Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I am trying to research on starting a new t-shirt business I know many people in my local area that buy t-shirts for their business and some that I have talked to would be willing to buy them from me instead of the people they dealing with now. I am not plannig on doing a website (atleast not at first) just looking to sell local for now. This is something I would like to make some money from but I am a stay at home mom and I don't plan on this making me rich. (But it would be ok if it did LOL) I have no clue what I need to buy to start up but I know that I have atleast 5,000 dollars to start with. I am also interested in printing caps.
I found this package and wanted to know if it is a good deal and if it would be good to start out with.
PowerDriver color management software. Simple to use but very powerful.
Note: PowerDriver works with Windows 95/98, ME, 2000 & XP.
Hanes Sublimation Maker - must be used with these sublimation inks & it is included in this package. Sublimation Transfer Paper (100 sheets 11"x17") for the sublimation printer
Print beautiful & sharp images on these commercial grade transfer papers
8. Easy Point-&-Click Graphic Design Software - Hanes Sublimation Maker
Create customized items in just 10 minutes
Gives the basic computer user the ability to make stunning graphics
Includes 1,000's of designs for business events, team activities, birthdays, family reunions & more.
This easy-to-use, point & click design software makes designing & laying out text & graphics a breeze
9. Marketing Module - Base STM
With this complete marketing module - You will learn how to price your products.
Includes Business letters, quote forms, pricing forms & much more!
10. Sports Module
With this Target Market Module you will reach the competitive club teams not recreational teams. This exemplifies the importance of targeted marketing. Why? Over 3 million young people play for competitive club teams that require significant time and financial commitment.
Twelve sports are targeted, from Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Martial Arts, Soccer, Swimming, to Volleyball, and many more. The CD contains hyperlinks to many sites containing contact information for each and explains how to use secondary sources for finding sales contacts.
11. Schools Module
With this Target Market Module you will reach over 75 million North Americans between the ages of 5 and 25 that are students attending over 80,000 middle schools, high schools, and colleges.
12. Religious Organizations Module
With this Target Market Module you will reach Religious Communities. It provides all the information needed to continue building your business by providing full color personalized products for religious faiths in America. According to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, over 175 million North Americans belong to a religious faith.
13. We give you these popular blanks so you can generate up to $1,900 Right Away!
Inkjet Transfer Paper 100 sheets (see item#4 above)
Sublimation Transfer Paper 100 sheets (see item#5 above)
50 Full size mouse pads
48 Heavyweight National Brand t-shirts - white
12 Can wrappers
10 Puzzles
12 Full size place mats
25 Canvas tote bags
36 Ceramic 11oz Mugs
Heat resistant tape to hold down transfers on mugs, etc
Not going to proof the entire post....but I would see the prices individually and total up...then see if the price is good... I will bet there are several items that you don't need, won't use and will set on the shelf...don't let the vendor sell what he wants....you just buy what you NEED
i saw the epson 1400 printer twice do you get two or does it show it. also i think the epson 1400 dos not use pigment ink which is what you would want to use for heat transfers. Also i did not see a vinyl cutter which would help you out as well for some short runs.
I tink you can get more for your money if you buy seperate, some of the things included you will need but some you probably wont ever you buy seperate and then buy the blanks that you need as you go. and with all those modules not sure what those are but im thinking it just explains the different markets and maybe gives you some numbers and ways to contact them which all you will need to do is pick up you local phone book but in your case you said you had some potebtial customers already so those module might not apply to you. good luck on what ever you choose.
Well thats a set up for T-shirts and sublimation printing of mugs, tiles, acrylics etc...
At a glance that seems like a good deal. The question I would have is do you need all that? Do you need it all right now? Thats a complete business are you ready for all that? If money is not an issue and you want to put that much into it I would get. If it was going to take a lot of sacrifice or risk to get that kind of $$ then I would only buy what you need to start then build and buy the extras (sublimation equipment) as you need them.
To start IMHO you need a good press, blanks (totes shirts, whatever) and some good ideas!! You can order transfers already made or make your own with a printer. A vinyl cutter is a good idea to get but not absolutely necessary to begin, I think!!
Artsy has a good point as far as needing all of that to get going. There are literally hundreds of directions you can go with a heat press and some motivation. I didn't read your post 100% and I don't know what a lot of those things are that you listed, but $5500+ to get started seems a bit much to me. I'm just saying - what if you get going and you realize that you wanna go in a different direction. Your capital is gonna be tied up in things that are just sitting on a shelf.
I felt overwhelmed when I got into this biz 2 years ago. I think my first order of stock transfers was for $700.00; I got carried away thinking that I was gonna be bigger than I was. I still have at least half of those transfers sitting around and that's money sitting there that I could be using on things I'm actually selling. What I thought was gonna work and what actually sold were often 2 different things.
My point is, you'll learn what you need and what your customers actually want. My advice - don't skimp, but don't go all out initially. Trial and error could save you money and more importantly - time.
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"It's difficult to heat press straight when you're hungover"
A vinyl cutter is a good idea to get but not absolutely necessary to begin, I think!!
I know a vinyl cutter is not absolutely necessary for inket or laser transfers, but I would HIGHLY suggest it. Unless you deliberately design in a box or very simple shapes, you're going to want one because you don't really want that film window around your designs. It just looks unprofessional.
I do think that the list you gave is a decent deal, but I wouldn't get it. I'd start with one thing, then move into other aspects of this business once you feel comfortable with the parts you've already mastered.
I've been reading up on sublimation because I'd eventually possibly like to get into that, but it sounds pretty tricky in some cases. The shirts you need to buy for dye sublimation are also a LOT more expensive than for inkjet heat transfers, plus you can only print on white or light-colored shirts (for the most part).
I'd say buy that press and possibly that printer (with a CIS for either inkjet transfers or sublimation), but decide if you want to start off with inkjet heat transfers or sublimation, and work from there.
But like I said, if you go with inkjet transfers, do yourself a favor and buy a vinyl cutter like the Graphtec CE5000-40 15" CraftROBO Pro or a Graphtec CE5000-60 24" plotter (okay...or a Roland GX-24, but I still say the Graphtecs are a better value). That will also open up future doors for you to produce vinyl decals and signs, and will also allow you to use apparel vinyl for your shirts.
Lastly, if you don't have it, get a good software package like Adobe Creative Suite or CorelDRAW Suite X3 (CorelDRAW is more intuitive for me, but it's really down to personal choice as to which one is "better".). Download the trial versions of those software packages when you have the opportunity to really delve into them and see which one you like better.
Hey Shawna, don't forget that forum members can get discounts from preferred vendors listed on the left side of the forum page. Also buying stuff is easy, selling product is often much slower. This business is very competitive. Most people have to find their niche in the market to be successful. Some never do. For others it's a hobby. I would suggest to start out smaller, rather than larger. Much would depend on your personal skills and how much time your willing to invest. The T-shirt industry is huge. Just buy what you need. Most of us have learned that the hard way. Another thing, you will make mistakes, you will need practice stock, and not everyone will like everything. Just the way it is. Hope this helps. Good luck.
That's a lot of equipment to to try and learn how to use all at once. Also you have to take in to consideration what type of shirts the customers are used to buying. If they're used to screenprinted and embroidered shirts and you'r eonly selling shirts made with inkjet transfers that may be a turn off to them. There's a lot of info on this site take the time and make an informed decision. even if it takes you a few months to get some more knowledge it will be worth it because that is a lot of money to invest to find out it wasn't what you were looking for.
Determine and investigate a potential market before you spend a penny. Write some sort of business plan for that potential market. Cut your budget in half and work from there...it will make your purchases market specific and enough to get a handle on logically. You can have all the tools in the world and zero market or knowledge how to impliment them.
Its a great list but it really is just a wish list until you know specifically what you are going to produce. Read the posts about digital transfers, heatpress vinyl, plastisol transfers, dye-sublimation, all the pros and cons of each type of application. With a sizeable budget you could also look into DTG.
The better informed you are the less costly mistakes one makes.
1ust to show that you don't need a lot to start...7 years plus ago I started with sublimation with a C80 printer with sublimation ink, a small hix press, a pair of mug wraps, some paper, a dozen mugs, couple dozen assorted sizes of Tee shiets...and it took some time but eventually I found more and more and it has worked...7 years ago it was NOT a full time job or one that would pay the mortgage...but then it did not have to..
If you are looking to make a ton of money in a short time...this is not the business...but can you make a few dollars and have fun..you bet...Now I do a lot of promotional items, vinyl, sublimation and transfers..
Based on my experience, I would not start with this package. You are getting way more equipment that you need to start a t-shirt business, and it's not necessicarily the right stuff for you.
The software, for example: Hanes T-Shirt Maker is a one trick pony. You would be much better off investing in Corel Draw -- something you can use for other applications in the future.
I would purchase a vinyl cutter over a mug press (another one trick pony).
Order small amounts and sample packs of transfer paper and test them out yourself to determine which works best for you.
Check this board to determine for yourself if the printer is or is not the right one.
Yes...there is a whole lot more to starting a t-shirt business. Be prepared to spend a lot of time researching equipment and supplies; and be willing to spend some money on research & development, and learning the craft.
Coming from a newcomer (been in the business 6 months) I agree with everyone on not getting it all at once. We have hard time staying focused on what we intended to do (uniforms, team athletics, etc) because of all the possibilities. We started with a heat press and a cutter. Between the cutter and plastisol transfers and some outsourcing of embroidery I am able to meet the needs of my clients and then some. We have branched out doing outdoor signs, window lettering, and vehicle lettering. It is definitely overwhelming and easy to get going in all directions and never really focus on one target. Figure out what you want to provide exactly and what the market is - then get just enough equipment to just do that. I could have just as easy started out with a heat press and gathered 70% of the business I have now. The cutter is being used for short runs and promo items. But the cutter is more fun!!
I have to agree with others on that equipment and supplies. Before buying anything decide what and how you want to print. Transfers can be inkjet (pigmented ink), sublimation inks, vinyl, or plastisol. Start small as Charles mentioned and define what you want to accomplish B4 buying.
Help is this a good deal 
