Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
i just started studing the t shirt buisness in aug.! i just purchased a new 16x20 heat press, epson 1400 printer and i have a 15 day trial version of coreldraw x4! i dont know how to use any of this stuff though! my intensions were to practice all winter and start soliciting customers in march, but i already have a 50 tee shirt customer and a 10 collar shirt embrodary order. now im not really worried about the 10 shirt order because ill probably have to ooutsource that anyway, but the 50 shirts are the basic family picture with a chessy thanksgiving family slogan, but i kinda dont know where to start??? can anybody help any and all advise will be valued!!! oh and as far as the 10 college style shirts, i just talked to the embrodary man he wants 45$ to his graphics man for a small left chest logo and 6$ per shirt for the logo and stitching. without the shirts thats $110! is that a goog price! overall though im more concerned about the 50 tee shirts! please help???!!!
Outsource both your orders. Seems like you have an embroiderer to outsource to so you're on the right track.
For the family picture order you might want to find a DTG printer as opposed to a screen printer (or someone who can do both orders and try to bargain a good price). They might be harder to find but photo images will look real nice coming from a DTG printer and may be more cost effective.
It's too hard to try to learn everything overnight and if you try, in the process, you might lose a lot of money and a lot of sleep. Stick with your plan of learning your trade first. Good luck to you.
Well I agree that you should (and have to, unless you have an embroidery machine) outsource the polo’s to an embroider. That price you gave sounds about right for the embroidery (not knowing stitch count). As far as the 50 T-shirts I think you may have a chance at doing these partly on your own (although it might to wiser to outsource until you get some experience). If you purchase digital plastisol transfers (which do ok photos) you can apply them with your heat press yourself. Many heat transfer companies have stock art you can change to suit your needs (templates or frames). This may be a bit expensive but worth pricing out so you can give it a try and see what you are getting into. This is one way you can get your feet wet with a little experience. Order a few extra if you do this to make sure you have a few to practice with. I do have to agree with the DTG printing as far as photo quality, it is the best looking in my opinion. As far as learning this stuff in a short period of time, I would not count on it. All of the printing methods do have a learning curve. I would stick to your original plan and “learn” thru the winter and start selling in the spring. Practice, make your friends a shirt or two, and make yourself a few. Just try to get a hang of how to use the equipment you have. Do some tutorials on the internet for Corel to help you learn. You will find that it will pay off in the future, not making you customer wait as you try to figure out how to do everything, this may also eliminate any problems with quality as well. You don’t want to deliver a bunch of crooked, misprinted or poor quality shirts. Customers don’t come back after receiving that. I wish you well, it may be best to stick to your original plan, outsource for now, you may not make as much money but you will get a returning customer and have time to learn. GL to you.
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Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.
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well if outsourcing is my best option,(in which im still open to all suggestions, directions, and advice) then where do i start??? do i do dtg, or do i do screenprint(for the 50 shirts) and is it possible to get all 50 white tees with a digital picture and a slogan for about $4 a peice??? is that a realistic price, or can i do even better than that???
well if outsourcing is my best option,(in which im still open to all suggestions, directions, and advice) then where do i start??? do i do dtg, or do i do screenprint(for the 50 shirts) and is it possible to get all 50 white tees with a digital picture and a slogan for about $4 a peice??? is that a realistic price, or can i do even better than that???
Not really a realistic price. You have to also think about shipping and so forth. Either way your best bet might be to decline the 50 shirt order since it doesn't seem like your ready.
Screen printing a full color image requires a four color process. Kinda tricky and not as accurate at creating finely detailed digital picture images( I am assuming that is of course what your doing). DTG is your way to go and can kind of be expensive on larger runs of shirts IMHO.
For the photo I'd say go with DTG, not silkscreen. Start calling around and see what you can find local. Second look up Contract DTG Printing on Google, it will give you some places that do it online but you will have to pay for shipping ETC.
I doubt you will be able to get it for 4$. Depends on size.
Good Luck to you...
__________________
Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.
-Confucius
can't i scan the picture to my computer then somehow transfer it to coreldraw and then try to work it from there?? it cant be that hard i see them do it in the malls all the time?? oh and i talked to 2 dtgers in my area and there both saying around 6 dollars a shirt if they provide the shirts at 2$ a peice.
Yes, give it a shot. Scan it, import it into Corel and have at it. As for hard, well depends on the amount of changes needed and also what you plan on adding or creating, that's where know how comes in. It is worth a shot though.
Just try to remember what the final result is going to look like, if you are not happy with it I doubt your customer will. Print out a few mock-ups or you can also purchase templates or frames form different art companies on the net. Try searching T-shirt art, may be helpful rather than trying to create everything yourself.
GL 2 U...
__________________
Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.
-Confucius
Let your customer approve the design before you print the shirts that way there will be no surprises for either of you when it's time to pay the balance of the order. You did get a deposit didn't you???
I have one word for a new business owner with no experience and orders at the door....outsource.
You have been given some great advice as well as some very informative how-to's in previous posts; but without good sound knowledge of your craft, you will never have the full confidence that you are doing things correctly.
If you are set on jumping right in the pool before getting your feet wet; order plenty of extra blanks, keep the customer involved with proofing, and take plenty of notes as you go.
It gets better and more fun as you learn more and your confidence grows. Just take your time and keep having fun.
You're a business owner now...your recession is in your hands
hey can't i get a graphics guy to put the design together for me and then print and press my own shirts??? and gtp that sounds like a good idea but the problem is i need like a 2 day turn around...
newbie dilima needs help with customers!!!??? 
Re: newbie dilima needs help with customers!!!??? 
