There are plenty of companies that can do this, but your setup cost are going to be substantially higher. You may want to consider dye-sub if you only want a few shirts
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
Hi Brian,
I have done a bit of research on the printing process. What I recommend is carry a sample with you and visit your local print shops.
When it touches the sleeves and large prints, in the trade is called "All over printing". Most prints are printed with "plastisol". This ink gives you a thicker handfeel. Like it was mentioned before to get that soft affliction print you should try to get a printer that will do "waterbase and discharge" inks. These give you that soft handfeel we are all looking for.
Many printers will do all over printing and waterbase and discharge. The downside is that both these process are more expensive than the regular small designs with plastisol
As with everything else, the quantity of shirts you are going to print will be a big determining factor on the print cost. One thing I have noticed is that the starting price for a small amount of prints is pretty even all around. But when you are doing larger quantities like 1000 for example (which is a huge amount for me now), print shops with automatic machines will tend to offer a much lower price that manual printers.
So printing should not be a difficult task as for the most part depending on your designs most screen printers are very helpful and flexible to work with you.
Where I am having a more difficult time is finding the "Affliction" blanks. Well I have found some in different thread such as Bare apparel and Alternative apparel. The only difficulty is that although they are nice shirts they are up around the $10 wholesale.
I may be dreaming here but I would love to find something similar for around $5
So if you have a breakthrough please share
Matteo can do this printing. They are hooking us up. They are also the cheapest that I have found in the U.S. and have the lowest minimum requirements.
Matteo Studios | Design, Apparel, Promotions, & Photography | Home
Where I am having a more difficult time is finding the "Affliction" blanks. Well I have found some in different thread such as Bare apparel and Alternative apparel. The only difficulty is that although they are nice shirts they are up around the $10 wholesale.
I may be dreaming here but I would love to find something similar for around $5
Relik Apparel. If you get like 50+ its like $6 each or something. Don't quote me on any of that, but these guys I hear are awesome. They don't have a huge selection yet, but with what they do have, its worth it. I'm going to ISS Orlando this week and gonna check them out.
RELIK APPAREL
If you guys use either company, tell them that Chris with Not Ashamed referred you. I have a rapport with both company's and while I can't guarantee you'll get a discount, at least they will both give you better customer service.
If you (figuratively "you" as I know this is an old post) are brokering your clothing then what has been posted here is the the general path one would take.
However, if you are:
*On the constructive side of things (DTG, Sublimation, Screening, Vinyl, Other...) and...
*"Small time" as in not willing/able to throw dead money at minimum orders and/or not yet at the point where time truly is money and...
*In the mindset of needing to order the distressed, aged, tye-dyed, lava wash, or any of the other eleventy thousand options as your blank and work your magic from there...
Then I would encourage you to start with a "true" blank and bring those processes in-house.
Research every little thing about every little detail that goes into a shirt and the process used to give in that particular look. Take notes on the science and chemistry behind the materials used and how those materials respond (or don't respond) to different applications and processes. Along the way you will find common themes that bleed (nyuk-nyuk I made a pun) from one method to another. You will also find techniques that are commonly used in one method that are not used in another despite the science saying that it is possible.
You'll wonder why. You'll either stay tunnel visioned (or as some would say, on task) or you will bunny trail into exploring that technique. The majority of the time you'll find that the reason that the method is used in A and not B is simply out of tradition that very well may have been started by the less artistically imaginative. There are both materials and methods that were created and shoved down the industry's throat as being the norm by big companies offering "solutions". The solution was not for us but for them. Their problem was not being able to make as much money repackaging the same ol'-same ol'. So some guy in a lab coat that was contracted by Coca-Cola for a new label adhesive last month is now working on what we want as presented to him by the company who is telling us what we want.
Round up your notes and call the local college's Science Dept. Easy to find under that title at a Community College. But for a four year plus school, it won't be listed as Science Dept. but something more along the lines of The Ewing Sylvester Helmsley School of Science and Physics at the University of Nottinghmam- Des Moines Campus. Either way, pick a random professor with a smart sounding name and call them. Ask for a recommendation for a Chemistry tutor. Make it very clear that you don't have a working knowledge of Chemistry and that you need a tutor who not only knows the information but who can also explain it so that even a three year old can understand it. Call the tutor and set up a session. Might cost you $50 or so.
The tutor will (hopefully) be able to answer all of your questions and correct any misconceptions. Your questions should not be solely about the immediate processes but also include topics like shelf life of chemicals when stored, shelf life of chemicals after being mixed, byproducts of the chemicals themselves when stagnant as well as in the various processes, will certain equipment need to be dedicated for that particular process, proper clean up and disposal, etc. Be sure to tape record it. If you are like me, don't bother to take anything more than chicken scratch notes during the session. I find that I focus more on the actual note taking and worrying if I got everything when it is much more productive to keep your mind in an artistic mode. Brainstorming with the tutor on "What if I..." scenarios will be more to your benefit.
Along those lines, it would probably be better to start off in an environment that caters to the cause (coffee shop or whatever) rather than the campus library. The tutor will more than likely not know much about what it is you do so you will have to catch them up to speed to a degree. It may benefit you to have the session at your shop so the tutor can get a visual. Follow up with the tutor via phone, email, whatever with questions that may have come up after the session but only to a degree. A question here and there over time is one thing, an email full of questions on a regular basis would be rather rude and you should schedule another session or two.
After that's done and you've reviewed the tape and your previous notes a thousand times you will at the very least have a solid concept of how to accomplish the various wash styles that are out there and whether they are feasible for you to do in house at this time. You may find that you found something that's commonly used in B but not A and a way to exploit it into what it is you do. You may find that combining two or more processes gives you a new look. You may discover something completely new all together.
In other words or more directed to the company specifically mentioned by the OP, at the very least you'll know if you can achieve your goal of copying the Afflicition blank in house for less than outsourcing. In the best case scenario, you come up with something new and Affliction is copying you.
That was way longer than I had imagined it would be before getting diarrhea of the keyboard. I have a whole 'nother area that I could go on about as well but will just summarize it. I generally don't like to summarize in posts like this because while it may seem overkill to the given topic, I believe that it is important to explain why one came up with the conclusion that they did when giving an answer or suggestion. The answer is also not just for the OP. Someone very well may come across this thread while searching the same or similar topic in the future and find the information useful to them.
Anyway, the next point:
If you are "small time" with small screens, heat press, whatever else equipment, you can accomplish the all over look by breaking it into steps. This starts way back at the designing stage. The design of the shirt should flow but be able to break into smaller segments that fit your limitations. This can be accomplished many ways but those that jump out to me immediately are:
*Seamless patterns as they can be butted up together.
*Mirrored designs. Essentially the shirt top looks the same as the bottom, or the left the same as right, or a combination of both.
*Even visual distribution. Sorta along the lines of mirroring but not with the same images/patterns. Things "face" each other, for lack of better term.
*Layering. Self Explanatory.
So, perhaps the most important part...
Many of the processes that I have covered in this entire post will not likely be time friendly and not cost effective for big orders unless priced sky high. That appears to be a kick in the gut but it's not, it's an advantage. Here's why- you make up your samples, put together your catalog, the store/boutique/whatever loves it and places an order for your minimum that you arrived at to cover your ***. Now you go to the bank and/or investor. Instead of begging, "I'm an upstart with no money..." like all of the other businesses you are saying, "Hey, I need money because I am growing and need to keep up with customer demand." Which do you think Mr. Monopoly is more likely to "give" money to?
However, if you are:
*On the constructive side of things (DTG, Sublimation, Screening, Vinyl, Other...) and...
*"Small time" as in not willing/able to throw dead money at minimum orders and/or not yet at the point where time truly is money and...
*In the mindset of needing to order the distressed, aged, tye-dyed, lava wash, or any of the other eleventy thousand options as your blank and work your magic from there...
Then I would encourage you to start with a "true" blank and bring those processes in-house.
Research every little thing about every little detail that goes into a shirt and the process used to give in that particular look. Take notes on the science and chemistry behind the materials used and how those materials respond (or don't respond) to different applications and processes. Along the way you will find common themes that bleed (nyuk-nyuk I made a pun) from one method to another. You will also find techniques that are commonly used in one method that are not used in another despite the science saying that it is possible.
You'll wonder why. You'll either stay tunnel visioned (or as some would say, on task
) or you will bunny trail into exploring that technique. The majority of the time you'll find that the reason that the method is used in A and not B is simply out of tradition that very well may have been started by the less artistically imaginative. There are both materials and methods that were created and shoved down the industry's throat as being the norm by big companies offering "solutions". The solution was not for us but for them. Their problem was not being able to make as much money repackaging the same ol'-same ol'. So some guy in a lab coat that was contracted by Coca-Cola for a new label adhesive last month is now working on what we want as presented to him by the company who is telling us what we want.Round up your notes and call the local college's Science Dept. Easy to find under that title at a Community College. But for a four year plus school, it won't be listed as Science Dept. but something more along the lines of The Ewing Sylvester Helmsley School of Science and Physics at the University of Nottinghmam- Des Moines Campus. Either way, pick a random professor with a smart sounding name and call them. Ask for a recommendation for a Chemistry tutor. Make it very clear that you don't have a working knowledge of Chemistry and that you need a tutor who not only knows the information but who can also explain it so that even a three year old can understand it. Call the tutor and set up a session. Might cost you $50 or so.
The tutor will (hopefully) be able to answer all of your questions and correct any misconceptions. Your questions should not be solely about the immediate processes but also include topics like shelf life of chemicals when stored, shelf life of chemicals after being mixed, byproducts of the chemicals themselves when stagnant as well as in the various processes, will certain equipment need to be dedicated for that particular process, proper clean up and disposal, etc. Be sure to tape record it. If you are like me, don't bother to take anything more than chicken scratch notes during the session. I find that I focus more on the actual note taking and worrying if I got everything when it is much more productive to keep your mind in an artistic mode. Brainstorming with the tutor on "What if I..." scenarios will be more to your benefit.
Along those lines, it would probably be better to start off in an environment that caters to the cause (coffee shop or whatever) rather than the campus library. The tutor will more than likely not know much about what it is you do so you will have to catch them up to speed to a degree. It may benefit you to have the session at your shop so the tutor can get a visual. Follow up with the tutor via phone, email, whatever with questions that may have come up after the session but only to a degree. A question here and there over time is one thing, an email full of questions on a regular basis would be rather rude and you should schedule another session or two.
After that's done and you've reviewed the tape and your previous notes a thousand times you will at the very least have a solid concept of how to accomplish the various wash styles that are out there and whether they are feasible for you to do in house at this time. You may find that you found something that's commonly used in B but not A and a way to exploit it into what it is you do. You may find that combining two or more processes gives you a new look. You may discover something completely new all together.
In other words or more directed to the company specifically mentioned by the OP, at the very least you'll know if you can achieve your goal of copying the Afflicition blank in house for less than outsourcing. In the best case scenario, you come up with something new and Affliction is copying you.
That was way longer than I had imagined it would be before getting diarrhea of the keyboard. I have a whole 'nother area that I could go on about as well but will just summarize it. I generally don't like to summarize in posts like this because while it may seem overkill to the given topic, I believe that it is important to explain why one came up with the conclusion that they did when giving an answer or suggestion. The answer is also not just for the OP. Someone very well may come across this thread while searching the same or similar topic in the future and find the information useful to them.
Anyway, the next point:
If you are "small time" with small screens, heat press, whatever else equipment, you can accomplish the all over look by breaking it into steps. This starts way back at the designing stage. The design of the shirt should flow but be able to break into smaller segments that fit your limitations. This can be accomplished many ways but those that jump out to me immediately are:
*Seamless patterns as they can be butted up together.
*Mirrored designs. Essentially the shirt top looks the same as the bottom, or the left the same as right, or a combination of both.
*Even visual distribution. Sorta along the lines of mirroring but not with the same images/patterns. Things "face" each other, for lack of better term.
*Layering. Self Explanatory.
So, perhaps the most important part...
Many of the processes that I have covered in this entire post will not likely be time friendly and not cost effective for big orders unless priced sky high. That appears to be a kick in the gut but it's not, it's an advantage. Here's why- you make up your samples, put together your catalog, the store/boutique/whatever loves it and places an order for your minimum that you arrived at to cover your ***. Now you go to the bank and/or investor. Instead of begging, "I'm an upstart with no money..." like all of the other businesses you are saying, "Hey, I need money because I am growing and need to keep up with customer demand." Which do you think Mr. Monopoly is more likely to "give" money to?
Hey Brian, I`m in Europe...any chance of getting around 50 maybe 100 of these blanks over here? how much would it be?
JS apparel in LA. $4.50 or so. super awesome shirts. the ones affliction used before they went overseas.Hi Brian,
I have done a bit of research on the printing process. What I recommend is carry a sample with you and visit your local print shops.
When it touches the sleeves and large prints, in the trade is called "All over printing". Most prints are printed with "plastisol". This ink gives you a thicker handfeel. Like it was mentioned before to get that soft affliction print you should try to get a printer that will do "waterbase and discharge" inks. These give you that soft handfeel we are all looking for.
Many printers will do all over printing and waterbase and discharge. The downside is that both these process are more expensive than the regular small designs with plastisol
As with everything else, the quantity of shirts you are going to print will be a big determining factor on the print cost. One thing I have noticed is that the starting price for a small amount of prints is pretty even all around. But when you are doing larger quantities like 1000 for example (which is a huge amount for me now), print shops with automatic machines will tend to offer a much lower price that manual printers.
So printing should not be a difficult task as for the most part depending on your designs most screen printers are very helpful and flexible to work with you.
Where I am having a more difficult time is finding the "Affliction" blanks. Well I have found some in different thread such as Bare apparel and Alternative apparel. The only difficulty is that although they are nice shirts they are up around the $10 wholesale.
I may be dreaming here but I would love to find something similar for around $5
So if you have a breakthrough please share
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
