Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Hello Everybody,
I want to start a t-shirt selling business. I'm thinking about buying a heat press but i'm concerned about quality. I want to maintain that "screen-printed rubbery colorful look".......know what i'm saying. Should i just go ahead and have a screenprinter print directly to shirts everytime i need shirts done. Or would "certain" kinds of heat presses and transfer papers be a "wise" investment. My whole thing is putting art on the shirt that does'nt have a cheap feel. Can i make some pro-looking shirts with a heat press. Thanks all. Cheers.
I have a heat press and although I have not done a lot of shirts using my own printer and transfer paper, I have done a lot of things using plastisol transfers from other companies. I feel they are very professional looking and I have done a ton of work for local school and their athletic teams. i did do some shirts and sweatshirts (white) using my Epson C88+ and iron all paper and they came out awesome.
My whole thing is putting art on the shirt that does'nt have a cheap feel. Can i make some pro-looking shirts with a heat press.
Yes, you can using plastisol transfers (which is basically your design professionally screen printed on transfer paper and sent to you so you can press them on shirts as you need to).
Are the Plastisol transfers the solution primarily for large orders? I havent been pleased with my first few traditional transfers. Im not sure I want to do it that way even for short runs. Im not liking that heavy, plasticky thing...
Are the Plastisol transfers the solution primarily for large orders? I havent been pleased with my first few traditional transfers. Im not sure I want to do it that way even for short runs. Im not liking that heavy, plasticky thing...
Different transfer printers have different minimums. Some as low as 5 pieces per design (maybe even lower).
So it can work for small orders and larger orders. Of course the pricing (per transfer) for larger orders is going to be less expensive than a smaller order.
Whats the typical price range for those for, say, 2 dozen, one color? Im not asking for specifics, just need some input. I will have to do the dealer thing with some suppliers, I know....just wanna have an idea of a good price commonly paid.
I know Im being a pest, I apologize in advance. (Im such a nooblet)
Last edited by Darklight; June 4th, 2007 at 08:38 PM.
Reason: clarification
I found a quality company that can get you 24 one colors for $1.63 a piece. I just printed off some from thier sample pack yesterday and they are excellent.
I think I have seen that site.....After using a sample, do you think it was worth it? Was it a significant improvement over the normal transfer quality? Thx for the input too!
Good. Nice to hear, as these inkjet ones were worrying me with a potential quality/durability issue. Does the added cost amount to much change in your pricing structure, or do you absorb some of it into your profit margin? Id appreciate anyone's input..... (sorry to be a pest)
Last edited by Darklight; June 5th, 2007 at 10:16 AM.
Could you guys please share with me the web site where you are ordering these plastisol transfers?
If it can not be posted on the Boards, you could E-mail it to me.
I am about to experiment with duracottonHT for my HP 4500 inkjet. There is an excellent thread about this product on the forum (I believe the creator of duracotton is currently taking questions). It's supposed to be a decent quality for transfers. So, I will update when I get to print the duracottonHT and compare it to the plastisol. The price for the duracotton is signifcantly cheaper, but the plastisol really isn't that expensive to begin with (unless your going crazy with the color, then you probally want to check out the freedom sheet from transfer express)
Could you guys please share with me the web site where you are ordering these plastisol transfers?
If it can not be posted on the Boards, you could E-mail it to me.
A quick forum search for plastisol transfers will turn up many vendor lists where you can get plastisol transfers printed:
Could you give me an update after your testing? I know there are many posts about the HT on this site, but ID like to have your input on it's current state.
screenprint or heatpress? 
