BSApparel

Hi all, have a question.

I recently bought a complete screen printing setup for myself (press, inks, accessories, etc.) because I thought that would be my best option. Then I started reading about plastisol transfers.

Plastisol transfers SEEM much better for low to medium volume production (which is what I'll be doing), and also seem much easier, simpler and cleaner than the screen printing process, with similar quality results. Plus, I can take the heat press with me to my college dorm and back home, which will let me print wherever I go.

I can still return my screen printing equipment and get a heat press. Quality-wise I can see that plastisol transfers are just about the same as screen printing, but my question is, are plastisol heat transfers really easier than screen printing? Are they consistent from print to print, and how many would you say can be printed in an hour?

I'm looking at transferexpress.com for transfers, but they have no prices - what can I expect to pay for transfers?

Also these are the three presses I'm looking at -
Vinyl Cutters, heat presses, heat transfer material, transfer papers and heat printing supplies all at affordable prices.
Vinyl Cutters, heat presses, heat transfer material, transfer papers and heat printing supplies all at affordable prices.
Vinyl Cutters, heat presses, heat transfer material, transfer papers and heat printing supplies all at affordable prices.

If you can give me an idea of their quality, or if there's another source you'd recommend I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks alot for the help!!
Aaron

 

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karlking85

Here's my 0.02 plus a nickel for inflation.

Quote: Originally Posted by BSApparel Quality-wise I can see that plastisol transfers are just about the same as screen printing, but my question is, are plastisol heat transfers really easier than screen printing? For the person creating them no, but for the person applying them to the shirt,....depends. They require more work than simply pulling them out of a box such as screenprints, But on the other hand, you don't have to keep large amounts of stock preprinted on hand that you don't currently need. Are they consistent from print to print, and how many would you say can be printed in an hour? Yes/As many as your arms can tolerate. (Depends on wether they are front and back, or one-sided, but you should be able to knock out a pretty good quantity in an hour. Especially once you get a system going.) I'm looking at transferexpress.com for transfers, but they have no prices - what can I expect to pay for transfers? Probably too much if you go with them. haha Check out some of the other vendors recommended all over the forums. Most of them do have price lists on the website, to give you a feel for what to expect. Thanks alot for the help!! Aaron Good luck, and I hope everything goes well for you.

 

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BSApparel

Thanks alot, I just found one company with prices and they're charging almost 4 bucks a sheet for a 4 color print if I order 100 sheets, didn't realize they were so expensive.

Now I have to see if the cut in profit is worth the relief of not having to color separate, print film positives, burning my screens, setting up the press printing the shirts....

Still not positive though, 4 bucks a sheet is pretty hefty, considering that I'd use about 40 cents of plastisol for a 4 color print with screen printing.

 

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karlking85

Hey Aaron, go check out F&M Expressions - F&M Expressions - HOME They do 4 color transfers but they charge by the sheet size, instead of by the color, as most-ok EVERY-other company does. Not sure what size you need your image to be but for a run of about 100, it looks like you can about cut that 4.00 tag in half. They have a price sheet on the site, check them out.

 

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BSApparel

Thanks alot for the link. I guess the transfers will cost about the same as having a third-party printer print the shirts for me (assuming I can supply the shirts to them). The advantage to pressing them myself instead of having a printer do them is that I can print to order, which means that I don't have to hold inventory and risk being stuck with 100 shirts of one design/size that just won't sell. The bad thing is that with both methods, there is a huge investment (I'm releasing 10 designs at the same time, about 100 prints per design). Screen printing them myself, I avoid the investment, other than the shirt costs, but printing low quantities to order means that I'm constantly going to be changing out and washing my screens every week. With transfers I can just stick them on. So I guess the question is, is the investment worth it.

 

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treadhead

Quote: Originally Posted by BSApparel Thanks alot for the link. If I do transfers instead of screen printing them myself, there's a rather large initial investment in the transfers, in addition to the t-shirts (which I already bought), that I would not have to make if I did the screen printing.

Unless you already own the equipment, you would have to make a much larger investment in the screenprinting. This is the main reason I have opted (for the time being) to go with plastisol instead of getting my own equipment. I did buy a used 4 color press a while back but opted to forgo the rest due to cost and space constraints.

Quote: In fact, even with the inexpensive places, transfers run about the same price as having a third-party screen printer print the shirts for me (assuming I can supply the shirts). If that is the case, I'd rather just have a screen printer do it and save myself the thousand bucks or so on a heat press.

Probably a true statement but a heat press is probably your most versatile piece of equipment if you are planning on doing any other type of process (vinyl, DTG, stock transfers, sublimation, etc.)

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treadhead

Quote: Originally Posted by BSApparel Thanks alot, I just found one company with prices and they're charging almost 4 bucks a sheet for a 4 color print if I order 100 sheets, didn't realize they were so expensive. Now I have to see if the cut in profit is worth the relief of not having to color separate, print film positives, burning my screens, setting up the press printing the shirts.... Still not positive though, 4 bucks a sheet is pretty hefty, considering that I'd use about 40 cents of plastisol for a 4 color print with screen printing.

Per shirt, plastisol is much more expensive than direct screenprinting but you need to figure in the capital investment into the equipment and your time in learning how to do screenprinting.

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BSApparel

Quote: Originally Posted by treadhead Unless you already own the equipment, you would have to make a much larger investment in the screenprinting. This is the main reason I have opted (for the time being) to go with plastisol instead of getting my own equipment. I did buy a used 4 color press a while back but opted to forgo the rest due to cost and space constraints. Probably a true statement but a heat press is probably your most versatile piece of equipment if you are planning on doing any other type of process (vinyl, DTG, stock transfers, sublimation, etc.)

Sorry, I was editing as you were typing, wound up saying the same thing anyway though

Space is another issue for me, like you said - at home I have the space for a full setup, but at college I'm in a tiny room, where a heat press could be invaluable.

 

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karlking85

Absolutely. There are so many variables to consider, and there's probably a dozen ways to justify either method no matter how you look at it. Maybe I am looking at it in simplistic terms, but to have them screenprinted you would have to have the cost to print, and the shirt itself. But with the transfer, you don't necessarily have to order the shirts entirely upfront, which to me, seems like it would save some of the startup cost.

With the transfer costing around $2.00, I suppose the total would be about the same either way you went(you know better than me, I am still very new to screenprinting myself). I guess it just depends on wether you want to house the inventory in the meantime, and how quickly you expect to turnover stock.

Too bad we can't all sell 100 shirts a day! That would be nice.....Well, it's something to aim for.

 

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BSApparel

Quote: Originally Posted by treadhead Per shirt, plastisol is much more expensive than direct screenprinting but you need to figure in the capital investment into the equipment and your time in learning how to do screenprinting.

I'm finding that most of my time lately has been spent learning how to do spot color separations, and dealing with plastisol. I know how to screen print in regards to art, but plastisol is a whole new medium.

 

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treadhead

Quote: Originally Posted by BSApparel Hi all, have a question. I recently bought a complete screen printing setup for myself (press, inks, accessories, etc.) because I thought that would be my best option. Then I started reading about plastisol transfers. Plastisol transfers SEEM much better for low to medium volume production (which is what I'll be doing), and also seem much easier, simpler and cleaner than the screen printing process, with similar quality results. Plus, I can take the heat press with me to my college dorm and back home, which will let me print wherever I go. I can still return my screen printing equipment and get a heat press. Quality-wise I can see that plastisol transfers are just about the same as screen printing, but my question is, are plastisol heat transfers really easier than screen printing? Are they consistent from print to print, and how many would you say can be printed in an hour? I'm looking at transferexpress.com for transfers, but they have no prices - what can I expect to pay for transfers? Also these are the three presses I'm looking at - Vinyl Cutters, heat presses, heat transfer material, transfer papers and heat printing supplies all at affordable prices. Vinyl Cutters, heat presses, heat transfer material, transfer papers and heat printing supplies all at affordable prices. Vinyl Cutters, heat presses, heat transfer material, transfer papers and heat printing supplies all at affordable prices. If you can give me an idea of their quality, or if there's another source you'd recommend I'd really appreciate it. Thanks alot for the help!! Aaron

Personally, I made the decision to go with plastisol over doing direct screenprinting myself. I did buy a used 4 head press a while back but opted not to buy the rest of the equipment I would need based on limited resources ($ and my time) and space.

I offer plastisol for medium to large quantities and contract screenprinting for larger quantities (> 500 pcs). For smaller volumes, I have a vinyl cutter and a DTG printer. We also use inkjet transfers for mousepads and tote bags.

JMO...

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BSApparel

Quote: Originally Posted by karlking85 Absolutely. There are so many variables to consider, and there's probably a dozen ways to justify either method no matter how you look at it. Maybe I am looking at it in simplistic terms, but to have them screenprinted you would have to have the cost to print, and the shirt itself. But with the transfer, you don't necessarily have to order the shirts entirely upfront, which to me, seems like it would save some of the startup cost.

Not only that, but while I have to order shirts in either scenario, I would not have the shirts actually printed with the transfers until someone ordered one. That means that I don't need inventory held up on a design-basis. If I have 50 design "A" and 50 design "B" already printed, and someone orders 95 design "A" and 5 design "B", I would have to order more shirts with design "A" to fulfill the order, whereas if I was pressing them myself, I could fulfill the order perfectly with my current inventory (100 shirts, and assuming I had enough transfers).

Quote: With the transfer costing around $2.00, I suppose the total would be about the same either way you went(you know better than me, I am still very new to screenprinting myself). I guess it just depends on wether you want to house the inventory in the meantime, and how quickly you expect to turnover stock.

I believe that most screen printers charge a premium for shirts that they print on, so it would actually wind up substantially more than if I could provide my own shirts. Still not sure on that one yet though.

I might have to return my equipment and get a heat press for plastisol. I just wish I had done this research before I bought my equipment, I think I'll have to pay shipping plus 5% to the supplier . Oh well, lesson learned I guess.

Anyone want to buy a complete screen printing setup? lol

 

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karlking85

Quote: Originally Posted by treadhead Per shirt, plastisol is much more expensive than direct screenprinting but you need to figure in the capital investment into the equipment and your time in learning how to do screenprinting.

Plus the labor itself.

I know that if you do it all in house, you can cut your cost to well under a dollar a shirt (excluding time), but time is money, and the nice thing about plastisol transfers, to me, is while the screenprinter is preparing the transfers for me, I can be out figuring out new ways to make money, instead of fiddling around with screens and bottles of ink. (A comment from a NONscreenprinter if I do say so myself. lol) haha

 

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karlking85

Quote: Originally Posted by BSApparel I believe that most screen printers charge a premium for shirts that they print on, so it would actually wind up substantially more than if I could provide my own shirts. Still not sure on that one yet though.

Yes you're right. They make sure they get a nice cash cushion if they supply the shirts for you, and-one of my pet peeves-you have no way of assuring that you get the shirts YOU want. Well, I suppose you can convince some screenprinters to supply a particular make, but my guess is as long as they are doing the ordering, you have to choose from what's in house.

Let me know if I am wrong...

 

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rrc62

Quote: Originally Posted by treadhead Per shirt, plastisol is much more expensive than direct screenprinting but you need to figure in the capital investment into the equipment and your time in learning how to do screenprinting.

Actually, it is only 14 cents more per shirt and the hand is softer than a direct print. The transfer paper is 14 cents per sheet. Ink is the same and labor is the same. You could use your equipment to print your own plastisol transfers. That's what I do. There are a few advantages over direct printing (1) You get a nice consistent cure when you press the shirt. (2) You can print extras for regular customers so when they come back all you have to do is press the shirts. (3) If you do shows, you can print the transfers then press them on site.

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