Discuss the various aspects of heat pressed vinyl transfers. Popular and new types of vinyl media, suppliers, vinyl cutters /plotters, press times, quality, how to instructions and more can be found in this heat press sub forum.
I am starting the process of getting into the T-Shirt business, and I am exploring the possibility of using a vinyl cutter/plotter. I am mainly going to be printing text (however, I would like to stay away from large quantity orders of plastisol), and from what I have been reading, vinyl seems to be the way to go. First, I want to say thanks for all of the helpful information contained in this forum...I have already learned so much from searching. However, I have many questions regarding exactly how vinyl cutters work.
1) From what I understand, the cutter "cuts" the vinyl that is bought in a roll. Also, when the vinyl is "cut" is it automatically ready to be heat pressed? Do you have to have "heat press" vinyl, or do generic vinyl rolls work? What is the difference between cutters with an optical eye/without one? For doing simple text, is a cutter with an optical eye worth it?
2) The cost per shirt. I have read a few confusing threads on this. Is the cost per transfer over $1 per transfer, less? more?, etc. Keep in mind that I will be printing small amounts of text on the shirts, so no large amounts of vinyl.
3) Difficulty of use. I consider myself pretty techy, however, I've read a few places on the forum that the cutters are hard to use. Is this true, and if so, is it something that just takes getting used to, or is it very difficult to learn?
1) From what I understand, the cutter "cuts" the vinyl that is bought in a roll. Also, when the vinyl is "cut" is it automatically ready to be heat pressed?
You must remove any vinyl that is not part of the design. It's called 'weeding'. Small lettering and detailed designs take time to weed. Large letters weed very quickly.
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Originally Posted by acr6848
Do you have to have "heat press" vinyl, or do generic vinyl rolls work?
'Heat press' vinyl has a glue on one side. The heat press activates the glue and sticks it to the T-shirt and bonds when the glue cools back to room temp. You cut this vinyl in reverse and place the cut side down (mylar backing side up) when you press it on the T-shirt.
Outdoor vinyl for signs, banners, decals and truck lettering. Cut in positive, use transfer tape to apply. see badalou's post on this.
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Originally Posted by acr6848
What is the difference between cutters with an optical eye/without one? For doing simple text, is a cutter with an optical eye worth it?
The optical eye works when you want to print a picture and trim it with the cutter. It works for T-shirts and printing on outdoor vinyls. You decide if that is a feature you will grow into. (I have the GX-24 w/ optical eye)
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Originally Posted by acr6848
2) The cost per shirt. I have read a few confusing threads on this. Is the cost per transfer over $1 per transfer, less? more?, etc. Keep in mind that I will be printing small amounts of text on the shirts, so no large amounts of vinyl.
Find your vinyl pricing to determine square foot pricing. Don't forget about waste. A 12" x 12" design will use a 14" x 15" or a 14" x 20" roll. You can gang designs together and save some money.
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Originally Posted by acr6848
3) Difficulty of use. I consider myself pretty techy, however, I've read a few places on the forum that the cutters are hard to use. Is this true, and if so, is it something that just takes getting used to, or is it very difficult to learn?
If you can create the vector art correctly, it is very easy to use a cutter.
Are you good in Coreldraw or Illustrator?
2) The cost per shirt. I have read a few confusing threads on this. Is the cost per transfer over $1 per transfer, less? more?, etc. Keep in mind that I will be printing small amounts of text on the shirts, so no large amounts of vinyl.
I actually asked Josh about this at the tradeshow, as I had the same question. He said he usually recommends that you figure out your cost per square inch of vinyl by looking the price you're paying for the yard(s) of vinyl.
Then measure the image and calculate how many square inches you'll be using. For a couple of "regular" sized t-shirt designs that I saw, the cost for the design was definitely under $1 (like around .40 - .50 cents, depending on the vinyl type).
He even posted an excel spreadsheet here in the forums somewhere that will help you calculate costs, but I'll have to dig around and find it
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3) Difficulty of use. I consider myself pretty techy, however, I've read a few places on the forum that the cutters are hard to use. Is this true, and if so, is it something that just takes getting used to, or is it very difficult to learn?
As you've read, for some people a vinyl cutter might be hard to use, but for others, it's going to be pretty easy.
I've never worked with a heat press or vinyl cutter before (and I consider myself pretty techy like you), and I found it pretty easy to follow the instructions that come with the cutter to make my first t-shirt.
If you are wanting the cost of vinyl to determine your pricing, I have a different approach.
Vinyl is not the main factor in pricing. Your Labor is. I just set up a pricing scheme for lettering that goes like this. (small discounts would apply for multiples of the same design)
A 'box' of text that is 12" wide and 4" tall with one or two lines of lettering would cost $10.99 Double that for 2 color.
A 12" x 12" box with up to 4 lines of lettering is $14.99
I'm wanting to charge about $40 per hour for vinyl work. That includes taking the order, setting up and cutting the vinyl, 2 presses and calling the customer for pickup. That means at $10.99 I have about 15 min. to do it all. Try it against the clock, it's not easy to do. The vinyl for the job is a strip about 6" tall and the width of the roll, 20". That's less than a buck of material.
If the customer wants 6 or more items of the same design, it costs the same as doing 12 shirts with screen printing. I can screen one side and vinyl the other side if we need uniqe names and numbers.
2) The cost per shirt. I have read a few confusing threads on this. Is the cost per transfer over $1 per transfer, less? more?, etc. Keep in mind that I will be printing small amounts of text on the shirts, so no large amounts of vinyl.
The price of the vinyl is secondary to the time spent weeding. It's a tedious, time consuming activity. The high labor investment is also what makes the cost per shirt about the same for 1 or 10 of them. Think of it as the inverse of screen printing costs -- low setup effort and slow printing vs high setup effort and fast printing.
Your design will pretty much dictate how much it's going to cost. Big bold letters will bet MUCH faster to weed than an intricate tribal pattern.
3) Difficulty of use. I consider myself pretty techy, however, I've read a few places on the forum that the cutters are hard to use. Is this true, and if so, is it something that just takes getting used to, or is it very difficult to learn?
Alec
Once you get the basics down, it's a piece of cake. The fact that I'm also technical ended up hurting me -- I didn't follow directions because I was supposedly smart enough to figure it out without them. Oops.
If you're just printing text on cotton shirts you shouldn't have a very difficult time at all. Stick to a single type of vinyl until you figure it all out. Order a roll of spectra or flex in black and white and you can do almost any color of shirt right away. BUy some cotton fabric at the fabric store from the clearance section to practice on.
First, thank you so much for your answers so far, they've been very helpful!
One more basic question...if you don't have an optical eye on your cutter, then how does the machine cut the letters out for different fonts? I'm sort of confused....if there is no optical eye, then how does the machine cut the letters for different fonts?
The machine does not 'know' what a font is. It only understands line paths. You have to convert any fonts you want to cut into outlines before sending it to the plotter. Some of the more basic software does this for you automatically. You have to explicitly do it in illustrator.
Let's say you want to cut the letter 'o'. You need 2 cuts to make it work. One oval for the outside and one for the inside. The spacing/thickness and shape will be dictated by the font. When you weed, you remove the unused vinyl. The cut parts stay on the mylar backing. The islands (donut holes) have to be weeded as well. When you take both pieces off you're left with the letter.
First, thank you so much for your answers so far, they've been very helpful!
One more basic question...if you don't have an optical eye on your cutter, then how does the machine cut the letters out for different fonts? I'm sort of confused....if there is no optical eye, then how does the machine cut the letters for different fonts?
The cutter is like a printer. It needs a path to 'trace' with the blade.
The path comes from your computer's software program. You open a program that creates vectors. You type in the lettering, choose the font you want and when you are ready to cut, you convert the text to outlines and send it to the cutter.
I use Illustrator, others use CorelDraw or Roland's CutStudio (free w/ cutter).
The cutter traces the outlines of the letters. When finished, you pull the sheet off the cutter and peel off the vinyl around the cut letters.
....if there is no optical eye, then how does the machine cut the letters for different fonts?
The purpose of the optical eye is to position and align the printed graphic so the outline cut will be on the money. The eye looks for 3 round dots that come out with your printed design.
Once again, I appreciate every bit of the help that everyone has given me so far in the thread.
I am now understanding the process quite a bit more, but am still hazy on one thing. This is probably a stupid question, but from what I understand, the cutter works on vector art, and it cuts the outlines from what you want printed. Why would you want to actually print a transfer paper, and have the cutter cut around it? Why not just create the graphic (or import it) into vector art, then actually have the vinyl cut for it? Why bother with the transfer if you can just make it on vinyl?
Why would you want to actually print a transfer paper, and have the cutter cut around it? Why not just create the graphic (or import it) into vector art, then actually have the vinyl cut for it? Why bother with the transfer if you can just make it on vinyl?
Because you might want to cut around a transfer that has many colors in it, such as a photo, which can't be reproduced with vinyl.
There is a Color Print vinyl (by Specialty Materials) that is available if you have the right printer. I don't, but the source I use can print on this vinyl and then cut it. We've used it for pictures (can also use opaque transfer paper obviously...and probably cheaper) and letters / designs that require a color other than stock vinyl colors.
We had a lady request to add some lettering above a picture she wanted put on a hoodie but she wanted the letters to match a color in the picture (light purple / violet). We did it and she loved it!!
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This is a discussion about Simple Questions from a Beginner about Vinyl that was posted in the Vinyl Cutters (Plotters) and Transfers section of the forums.
Simple Questions from a Beginner about Vinyl 
Re: Simple Questions from a Beginner about Vinyl 
