T-BOT

...sorry, here are the basics a transfer maker needs to know to price the job.


Spec Sheet/Job details for pre-production.


1. How many designs total ?

2. How many colors total ?

3. What is the size of each design ?

4. What fabric types and colors will the designs be printed on ?

5. What is the finish date ?

6. What is the total quantity ?

7. Is the art ready for screens ?

....basic info transfer makers need.

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Jasonda

Quote: Originally Posted by Little Samson Jasonda: I would if I wan't paranoid about copyright/trademark issues (which I'm dealing with now) Most all the people here seem to be very honest straight forward folks. But the 2% that would just rip off a design ain't getting it from me before I get my own out there.

That's perfectly understandable. But you don't need to post the entire image, just a sample. You could just take a slice that shows the range of colors you need without showing the entire design.

 

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Little Samson

Quote: Originally Posted by T-BOT Actually, a transfer maker does not need to see any art. Some, like me and others prefer NOT to see it until we are ready to move to pre-production. All a transfer maker really needs is a job detail/spec sheet to estimated the cost and production time. from there, we get a deposit, you email SAMPLE low resolution art for production approval, after it is approved for production, you send your art originals ready for screens. so, in fact, the transfer maker only sees your original art when it is imported into the film out-put system. ....make sense ?

Lucy:

This is a Catch 22 for me. The chicken or the egg syndrome.

ya see i've never done a T-shirt before and of course now I want to do something that seems to be as difficult and expensive as could be generated.
I can understand why a transfer maker wouldn't want to see artwork before seeing the money. You see so much stuff you're probably sick of it.

Me. I'm the new guy on the forum trying to determine what my real problems are and how much it'll cost. I can't really determine that because I haven't done it before. As to the spec questions.

1. How many designs total ?
4- 6 initially

2. How many colors total ?
Thats what I'm trying to determine. Are my individual colors on my Vectors the true ammount of colors?... or can they be printed as halftones or combinations of RGB?

3. What is the size of each design ?
Since they are Vector Images i haven't finalized size. But they would be middle chest and full back along with some pocket size images.

4. What fabric types and colors will the designs be printed on ?
I'd like to start with only 100% cotton although it looks like Hoodies might have to be 90-10%. I'd like to be able to print on most colors, from black to pigment dyed greens, grays and yellow. I know that white is the easiest, but I'm not a giant fan of white.

5. What is the finish date ? TBD. Could have them done in a week, but there is no rush.

6. What is the total quantity ?
Anywhere from 100-500 depending on cost and whether I can gang images on the transfer.

7. Is the art ready for screens ?
If the art is presented in a Vector graph, I am supposing it is. Am i right?

 

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Little Samson

Quote: Originally Posted by Jasonda That's perfectly understandable. But you don't need to post the entire image, just a sample. You could just take a slice that shows the range of colors you need without showing the entire design.

Jasonda:
My artist has done the work in Illustrator but I don't use that program.
I can't send a piece. Cause all i've got now is just the finished Jpeg.

 

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Little Samson

Lucy:
On your question, what is the finish date?
i know that meant for the job to be delivered. Its flexible and not a rush

 

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T-BOT

Quote: Originally Posted by Little Samson Lucy: This is a Catch 22 for me. The chicken or the egg syndrome. ya see i've never done a T-shirt before and of course now I want to do something that seems to be as difficult and expensive as could be generated.

...remember you need to compete in the market place.

Quote: I can understand why a transfer maker wouldn't want to see artwork before seeing the money. You see so much stuff you're probably sick of it.

nope, once we reach this point the deposit will confirm the job. We do need to schedule it for production.

btw. our money hungry days are in the past, can't you tell.

Quote: Me. I'm the new guy on the forum trying to determine what my real problems are and how much it'll cost. I can't really determine that because I haven't done it before. As to the spec questions. 1. How many designs total ? 4- 6 initially

Transfer makers work/price with various sheet sizes, find out what sheet size works best for you....as you gang your designs.

Quote: 2. How many colors total ? Thats what I'm trying to determine. Are my individual colors on my Vectors the true ammount of colors?... or can they be printed as halftones or combinations of RGB?

You tell me. Half tones give you a different look than solid colors....look at the artwork, count the colors.

Quote: 3. What is the size of each design ? Since they are Vector Images i haven't finalized size. But they would be middle chest and full back along with some pocket size images.

It's important to know the EXACT size.

Quote: 4. What fabric types and colors will the designs be printed on ? I'd like to start with only 100% cotton although it looks like Hoodies might have to be 90-10%. I'd like to be able to print on most colors, from black to pigment dyed greens, grays and yellow. I know that white is the easiest, but I'm not a giant fan of white.

You would need what the brands use, a transfer that prints on all colors and on various knits.

Quote: 5. What is the finish date ? TBD. Could have them done in a week, but there is no rush

It's very important to establish a finish date right from the begining. Because jobs need to be schedule into production. An up in the air no rush type thing is not professional. sorry.

Quote: 6. What is the total quantity ? Anywhere from 100-500 depending on cost and whether I can gang images on the transfer.

Yes gang/yields are ok. The ideal jobs for transfers are 500-1000-up big 23x38 or 28x40 size sheets, this would be done with automatic press...it also becomes cost effective for you at this point.

Quote: 7. Is the art ready for screens ? If the art is presented in a Vector graph, I am supposing it is. Am i right?

Yes, vector artfiles are great.

Lets say you have a yellow color seperation (but remember you want to print on black shirts too) ....we would inform you and let you know that we would need to change your art sep to include a white base behind the yellow . ...example only.


but with 6-7-8plus colors...with a high volume order, I would just look into a 4-color process transfer.

The economical way to do it would be jet or nylon full-color transfer. Low minimums.

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Jasonda

Quote: Originally Posted by Little Samson Jasonda: My artist has done the work in Illustrator but I don't use that program. I can't send a piece. Cause all i've got now is just the finished Jpeg.

If you want to send it to me I can slice it up for ya. Just let me know.

 

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Solmu

Quote: Originally Posted by Twinge You might also look into the 'Freedom' process one of the plastisol vendors offers, [...] (Run a search on other threads about this; I don't recall the comapny name offhand.)

F & M Expressions (Rodney's review for anyone interested)

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Mr.4ColorProcess

Quote: Originally Posted by T-BOT Actually, a transfer maker does not need to see any art. Some, like me and others prefer NOT to see it until we are ready to move to pre-production. All a transfer maker really needs is a job detail/spec sheet to estimated the cost and production time. from there, we get a deposit, you email SAMPLE low resolution art for production approval, after it is approved for production, you send your art originals ready for screens. so, in fact, the transfer maker only sees your original art when it is imported into the film out-put system. ....make sense ?

I beg to differ. And this is why: There is a complexity to the design that is taken in to consideration. Some designs are not transfer friendly, especially when there's small things in the design, like whiskers on a cat that need to be lined up with other colors. Maybe the design requires a lot of ink. Every design demands different amounts of ink. And this is taken into consideration when a price is offered. Then I have to know what kind of screen is to be used for this design. Is it a 110 mesh? 125? 156? Without seeing the artwork a screen printer is setting themselves up for the customer to take advantage. There's a lot more ink used for a 110 mesh screen than a 156 mesh. And not all designs are easy to print. So I insist that a customer show me their artwork before I quote a price.

Which enlightens me to another subject. Do people think that their designs are that much sought after? I've never considered running a previous customers design again. I don't sell the shirts they're applied to and have zero access to their customer base. At the very most, I'll hand out sample transfers from over-printed orders. And I've never had one customer ask for someone else's artwork, or even show any interest in it. It's like buying a bowling ball with someone else's name ingraved on it.

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Little Samson

Quote: Originally Posted by Jasonda If you want to send it to me I can slice it up for ya. Just let me know.

I opened your profile to send you an image and you're presently in the "don't allow email" plan.....

 

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