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.
Hey Everyone! I need some help, here is the deal:
1 year ago, I opened a business selling custom screen printed clothing to teams and schools. (I do this as a part time job by the way) I was paying someone to do my screen printing and I was marking it up. 6 months ago, i bought a heat press and started using TransExpress because I could do the work myself and they have great templates to use online, problem is, they cost a lot of $$$$ for small order printing. 6 months later (right now) I bought a vinyl cutter, problem is I have a tough time with artwork. I have Corel and I have 250,000 pieces of clipart, problem is, clip art does nothing if I cant "design" a shirt?? Please Help, where can I get templates to use where I can just fill in the words and have a neat design to use????
Also, what else can I do with my cutter, I love it so far, But what else can i do with it. Please help, respond here or send me an email at
Vehicle graphics and sign writing vans etc can be done very cheaply and it's good money. You will need to practice if you are going to apply but it's not hard and you can get discs of vehicle outlines to help with design.
I've done vans, vinyl 10 metres or so at £1.50 a metre, cost £15.00 charge £150+ for a few hours work.
Try finding a clipart collection that is made for vinyl. There are also programs you can buy that are designed for vinyl cutters that allow you to just type in text and edit a design (like for sports clubs, businesses, etc)
DirectDrive is one of those programs, but there are others.
One thing you need to be careful of with clipart, tho, is that some clipart isn't licensed for resale. As in, with some, you're not supposed to take that clipart and put it on a shirt and sell it. Those ones are primarily set up for use with brochures and websites.
Also, like Rodney said, look for clipart that's specifically set up for vinyl cutting. Some of it is either just not suited for cutting, or needs a lot of work done to it to make it suitable.
Clipart.com...you can download images in several different formats...they also have some vinyl ready art. It's subscription based as opposed to a per image charge.
Other things I do with my vinyl cutter: bags, caps, industrial/restaurant/medical uniforms (woven shirts, jackets, etc.). I do embroidery as well -- adding the vinyl cutting opened up more options for my customers.
I also use my vinyl cutter to make custom stencils for glass etching. Wine bottles, glasses, plates, etc. It's really quite easy.
You can also use a pressure sensative vinyl for hard goods -- helmets, water bottles, etc.
If you are looking for templates for sport team type shirts.. T-shirt Design for Custom T-shirts has them and then you just change the words and such in corel..
If you are looking for templates for sport team type shirts.. T-shirt Design for Custom T-shirts has them and then you just change the words and such in corel..