Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I am at the point where I have to decide whether to use a supplier for my new personalized children's line who uses a heat press or one who uses DTG.
The heat press samples I received seemed to hold up VERY well to hot water washing. The colors look great and it is certainly the least expensive of the options (by far).
But I can't seem to get over the rough feeling left on the garment
It just seems that if I want to sell my onesies/tees for more than $12 or $15 that I'll need to use DTG.
Can anyone who sells heat pressed garments let me know if you ever get complaints about how rough the transfer feels?
Do you price them low (you can't even get a t-shirt at Old Navy for $12) to avoid getting complaints?
I wanted to do a more expensive line and sell baby onesies/tees for around $22. But DTG alone has been quoted at $5 per print plus $4 for a blank... with all of the costs it certainly doesn't leave much room for a profit if I want to offer them wholesale.
Any advice from people who sell heat pressed items would be very appreciated.
Are you trying to sell your stuff at $22 "wholesale"? I'm a little confused if you mean that $22 to be a wholesale price or retail price -- because once you sell at wholesale, the retailer will set the retail price themselves, so I am just a little confused by how you are using that number.
Next, what transfer paper did the heat transfer person use? If it is Jetprosofstretch, the rough feel will go away with washings, but that doesn't help with first impressions when your retailer touches the image, or a customer shopping feels it. I have never had complaints about the feel myself, but in high end or boutique situations, this may not be appropriate in your price range.
In general, a more expensive line generally calls for a more expensive process, like screen printing or DTG. Why not try to shop around for a lower price from other DTG'ers. You may find someone who can offer you the same service for less.
A great resource available on the forum is the referrals and recommedation section of the forum. Anyone who knows a good printer in your area can advise you, and anyone here who offers this service can offer you their services there. (Not in this part of the forum tho, you have to put the post for service needed over there.)
Instead of debating the dilemma -- try to lower your costs and stick with DTG if that is what you prefer.
Last edited by Girlzndollz; July 14th, 2008 at 03:20 PM.
I myself do baby clothing and I can say that the dtg is so much softer for the little ones. I started out doing transfers but was never satisified with my end product knowing it was going on babies. I built up my customer base first (about a year) and then invested in a dtg printer. I can honestly tell you that the difference in the feel and the quality of the print is day and night. In my opinion it is worth the extra cost for a professional product. There is a reason for the difference in price and if you want to sell at a higher price point your customer is going to expect a higher quality garment. Hope this helps some.
__________________
Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
I guess my decision is still whether I offer a lower end (and priced) product and use heat pressing or go higher end (and more expensive) and use DTG.
Sorry I wasn't clear on the price. I want to sell the product on my own site for $22 which would make wholesale closer to $11.
I'm going to see if I can find anyone who can do the printing for less. I actually had some people who quoted me as high as $30 per onesie with me supplying the garment!
So there is definitely a wide range in the DTG world.
Wow!! Jennifer, that is amazinggg --> $30 and you supply the garment! Well, good luck to you in your journey. Hope it all works out. Don't compromise yourself. Go for what you love. If you love it, others will know it when you try to sell it to them, and you will have an easier time. Best regards.
So it sounds like what you need is a contract DTG printer. I would suggest you do a Yahoo or Google search on Contract Embroidery. Many of those contract shops also do DTG printing, and screen printing.
I think you'll find that larger shops that are dedicated to contract embroidery and printing might have prices that will better suit your needs.
Also, check with your apparel suppliers and make sure you're getting case price. Some of them will not show case price when you log in to their website, but will give it to you if you call your order in, and ask for it.
I actually had some people who quoted me as high as $30 per onesie with me supplying the garment!
So there is definitely a wide range in the DTG world.
Thanks again,
Jennifer
Wow
I'll do them for $29.99 LOL
I doubt they would get any takers but you never know I guess. If I told someone that I am sure they would laugh right out the door.
Yea that $30 per print is totally unrealistic. I cant believe someone would really try to charge that hehe. Maybe they are in another country where dtg machines dont exist That is crazy.
__________________
Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
That price is crazy and I have never heard of anyone trying to charge that lol. They wont be in business long with those prices.
Jennifer, I have a question for you. Have you thought about using someone like cafe press to do fullfillment? They also use dtg as does spreadshirt and zazzle. It might be easier for you to make a profit by using a fullfillment company as they have a way larger facility for doing the exact type thing you are looking for. The problem with finding a small business to do that type of fullfillment is they have much higher overhead and less income then the larger companies. I myself have been asked by many people in the past to do dropshipping, and after figuring out what it would cost me to do it, it seriously was not worth it to me. I think that might be a problem you will run into with this method.
__________________
Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
I looked into CafePress but there were a few things I didn't like about them.
First of all they only have a few very simple baby/children's garment styles and colors. I want to offer something different than what others are selling.
Also, they send everything from CafePress.com with no mention of my company (unless maybe I open one of their stores but that's hard with personalized items.... I don't know how I would add my designs in every possible name...)
And I have no way of adding my personal branding to the garments as a tag or even a hang tag. So customers won't reorder from me, they'll go looking at CafePress.com
I am holding onto the hope that I can find someone to do this for me at a reasonable price so I can create my own brand, at a price people will buy.
Complaints about heat press quality? 
