sgsellsit

How do you justify heat pressed items when heat press materials have skyrocketed? Example: Enduratex 15" Galaxy Glitter, approx. $5.00 per foot. If you do a 10x12 print you may as well consider it one foot of material. The waste is not really usable. On top of this you add labor, other costs, apparel and if you use this in conjunction with backgound layers you may as well add another $5.00. Most materials on the market, of any quality, range about this price. This would make a 2-color heat pressed t-shirt cost about $16-18 before any profit. What does everyone else charge?

 

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billm75

Well Everett

For starters, I've never heard of Enduratex (but I'm not a seasoned vet either).

I use vinyl from Heatpressvinyl.com and my costs are much less than $5/foot for the material, though I get great quality results with every product I make.

I would suggest that you go in search of alternative products to make your shirts with if you are coming in at $18/shirt total cost including labor. Mine all come in at a total cost of under $6/shirt for very low quantities (1 - 12 pieces) and I still am able to sell at an average $15/shirt for a $9 profit per piece.

You need to reevaluate your process/time/materials in order to bring your costs back down.

But that's just MY humble opinion

__________________
http://www.hogsofolddc.com/html/sammy.html - I am offering this tee with $5 profit from every shirt going to benefit the Alzheimer's Foundation.

 

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JoshEllsworth

This cost is rather high - you also want to consider that on a 10 x 12 design odds are that the all of the layers that you will be using will not be a full 10 x 12, so ganging images on secondary colors should lower your added costs significantly.

__________________
Josh Ellsworth / Stahls' CAD CUT Direct
www.joshellsworth.com / www.stahls.com

 

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sgsellsit

Thanks for the replies. Being a twenty year screenprinting, sign and embroidery veteran I have chosen some of the best companies and most durable products in the market to deal with. Stahls, Dalco, etc. So, I may be stuck with these prices. However, thanks for the lead on heatpressvinyl.com, I found their basic vinyls to be cost efficient but their effects vinyls run over $6.00 per foot. We have to be careful about buying vinyls. Our vinyls have to be sports durable and highly wash durable. Customers do not want designs coming off after a dozen washes. I will say, vinyl numbers and names are very cost efficient. Names do not take a whole lot of space (.40-.60 per name before weeding and applying) and numbers are bought pre-cut (.30 per number before application). We worry about quality in this for the fact that we decorate approx. 4000 uniforms yearly. The design is of course screen printed. The objective of my question was more geared toward the specialty vinyls, glitters, neons, fashion colors etc. produced by Enduratex, Specialty Films, Solutions from Stahls etc., and if your market area allows for such pricing. Also when a customer comes in wanting a custom 1 pc item, a good rule of thumb is to charge them for a foot of material, it can't be ganged nor do you ever know when you will be able to use the waste. I also should have been more clear on the fact that we are a 12 employee shop, so labor has to come in to play, plus other overhead. If you produce images for about $6.00, what vinyls do you use and what is your shops hourly rate ratio? I probably do need to back up and reevaluate things. Thanks again for everyone's input and the more the merrier. Have a great Day!
Everett

 

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Air Art Girl

I have used Specialty Materials for years with great results with their glitters, foils and neon colors. I recently tried the new Eco Film by Imprintables Warehouse and am very happy with these products as well.

 

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Haystees

Quote: Originally Posted by Air Art Girl I have used Specialty Materials for years with great results with their glitters, foils and neon colors. I recently tried the new Eco Film by Imprintables Warehouse and am very happy with these products as well.

Exactly what I was going to say

I started with Thermoflex (Speciality materials) because it was what my business used that I bought out. I find it user friendly, but it is expensive.

I then started searching for solutions to a cheaper, higher quality product. The Spectra CUT, didn't really do it for me. Very hard to weed IMO, and no sticky backing.

The spectra ECO film/film plus is AWESOME .

Call up Josh Ellsworth as Imprintables Warehouse and he'll hook you up. It goes on VERY nice, and it is very affordable.

Here's a link:

They run ~67.50 for 10 yards, or 2.25 per linear foot. You could be saving THOUSANDS of dollars a year if you are doing that much vinyl cutting. You can also order it in long rolls. Call up Josh and ask him for a sample.

It is VERY nice, and actually goes on at a lower heat than Specialty Materials and others (about 302*). I have BOTH in my store, new, and old stock, but I am slowly phasing out the thermoflex due to the cost being twice as high. Spectra Eco Film is a top notch vinyl, and I was dang near giddy when I started pressing with it with the same characteristics of thermoflex, but HALF the price!

 

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