Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
ok, here is my dillemma. I need to make some shirts for my bro's rock band. The shirts will be black by the way. The problem is that i wanted to order some custom tranfers from first edition but they said they cant do it cuz they can't vectorize the image since it has a photo in it. I could order a custom photo tranfer but i'm curious as to the feel ? Couldn't I just use could use a dark transfer paper and print it myself? Thing is but I don't want it to feel like a transfer. I would want it done in greyscale and i know i have seen shirts that are silkscreened like this but i don't have silkcreen equip. What are my options? do I need to send it out and get silkscreened? (hope not, thats gon cost me!) any ideas anyone?
You're best option is DTG. It is similar in feel and quality to screen printing, but can get the detail of the photo. Opaque transfer paper will always have that feel. It can't be avoided as that feel is the product itself that is accepting the ink.
Why not post an ad with that picture in the recommendations and referrals section asking for a DTG Quote on the image and give the quanity you are looking for?
The nice thing about DTG is you can do one-off's, so you won't need to order bulk qty's in various sizes. If you only need half a dozen shirts in various sizes, DTG can accommodate this. Good luck to you.
I like plastisol because you can print them as you need them and don't have a lot of shirts sitting around done. You can print 1 or 20 it would be your choice. ... JB
I hear you, JB. Plastisols are awesome, especially for inventory control on the shirt supplies. It'd be interesting to see if a photo like that can be made into a plastisol. Hey Skitzz, if you can, will you let us know? I was under the impression a photo like that was beyond plastisols scope, so I'm very curious where the boundary is for plastisol. I'll be waiting for any info to follow ...
yeah as i am finding out, I belive you are right, Girlz. Plastisol is limited in that First-Edition said they could not do a custom transfer for me but could do a photo transfer. Thig is, I could do a photo transfer myself, but I am worried about the feel. I have seen shirts like this before so i know it can be done. But I believe DTG is the only way it can be done. I'll keep you all posted.
as for the ad, I don't think I can put one up yet becaseu i only have 10 posts so far. although I have read at least over 100 since I have been a member!!
yeah as i am finding out, I belive you are right, Girlz. Plastisol is limited in that First-Edition said they could not do a custom transfer for me but could do a photo transfer. Thig is, I could do a photo transfer myself, but I am worried about the feel. I have seen shirts like this before so i know it can be done. But I believe DTG is the only way it can be done. I'll keep you all posted.
as for the ad, I don't think I can put one up yet becaseu i only have 10 posts so far. although I have read at least over 100 since I have been a member!!
Okay, thank you. Good news is still to be had, Skitzz. To place a post in the "referals and recommendations" section, you only need 1 post, so you are good to go for that. It's the classifieds you need 15 for.
So go ahead and go for it, and see if someone here can help you out. Still a good idea to get a sample shirt before commissioning someone for a bigger job.
Hey I never got a chance to reply wanted to let you know that I called around and was told I couldn't do a custom plastisol transfer with this. It would have to be DTG or a full color picture transfer. Oh well...Just wanted to follow up. better late than never.
This is a one color (white ink) plastisol transfer created from a picture (the rod) and clip art. Yes it can be done just like it can be screen printed.
Wow, cool, David, thanks for the pic and post info - nice to know. David, where did you get the plastisol made?
Skitzz, thanks for the post, that was cool of you to return, and turns out, maybe by reviving the thread, you might have a plastisol option after all....
This is a one color (white ink) plastisol transfer created from a picture (the rod) and clip art. Yes it can be done just like it can be screen printed.
Is that a photograph, or just the graphic mock up from the online catalog of one of the stock transfer makers?
My guess is that it's the graphic mockup because it doesn't show the halftones that make up the image.
Quote:
Where did you get it done? also, what is the cost?
There's a list here of several different plastisol transfer makers:
The cost will be dependent totally on the quanitity you want to run. Most will have a minimum of 12 sheets (some may have slightly lower minimums), but the cost per "sheet" will go down as the quantity goes up. So you'll pay less per sheet for 50 sheets than if you ordered 12 sheets.
You can get the pricing by sending your graphic to the different printers on the list.
Just make sure you let them know that you want the image done in halftones as a plastisol transfer and not a digital transfer.
I think some may say no, but some may say yes. Especially if they know that you understand that the fades and shading is done with "halftones". That will let them know that you have realistic expectations and aren't expecting an exact JPG image replica.
cool. good to know. that may have been part of my problem. I don't think I was asking the right questions. I'll see what they say about using halftones.thanks again
What type of transfer should i go with? 
any ideas anyone?
