Tier 1: hobby or garage

Learning, gifts, and small one- or two-color runs.

• Press: a one-color, one-station tabletop press, or a 4-color, 1-station press. The cheapest models save money with lighter construction and fewer adjustments; some can be expanded later.
• Curing: a flash unit, used carefully and checked with a wash test. A heat gun is fine for drying test prints, not for curing shirts you sell.
• Exposure and washout: a small LED exposure unit and a place to wash out screens with a garden hose or washout booth.
• Film: outsource films to start, or a desktop inkjet set up for film (a RIP helps control density and halftones).
• Consumables: screens, emulsion, squeegees, ink, tape, chemicals, and cure-check tools: a probe or temperature strips to see what the dryer is doing, plus wash tests to prove the cure.

Trade-off: curing with a flash is slow, and it’s easy to get the top hot while the ink underneath stays undercured (Lawson). Expect to wash-test a lot.