Just another one...but different! which printing method to get into?
Alright,
So i've searched around on the threads and must say i have got some good insight onto what might be the best way for me to go about this. I can't seem to find out exactly what i need to though, so i decided to make my own post.
Bascially i'm a computer programmer with some ideas for some tshirts i would like to make. I've been offered by a couple different companies (family, friends, etc) that if i did start doing tshirts they would give me their business, etc etc. Mainly i want to make my own tshirts for the fun of it, now here comes my question.
In the future i would like to start my own business, but for now i need something to start with. I have some financial backing to where i could possibly purchase equipment to do my own printing.
I want to have professional looking tshirts, nothing that will rub off in the dryer, something that will last. Now comes the question of printing and everything. The company tshirts will be in one color, the tshirts i want to make for me and my friends will be in many different colors.
What would you guys suggest on equipment i should buy, or should i just get a heat press and outsource the screen printing? I'm still new to this whole thing and i'm going to look around some more on here...but basically i do not want to go through the cafeexpress or anything like that, i just want some quality looking tshirts that if the business did grow, i could then purchase more equipment, maybe higher-end stuff.
From what i've gathered it seems like getting a heat press and having somebody else do the transfers is what i should do? I'm honestly not sure and i'm looking for some help here...
Well, thank you all in advance for any suggestions or input!!
also, ive looked around but can't seem to find a thread about differences in quality/price etc of all the methods of putting a design on a tshirt, does anybody know of any?
It may be hard to find a thread that tells you exactly what you should do, since nobody will be able to tell you that information.
Reading through past threads is mainly to give you the information and research you need to make your own decision about which method would be best for you.
After reading a few pros and cons about the different printing methods, only you will be able to decide which way to go.
Some may suggest screen printing and some may suggest a direct to garment printer. Others may suggest heat transfers.
But in the end, it would be your choice to decide which way will be best for your specific needs and budget.
Screen printing will probably give you the best overall quality, but it has a larger learning curve than heat transfers. It's also not the best for short run printing.
A heat press and vinyl cutter will give you the equipment needed to do 1-3 color designs and outsource plastisol (screen printed) transfers for larger jobs.
A direct to garment printer will be able to do short run jobs and long run jobs, but may not give you the best results on dark shirts.
If you look through the versus threads, you'll find some good comparisons and contrasts between the various printing methods.
I think you are on the right track with having transfers [plastisol] made, and applying them yourself.keep in mind, most transfer companies have minium orders also charges per color in the design. You can also go with stock plastisol transfers from many different companies,there are some listed on the left hand side of the screen. hope this helps, MIKE
Re: Just another one...but different! which printing method to get into?
Yes i completely understand what you're saying, and after talking to a couple different people i've gotten all kinds of different ideas. My only main worry is that the tshirts will not wear, as in the designs start to rub off...that is one of my main concerns.
What i'm thinking about is getting the heat press as a start for designs, etc. That way if it does take off then i can just upgrade to better equipment to mass produce things.
Re: Just another one...but different! which printing method to get into?
Yeah i went through your whole review of all those companies (which i did enjoy reading, thanks!) and i think that's probably what i wanna end up trying to do, so what i see is that on the first companies page
does that mean if i buy between 15-19 of them they are 2.09 a sheet for each color? That's what i'm guessing. I think for now that isn't too much overhead if that is the case for what i'm planning on doing...then later on down the road if it gets more popular i can just up the quantities.
Re: Just another one...but different! which printing method to get into?
Quote:
does that mean if i buy between 15-19 of them they are 2.09 a sheet for each color?
That means if you have a design that is a one color design, you can get 15-19 SHEETS of transfers for $2.09 per sheet.
Depending on the size of your one color design, each sheet of transfers could have several designs per sheet. So if you fit 4 designs per sheet and you ordered 15 sheets, you'd actually be getting 60 usable designs (about .52 cents per design).
If your design is 3 colors, then the cost per sheet would be $6.27 per sheet for a quantity of 15-19 sheets. Hope that makes sense.
That's just one companies pricing. You can compare pricing from other companies and see if their pricing and minimums fit your needs better.
Re: Just another one...but different! which printing method to get into?
Okay cool i understand now...yeah there's a couple different plans i have, most shirts probably having about 3 different colors on them. That is good to know though about multiple designs because i have sort of like a brand label kinda thing i would like to put on the sleeve, that way i could get a ton of those and fit maybe 8 on a sheet since they are so small.
Thanks for all your help Rodney, i'm sure i'll be back for more soon!
This is a discussion about Just another one...but different! which printing method to get into? that was posted in the General T-Shirt Selling Discussion section of the forums.
Just another one...but different! which printing method to get into? 
