al

Greetings folks!

From what I gather, plastisol heat transfers seem the most cost efficient approach for unsold stock of your tshirt designs. With that being said, I'm probably going that route for launching my own tshirt company, but I do have a few questions below.

1. Once a heat transfer is printed, what is the best approach to having the design on the shirt? Should a professional printer do it or should I try and do it myself? Quality is of importance to me as I plan on building a brand.

2. Who is the preferred plastisol printing company with a solid rep? I see quite a few posted, but I would like folks opinion drawing from their own professional experience.

3. How many colors can I use on a design for a plastisol transfer without incurring a significance jump in cost?

4. Are there any general guidelines or limitations for submitting designs for plastisol heat transfers such as dimensions and file formats?

5. Can I get away with creating most designs using Photoshop or do I have to use illustrator and/or corel draw?


Would appreciate any reply possible!.....Great forum Rodney! u da best

 

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kilrkats

Quote: Originally Posted by al Greetings folks! From what I gather, plastisol heat transfers seem the most cost efficient approach for unsold stock of your tshirt designs. With that being said, I'm probably going that route for launching my own tshirt company, but I do have a few questions below. Once a heat transfer is printed, what is the best approach to having the design on the shirt? Should a professional printer do it or should I try and do it myself? Quality is of importance to me as I plan on building a brand. 2. Who is the preferred plastisol printing company with a solid rep? I see quite a few posted, but I would like folks opinion drawing from their own professional experience. 3. How many colors can I use on a design for a plastisol transfer without incurring a significance jump in cost? 4. Are there any general guidelines or limitations for submitting designs for plastisol heat transfers such as dimensions and file formats? 5. Can I get away with creating most designs using Photoshop or do I have to use illustrator and/or corel draw? Would appreciate any reply possible!.....Great forum Rodney! u da best

1. You'll have to have a heat press to apply the plastisol transfer. I would advise getting one to apply your own designs. This way you have more control over placement and quality of application.

2. There's a few companies in the marketplace but I prefer Untitled Document They've been involved in this industry for years. Although there might be a printer that's closer to your business.

3. Most plastisol heat transfer companies have price lists on their websites.

4. I would suggest using vector art because you might incur art charges for seperations, edits, etc.

5. You should be able to use photoshop but I'm not sure about layout from photoshop. Rodney might be able to answer this question because I'm not very good with graphic design concepts.

I would also line up a good screen printer for those larger runs because it might be more efficient to contract the larger runs and then you can focus on generating more sales. Remember there's a soft cost involved in production that a lot of businesses overlook and your time is MONEY.

Good luck

 

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al

Thanks for the reply kilrkats!

I guess if you're starting out, it's probably best to design your own art and get custom plastisol transfers made. I wonder though, how many shirts will you waist before getting it to a science with the right temp, pressure, and quality of the shirt.

 

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kilrkats

Quote: Originally Posted by al Thanks for the reply kilrkats! I guess if you're starting out, it's probably best to design your own art and get custom plastisol transfers made. I wonder though, how many shirts will you waist before getting it to a science with the right temp, pressure, and quality of the shirt.

It's really a pretty easy process and a lot of the transfer companies make it easy with their own support system. They will also supply application instructions making it pretty simple. Don't get me wrong there's always room for error, so figure a spoilage of 2% - 5%.

 

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