emulsion! You don't have to use the entire sheet for a design that uses 1/10th of the emulsion sheet. That itself will save you in the long run.
Amazon has become a dear friend when looking for lower price options. The packs can be found there for $10-$19. If you are still looking for a different method entirely though, I suggest either buying a roll of capillary film (emulsion) or going the liquid route. A 26"x30" roll of film will run about $125, but you can do SO much with it. Speedball also offers a liquid photo emulsion kit (about $20) and comes with most of what you need. Either alternative will save you time and frustration in the end.
TRANSPARENCIES – These little guys run about $10 for a pack of 5 transparencies. Normally I wouldn’t complain too much, but when I have to use my own printer ink for these things as well, I get a little irritated. So what other option did I have? The most obvious thing that came to mind was KINKO’S! You can go to any Kinko’s with a printing station and give them the file with the image you want to print. They will print a black and white transparency for you. What does that cost? Oh, about $0.20 each!
There, of course, are more options you can explore when it comes to finding Yudu products and alternatives. Amazon is a great place for finding Yudu products if you feel more comfortable using their stuff. A lot of the basic screen printing materials (ink, liquid emulsion, etc) can be found at your local art supply store.
Hopefully this will aid in saving you at least a little something here and there.
Happy printing!
I am starting a onesie and t shirt business. I just bought the yudu! I am excited but I am worried about selling the t shirt made with the yudu images. Is it illegal and will I get in trouble if i sell the shirts for profit? Thank you for your help
~Nicole
If they are just generic images, then no, it is not illegal. You would only run into trouble if you were printing and selling merch with a trademarked or copyrighted Yudu image. You should be fine. Happy printing!
Voted up. Thanks for the share
Spot on with PC sticking it to ya with the Yudu consumables. Over at http://www.expressionsink.com there is a great selection of affordable Yudu products.
Thank you thank you! I always wanted a Yudu but I was avoiding it because of the cost of supplies.
I also have a YuDo. I have moved to the speedball ink and saves tons of money. When I am out of emultion is use my digital cuter (pazzel; a cricut on steroids) cut my image out of vinyl and use it as a stencil directly on my screen. Works great if you only have a handful of images to do. I don't print directly on my transparencies. I again use my digital cutter and cut the images out of black paper and tape them to the transparancy with clear tape so it can be used again and again. I even made my own screens even speedballs screens were expensive. My husband essentially made picture frames with a ditch to put the silk fabric in with the rubber molding you find for replacing screens at the hardware store. I was able to make 10 different sized frames for under 50 bucks. A bargain.
The Yudu machine is great - I have one although it's back in the US right now while I am abroad. I've sat through a few demonstrations at wholesale shows with Provocraft and there is so much you can do with it. The replacement supplies are expensive -here are a couple suggestions/tips as well: -Join the Yudu forums on Provocraft's website. The users are great at coming up with money saving resources and tricks/tips to help conserve supplies, or techniques to use aftermarket stuff. -Check online craft stores like Oh My Crafts - that is where I purchased all my stuff and it was far cheaper than anywhere else. Some people have commented their service is slow, but we order from them regularly and have had no issues on any scrapbooking supplies either. - Do the Michael's coupons still not allow Yudu supplies? If they took off that exclusion, it is a great time to buy supplies with the 50% ones they sometimes send. Those prices end up being pretty close to what we pay for wholesale products. Since you are running a business, you should see if there are any wholesale distributors that would qualify you under the professional crafter designation. Provo Craft won't likely sell direct to you (their opening orders, minimums, and storefront requirements are pretty stiff), but if you can find a local distributor, you should be able to find a resource I would think. Many distributors are still pretty lenient with home based businesses and professional crafters which is nice - that is what my Mom's business still falls under as far as many large companies are concerned.