only my second post and totally new to this, im considering an hm-1, if i had it right now i could have an order for 80 shirts, 1 color front pocket and 2 color full on back, white shirts. if i were up and running, could i do this job and make money on this, or would i need to send it out to a screen printer. also, when you have a front and back logo, what is the best way to charge and an estimate of some of your pricing.
also have the possibility of getting a couple of the local travel baseball teams. they also will be front logos and numbers on back on light and dark shirts. do you print and press one side then print and press the other, how does this work? also would be getting parents shirts as well, shouldnt i charge more for theirs than the team. pricing
sorry for ignorance on this but am really excited about this venture and just trying to make sure its right and i can make money.
also, if any of you have any suggestions to me about beginning this venture, any and all help about the machine and or the business would be greatly appreciated.
thanks so much for your help
Last edited by new to the game; February 2nd, 2010 at 05:46 AM.
Reason: just adding
There are 2 types of HM1s. One with White ink capability and one thats dual CYMK for white and light shirts only. What you suggest above can be done with an HM1 easily. Best bet, contact either SWFMESA (West of the Mississippi) or SWFEAST and go see a demo on one.
I would suggest reading all you can about DTG vs screen printing on this forum. The main thing you have to look at is cost /unit. Both process are broken down in price differently, screen printing has several initial costs before printing the garment (separation, films, setup charges) were as DTG has no extra costs. The cost to actually screen print a tee is only a couple dollars for a multicolor print like the one you showed. From what i've read to have that image done with a DTG the cost is about 6$/unit.
If you are printing a hundred tshirts then screen printing is a more cost effective option. If producing only a dozen units or less then DTG is a more cost effective option.
thanks red, for the price of the machines, i was hoping an 80 shirt order would be better to do in house, but if my cost would be 6 dollars a shirt, i wonder if it is even feasible or justifiable to even purchase the machine from the start. even with a 12 shirt order, wouldnt it be cheaper for a screen printer to do it for less than 6 a shirt
Depending on how many colors. 1 Color yes but even 2 maybe not. Depending on what the screen charges are where you are getting the shirts done. You should be able to find people doing $20 per screen and just under a dollar per color (up to 3, less after that).
just curious, again im new to this and been reading in this forum for about a month, if i print 2 colors on a white shirt i will have 6 bucks in it, including the shirt. i may be wrong, but i thought i have seen on here before that i could print on white shirts for about a dollar and dark shirts for about 2 dollars in ink plus the shirt costs, is this the case or is someone pulling my leg. i really need help because if this is not the case i need to reconsider buying a digital machine and use my money moer wisely. if this is the case why are they selling whn you get it cheaper screened. thanks alex
new to the game, my prices i mentioned are just random from memory, the costs could be more or less depending on what's involved (amount of colors, size of print, ink coverage). there's many threads on DTG and screen printing costs, it may take some time reading through but will be well worth your time.
If the design is only 1 color or 2 as Alex mentioned, it's probably more cost effective to screen 80 shirts. If this is a multi color design with photographic design elements then DTG would be more cost effective. This is because screen printing requires films and screens to be made for each color that will be printed, this is were it can get costly for producing only a few units.
thanks again red and sorry for the ignorance. could you please tell me where to find the forum about costs dtg versus screen. one more question, the baseball situation i stated earlier. would that be feasible or would you send that to screen printer as well, there will be approximately 16 shirts for players and about thesame for parents. thanks for all your help
Check out this post for what the ink cost would be for CMYK only prints and CMYK+White prints - What is a Fair DTG Ink Cost? Let me know your thoughts!. If all you are printing is CMYK ink, the total cost for print can range from $2.00 and up depending on the cost of the garment. Most ink costs for just CMYK prints will range $0.50 to a $1.00 depending on the size of the design.
f all you are printing is CMYK ink, the total cost for print can range from $2.00 and up depending on the cost of the garment.
Mark
i don't understand why the print cost is dependent on the garment. Does certain fabrics absorb more ink for a DTG? i know when screen printing different fabrics more ink is absorbed, like when printing sweat pant material.
It has to do with the color of the fabric and the colors in your design - that is what dictates whether you are printing with just CMYK ink or CMYK+White ink. You will use 8 to 10 times the amount of ink when printing a white underbase on a dark color garment. Read this post for more information as to how the color of the garment will affect how you print - What Color Garments Can I Print Using Only CMYK Ink on a Direct-to-Garment Printer? | DAGuide. This is what gives you the ink cost - which is the first part of the cost.
The other part of the cost depends on what garment you select. Some t-shirts can cost a $1.00 while other can cost much more. White t-shirts tend to be less than color t-shirts. Hoodies cost much more than t-shirts. That is the second part of the cost.
Other cost factors (i.e. the cost for equipment, labor, electric,...) will also need to be included. Hope this helps.
I completely understand that the ground color makes a huge difference (white ink). what i didn't understand is how the "cost of the garment" effects the print cost.
sorry, your post was a little confusing to me in the wording.
Some people use the term "print cost" to cover ink cost, garment cost and the other costs above. This is the total cost to make one print. I can understand how you would think print cost and ink cost are the same though.
dtg versus screen 
