What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line?
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Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line?
What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line?
hey everyone,
i am new to the forum so forgive me if the post is in the wrong section or whatever, although i hope it is the right one. I am hoping to start a new streetwear t-shirt line to start off and i plan to use a heat press to do this. Ive done a lot of research and i just want to make sure i am on the right track. i also want to make sure i know what proper equipment i will need so i can properly estimate costs and stuff.
1. I plan to wholesale American Apparel or Alstyle. Which do you think is better? or do you have any better suggestions? I know there is no such thing as good quality and cheap, but what is the most efficient as far as quality with pricing?
2. I plan on buying a heat press obviously, but my BIGGEST PROBLEM is the fact that i plan to heat press prints that are larger than the size of a piece of paper. there will be some prints that i would like to take up most of the t-shirt, therefore i would estimate maybe like a 18x28? i didnt do exact measurements but alot bigger than sites like speardshirt let you do. so with that, is my biggest problem. what heat press out there will cater to my needs? ive looked at the widebody ones that are like 16x24 but ive read that they do not last long. any suggestions that are not so ridiculously expensive? lookin for a range HOPEFULLY less than 1500 as an investment?
3. this is the part where i could be wrong. with the heat press, since im looking to do large transfers, i was wondering do i need a vinyl cutter? just like the roland gx-24? is that what i need in order for my designs to be properly cut and then heat pressed?
4. What is the best paper to use on black shirts and white?..what others wil be good on colors like TEAL?
5. i also have trouble in identifying what printer to get. now i obviously want to do transfers larger than the usualy computer paper or larger than most regular printers print. so what printers are out there that i can use?? large format printers? i kno that durabrite is the ink that is good so what printers (epson or others) are able to print large prints that can work to my needs? or is there a method to do it with smaller size prints? please let me know
overall, I plan to make large prints taht take up a larger portion of the t-shirt than what the usualy sizes are. i plan to use a heatpress as well. anything else to get my designs properly on the t-shirt please let me know. im open to any suggestions. i tried to be as detailed as possible with what i had in mind, but correct me if im wrong or let me know what equipment/PROCESS to do in order to make my dreams come true. Thank you guys so much!
Re: What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line?
Please read the post that have already answered your question. Use the 'search' box at the top and enter,
heat press then
try vinyl cutter then
try printers.
all of the answers are there
Re: What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line?
yeah i have read a lot of them. my question was more of is the process of what my goal is correct as well as the equipment i need? do i really need a cutter and everything? and is there something im missing out on?
Re: What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kelvy1
hey everyone,
i am new to the forum so forgive me if the post is in the wrong section or whatever, although i hope it is the right one. I am hoping to start a new streetwear t-shirt line to start off and i plan to use a heat press to do this. Ive done a lot of research and i just want to make sure i am on the right track. i also want to make sure i know what proper equipment i will need so i can properly estimate costs and stuff.
1. I plan to wholesale American Apparel or Alstyle. Which do you think is better? or do you have any better suggestions? I know there is no such thing as good quality and cheap, but what is the most efficient as far as quality with pricing?
"what's better" is going to depend on your customers. AA and alstyle are good companies to use! I use I.B.S.( international basic source) for my line of clothes( streetwear and other stuff).
2. I plan on buying a heat press obviously, but my BIGGEST PROBLEM is the fact that i plan to heat press prints that are larger than the size of a piece of paper. there will be some prints that i would like to take up most of the t-shirt, therefore i would estimate maybe like a 18x28? i didnt do exact measurements but alot bigger than sites like speardshirt let you do. so with that, is my biggest problem. what heat press out there will cater to my needs? ive looked at the widebody ones that are like 16x24 but ive read that they do not last long. any suggestions that are not so ridiculously expensive? lookin for a range HOPEFULLY less than 1500 as an investment?
I'm not that sure about these presses breaking down, but I ve seen them in size 20x25 with a tag price for about 22-2500 ! I purchased a 16x20 hottronix and it does a good job. I just thought about this, if your designs are 18x26 what kind of printer do you have? I have a epson 1400(300$) and the biggest print I can get is 13x19. You may have to purchase a "big" printer for that size designs.
3. this is the part where i could be wrong. with the heat press, since im looking to do large transfers, i was wondering do i need a vinyl cutter? just like the roland gx-24? is that what i need in order for my designs to be properly cut and then heat pressed?
you do not need a vinyl cutter, but they are nice to have! you can cut them out manually or use a blade if you do not have a cutter. The cutter will expand your business and allow you to do other things besides cutting out transfers. great investment!!!!
4. What is the best paper to use on black shirts and white?..what others wil be good on colors like TEAL?
jet pro sofstretch for whites.!
I don't print on alot of dark shirts!
5. i also have trouble in identifying what printer to get. now i obviously want to do transfers larger than the usualy computer paper or larger than most regular printers print. so what printers are out there that i can use?? large format printers? i kno that durabrite is the ink that is good so what printers (epson or others) are able to print large prints that can work to my needs? or is there a method to do it with smaller size prints? please let me know
for 18x26 prints, the printer will not be cheap!
In this case, it might be wise to purchase plastisol transfers for prints that large and save the money on up front costs of buying a printer.
overall, I plan to make large prints taht take up a larger portion of the t-shirt than what the usualy sizes are. i plan to use a heatpress as well. anything else to get my designs properly on the t-shirt please let me know. im open to any suggestions. i tried to be as detailed as possible with what i had in mind, but correct me if im wrong or let me know what equipment/PROCESS to do in order to make my dreams come true. Thank you guys so much!
you might want to try the vendors to the left and maybe they come up with a package for you. hope this helps!!!
Re: What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kelvy1
yeah i have read a lot of them. my question was more of is the process of what my goal is correct as well as the equipment i need? do i really need a cutter and everything? and is there something im missing out on?
The one thing I did not take into account was the graphic's program to design the t-shirts. I learned on the fly and I'm stll learning all of the things in corelx3. They have several programs that's out there and you have to figure out which one is for you.
This is a discussion about What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line? that was posted in the Heat Press and Heat Transfers section of the forums.
What proper equipment to start heat transfer t-shirt line? 
