I'm very much interested in designing my own shirts, I tried doing stencils & heat transfers before but didn't really have much luck with it. What would you suggest, between the two, is the better procedure to learn more about? Or are there any other designing procedure I should consider?
In one of the threads here I read that heat transfers would "only" work with white colored shirts? Can anyone please verify.
Also, does anybody here know about the heat transfer shirts sold in downtown Vancouver? Like in the Cherry Bomb store? I'm very interested to know the type of printing on the paper and the paper itself. The designs are the glossy type. Will I personally be able to achive that or do I need specialized paper and machines?
Normal heat transfer can only be done on light-colored shirts effectively (white especially, but it also works fine on ash and natural). However, there are other methods available that use that same heat press to apply designs to dark shirts, such as plastisol and vinyl/flock.
I'm sorry, but I have no idea of the Canadian supplies market.
However, in the UK you can now buy some excellent transfer stock for dark materials, even stuff in impregnated glow-in-the-dark and reflective qualities. By excellent, of course, I mean excellent for transfer technology, not necessarily for quality printing that people would actually buy....
I'd advise to be very, very careful. Very few designs are better as any sort of transfer. You'll cut off a very large market who refuse to buy transfer goods (even though some are excellent today...people have been burnt by the shoddy supplies avalible over the last few years).
If I were you, I'd take Twinge's advice if you're commited to using a heat press....plastisol, vinyl etc.
Please note that I'm also very biased towards actual screen printing, so feel safe to ignore me
For years Cafe Press was considered a total joke by anyone with internet experience, for example. That reputation seems to have turned around considerably in the last few years, but for some people the damage will already be done.
(whether or not they deserved the reputation I am not entering into - just saying they had it is all)
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdr8271
Most people wouldnt even know the difference, particularly with vinyl and plasticol.
That is a whole separate issue. Some customers know they don't want heat transfer. Could you fool them if you tried? Maybe. Not really relevant though.
Heat transfer still hasn't shaken off the associations with cheap iron-on transfer. People often think of it as the same thing they would do at home with an inkjet and an iron. So long as those home options are available, you're always going to have at least some customers thinking of the one as the other.
It's also associated with smaller operations, which sometimes goes along with lower quality. If a company uses heat transfer you also have a greater chance that they didn't apply it properly than with other print methods (this is, of course, a risk a customer takes to at least some extent with all printing everywhere - but the risk is greater in this case).
The fact is that heat transfer doesn't have a very good reputation with some portion of the customer base, and that is what a business that uses this method has to fight against (or not, if they don't need those sales). Alternatively you can just go for the customers who are ignorant enough (or unprejudiced, or open-minded - take your pick) not to care.
Other reasons not to buy transfer goods are simple things like the fact that dark coloured shirts are considerably more popular than light, and wanting a softer hand to your clothing (or harder for that matter, if you're a fan of bullet-proof printing). Screenprinting is superior if you want to print on non-standard locations (printing over seams, or across two halves of a garment for example). It can also be more flexible - both in terms of what fabric you can print on, and what inks you can print with.
Heat transfer also has its own advantages, but it would be naive to overlook its disadvantages. I know it's getting better everyday, etc. but it's not there yet. And if it does get there? It'll be years before the PR campaign catches up.
You need to be aware of the limitations of your medium if you're going to be successful with it and emphasise the things heat transfer does have going for it (e.g. flexibility to offer more size and colour choices to the customer).
(this goes for any medium, as screenprinting has a bunch of obvious limitations of its own)
To 90% of your customer-base, saying "heat-transfer", when sold from a small site, means "vile iron-on that will peel off in three washes, that I could make at home myself just as easily". Most people who buy shirts don't come to boards like this....they have no idea of the latest technology...they have no idea that "heat transfer" means about a dozen totally different methods and materials, ranging from awful to excellent.
Whether you want to hear it or not, few customers would buy transfer over screenprinted. Many would buy screenprinted over transfer.
To make goods that are 100% screenprinted *will* boost your sales. I've screenprinted at a professional level for years, and also done my fair share of heat press application with a range of materials. We sold them in the UK, to both boutique shops and a hefty number from a co-op site on the net. Screenprinted outsold transfer 5 to 1, if not more. The boutique shop paid more for screenprinted. And, best of all, the screenprinted had the lowest cost to us.
Yes, screenprinting has many issues which make it difficult to start in. But if you do, you *will* sell more.
Also, does anybody here know about the heat transfer shirts sold in downtown Vancouver? Like in the Cherry Bomb store? I'm very interested to know the type of printing on the paper and the paper itself. The designs are the glossy type. Will I personally be able to achive that or do I need specialized paper and machines?
Hope to hear from you...Ü
That store "Chery Bomb" is a complete replica of a Well known 20 year old Toronto t-shirt Store. The prints they sell are Litho-Transfers from bang on....i think.
That store "Chery Bomb" is a complete replica of a Well known 20 year old Toronto t-shirt Store. The prints they sell are Litho-Transfers from bang on....i think.
Thanks T-bot, i'm checking out the Bang On site now. Would you know where I can buy Litho-Transfers and can I use any ordinary ink-jet printer with that? Hope to hear from you!
Thanks T-bot, i'm checking out the Bang On site now. Would you know where I can buy Litho-Transfers and can I use any ordinary ink-jet printer with that? Hope to hear from you!
nope, you cant make litho-transfers with a jet printer.
these transfers are made in a special way, not even all screen printers make them. You need to make something like 1000 25x38 size transfer sheets in order for them to be cost effective. Also, they are not and have never been durable in the wash (comparing to screen print/plastisol etc.). They do look great, i own a lot of them myself.
Thanks again T-bot. I checked the net and it does seem like an expensive hobby. I guess i'll try to find good quality ink-jet heat transfer paper and learn more about stencils hehe. Thanks!
I have not been to Cherry Bomb, so I am not sure exactly what kind of transfers they are using, but I am pretty sure the ones Bang-on uses are not inkjet transfers. They are most likely plastisol transfers, which can't be printed on your home printer, but you don't need to order 1000 for it to be a cost effective option.
Bang-on was started in Vancouver, not Toronto.
They are most likely plastisol transfers, which can't be printed on your home printer, but you don't need to order 1000 for it to be a cost effective option.
Quote:
"That store "Chery Bomb" is a complete replica of a Well known 20 year old Toronto t-shirt Store.
Jasonda, Bang on is not the store Im talking about. Bang on was not even around then. Bang on Makes the litho's like the Famous " I PITTY THE FOOL ".
Litho-Transfer that Bang on makes are NOT plastisol transfers. Litho-Transfers ARE "lithograph process transfers". Comprende (spell?).
This is a discussion about Opinions needed... (also re: Cherry Bomb, VA., CA) that was posted in the General T-Shirt Selling Discussion section of the forums.
Opinions needed... (also re: Cherry Bomb, VA., CA) 
Re: Opinions needed... (also re: Cherry Bomb, VA., CA) 
