Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts
Hey guys i need some help to complete this
and maybe some corrections
I took most of this out of this great forum thx 4 that.
It should help beginners (like me) to understand and make the right decisions. (green means pro & red con):
PLEASE NOTE: this chart is a WORK IN PROGRESS. It is constantly in flux and being updated as more members share information on the different printing methods. Some information may be incomplete or incorrect. Feel free to add your comments about the different printing methods below to help contribute
Re: Comparison of the different ways to do custom shirts
Okay, this is a great idea, and a nice start. I am a reference chart person at heart. But quite a few categories and answers are sorta/sorta. Some of the answers are not cut and dry answers either. But this is definitely a great idea in my mind.
I think there probably need to be addition answers available to more accurately categorize the answers. Like the block that has a yes in screen printing for high defintion and alot of colors, when it comes to high def and alot of colors, DTG comes to mind. The chart says yes to both, but technically, some designs lend themselves better to DTG when it comes to color counts and detail.
Average time per shirt can be amazingly short in screen printing with the right equipment and operator at the helm. I've asked those who do both screen print and DTG, and the screening was incredibly fast. For me, with inkjet heat press, one shirt in heat press inkjet heat transfer can literally take me 5 or more minutes if I am having fiber issues on the shirt, oo if I am being picky or having trouble lining a shirt/transfer up. On the other hand, there are those who can press a shirt every minute. I did a poll once, and the press times were all over, but alot of us ended up around 20 to 30 an hour. I do believe a screen printer would kick our booties in that amount of time, lol. But in the blocks above it say screen print = long time per shirt and inkjet heat transfer = short. ??
These days a good inkjet heat transfer can go a long time without cracking, if ever. All the same, I have some screen printed shirts cracking in the first year.
I do think this sort of a reference chart is a great idea, but maybe the answers are too simple or maybe too defined. While it's a great idea, I think some more research has to go into it before it's ready for it's unvailing. There are many areas of the chart that need review. This is in the rough draft stages at this point, imo. Good luck to you and.....
__________________ Have a nice day...
Last edited by Girlzndollz; August 8th, 2008 at 11:28 AM.
Re: Comparison of the different ways to do custom shirts
Hi. The chart is quite impressive. My own two primary methods are sublimation and vinyl, so I'll only comment on those two and leave the other methods for those that specialise in those areas.
Vinyl cutters are limited to fairly simplistic designs. You can realistically incorporate three colours into a vinyl design, then it becomes too bulky and combining the colours becomes a nightmare. The special software you need comes with the cutter. Many come with plug in modules for using within Corel Draw and similar. It is a low maintenace set up, the training time depends on the individual (as with all methods). Vinyl comes in many forms, for attaching to a very wide range of substrates.
Sublimation, the biggest investment is the inks themselves. These can often work out considerably more expensive than the printer itself. Training is all down to getting practical experience of using the system. It will also print onto specially coated hard substrates such as name badges and plaques.
Re: Comparison of the different ways to do custom shirts
"What you can print on....w/ a DTG"
So far I've printed on...Mouse pads, brick vaneer(E-Z brick from the 80's) drink koozies, leather, sand stone coasters & trivits, un-glazed tiles(think its called Travertine) wood, and Sand Dollars.
The guys at Stitch City in so cal. have invented a plated for the Brother that can print on baseball caps and sneakers/high-top chucks(Vans) I saw the samples in January and they looked great.
Re: Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts
You decide what to add to your chart. Just sharing some stuff that I've done and seen. I thought the "?" in the chart above in the space "what you can print on" just didn't get the point accross or answer the question mark.
Re: Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts
Quote:
Originally Posted by inkette
You decide what to add to your chart. Just sharing some stuff that I've done and seen. I thought the "?" in the chart above in the space "what you can print on" just didn't get the point accross or answer the question mark.
i used your infos allready and let it update by rodney
thanks
Those first two threads have alot of info from alot of folks in them... it will really help. K, will be back again, see you, Chris. Thank you for creating this awesome tool!
__________________ Have a nice day...
Last edited by Girlzndollz; August 8th, 2008 at 03:49 PM.
Reason: editted...
Re: Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts
Nicely done.
Under investment, I think screenprinting should be listed as medium-high, maybe even low-high. Technically, you can do very nice screenprinting for several hundred dollars while I don't believe that is true with DTG. Aren't those things like $10K? So relatively speaking, screenprinting isn't as expensive as DTG.
avg cost per shirt - under transfers you have it listed as high, this is an exaggeration. Transfers are really only suitable for smaller print orders and in those quantities there is less a dramatic cost difference. Once you get into higher runs then the cost for screenprinting really plummets and transfers become unsuitable.
time to set up - transfers have to be printed before pressed which adds to the lead time, this is not accounted for in your chart.
avg time per light shirt should probably be very short for screenprinting. Even on a manual I could print several shirts in the time it would take to heat press one.
Re: Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Qriz
i agree.... Rodney would you please be so kind and take care of that?
The first time I clicked on the chart I could not read it. I was wondering how Rick could see it, so I clicked again. This time, I clicked it, and clicked a 2nd time and a new window opened up with a mag glass and with the mag glass clicked I could read it.
Chris, inkjet heat transfer is for cotton and cotton/poly.
__________________ Have a nice day...
Last edited by Girlzndollz; August 8th, 2008 at 06:39 PM.
Reason: remove info about pm help.
Re: Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts
Quote:
Originally Posted by DREAMGLASS
I am using a large high resolution monitor but I can no longer read the writing when clicking on the chart. Think it needs to be a touch bigger?
When you click on the thumbnail above, a larger image will appear. When you see that larger image, click on that and you'll see the full sized file.
The original image was causing too much side scrolling because it was so wide. But it's still there, you just have to click a couple of times to see the full sized version
Re: Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts
Hey Q, something I think might be helpful is adding a few more "fact" categories. ?? Some answers are more than one choice - like like the low-to-high Rick mentions.
Do you think it may be helpful to add a few more like:
"Low run Cost per shirt"
"High run Cost per shirt"
"Size of run for best cost per print"
Alot of folks are into, and getting into, Rhinestones, could that maybe also be another process added to the list. Is that okay?
I do see some of the updates now that the chart was re-posted. Sorry, didn't see that until now. The bottom fact says the chart is only for shirts, so now you don't need to list everything you can print on for vinyl, dye sub, etc. I was trying to get that info for you, but I'll stop now.
Well, best of luck with your chart, it's a great reference tool and great idea. You go, Qrip!
I'll try the heat transfer category:
Heat press/Inkjet-Laser heat transfers. These two could be seperated. They are different processes really and the laser costs more to get into than the inkjet. Laser uses different printers, toners instead of ink, and different papers. Outside of the press, they are different. They even are said to have different levels of quality.
Inkjet heat transfers: I'll go from box one down and try to help the best I can:
hi def, yes.
invest, low-med (while there are low dollar equipment to be had, presses can be $1000+ and printers $over 300 and upwards, if you add a cutter for contour cutting, you are adding another $1000'ish for something decent. add in bulk ink system and you look at another few hundred. many people operate with set ups like the higher dollar items here.)
special software: coreldraw, illy or photoshop are helpful for designing. (tho you can use clipart available on the net, alot of folks design their own. the software is useful for manipulating ready made clip art.)
training time: low/low med -just for the press, printer, and press process. everything else adds time (learning software, cutter)
maintenance, low.
avg cost per shirt, low (to me, but I don't know - are you comparing it to another process? One screened shirt can cost mucho $$ to produce, but 500 of them might be lower then my one shirt. ??? so really, I don't know, it depends on what its being compared to. ?? but to me, it's low)
time to set up design, low (as long as that doesn't mean creating the design, but i think you mean to prepare the art for printing, like "color seperations", so it is low bc there is none of that)
avg time per shirt light, low to avg/med
avg time per shirt dark, low to avg/med
pre and post treatment necessary, no treatments needed, but pre and post press steps are needed to remove moisture and reduce chance of cracking.
lasting before wash out, low-high. (depends on paper and ink combinations)
what you can print on: 100% cotton to 50/50% cotton/poly blends. Good night!
This is a discussion about Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts that was posted in the General T-Shirt Selling Discussion section of the forums.
Visual Comparison Chart of the different ways to do Print Custom T-Shirts 
It'll take time, so they will probably come in blocks. 
