[alagandulasriniv]

hi

i am a graphic designer so i like to print my own t-shirt. so what is the process and how i do cost in printing one t-shirt??. the material used, where i can get??

thanks in advance

 

[Girlzndollz]

Re: Experiment

Hello, alot will depend on what you want to put on the shirt (designs, colors, photo?). The other will depend on what shirt you envision using and what quality of print you are aiming for. There are many ways to put art on a shirt, so here is a thread to read to start with. It will tell you the different print methods and folks talk about why you might pick on over the other. Good luck to you.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t48532.html

 

[Jasonda]

Do you want to print one shirt or do you want to know the cost of printing one shirt so that you can multiply it to find out how much it will cost to start your own brand?

 

[sharris203]

I'd also like to know how i can print a low qty. of shirts for the cheapest price possible.

I need only about 30-60 shirts printed MAINLY for myself, to promote myself as a music artist/producer (looks nice, and marketing!)/to have a UNIQUE shirt with my name on it instead of paying $30 for a store bought t-shirt. From my research, I could get a heat press, shirts, printer, and jpss paper all for about $400-500.

 

[COEDS]

I'd also like to know how i can print a low qty. of shirts for the cheapest price possible.

I need only about 30-60 shirts printed MAINLY for myself, to promote myself as a music artist/producer (looks nice, and marketing!)/to have a UNIQUE shirt with my name on it instead of paying $30 for a store bought t-shirt. From my research, I could get a heat press, shirts, printer, and jpss paper all for about $400-500.

If you want a more durable design that will hold up to many washes,I would use plastisol transfers and not heat transfer paper designs. Either will work, but platisol will hold up much better. ..... JB

 

[sharris203]

If you want a more durable design that will hold up to many washes,I would use plastisol transfers and not heat transfer paper designs. Either will work, but platisol will hold up much better. ..... JB

Actually, I was planning to wear a new one every day, and home dry clean those before rotation. Besides that, platisol need major money to buy the equipment right? I'd like to be able to do my own random designs daily, 60 unique designs, with colors, etc. Would you still suggest platisol?

 

[Girlzndollz]

Actually, I was planning to wear a new one every day, and home dry clean those before rotation. Besides that, platisol need major money to buy the equipment right? I'd like to be able to do my own random designs daily, 60 unique designs, with colors, etc. Would you still suggest platisol?

If you have unique designs, plastisols would not be the right choice for you... you get better pricing by ordering larger quanities of the same design.

You wouldn not need to buy the equipment to make them, there are companies that will make them for you and ship them to you on transfer sheets. Some will cut them for free for you if you ask.

If you one day you have a big order on one of your designs, and would like to go that route, a search for "plastisol 8" and "where do you buy plastisol" will bring back two very good threads on suppliers.

I agree that you can probably buy those supplies in that price range. My press was shipped to me for $370 (mighty lite press), I buy JPSS at tshirtsupplies.com, they even have a 5% discount for signing up for the newsletter right now. There are other suppliers for sure, but that is who I use, I bought my printer on epson.com for $40 as a refurb, and just bought 2 more c120's for under $40 shipped to my house, and I buy shirts at AlphaShirt.com.

For 1off's, like yours, DTG, laser or inkjet heat transfers are a great route. Mostly likely having someone print your DTG shirts as the machines are $$$$$$.

Good luck to you and have fun... I think it is so much fun when I peel the paper and see the design on the shirt, still love that!

 

[sharris203]

just bought 2 more c120's for under $40 shipped to my house, and I buy shirts at AlphaShirt.com.

So you would recommend the epson c120 for this type of job? Is there any special ink i beed to buy to print on the JPSS paper?

 

[Girlzndollz]

So you would recommend the epson c120 for this type of job? Is there any special ink i beed to buy to print on the JPSS paper?

Yes, the C120's are great for this. They are replacing the c88/c88+ model in the Epson line up. Basically the same. It adds an additional black cartridge.

You can find a re-fill cart system with cheaper 3rd party inks at inkjetcarts.us. If you search that supplier name, you will find alot of threads with user feedback.

The folks go to those type of inks because, first, they work. They are much cheaper than buying the Epson carts at the store.

Second, Durabrite, which comes in the c88's and c120's "can" "colorshift" (a search for colorshift will bring up the threads of unhappy stories of colorshifting, blacks turning green, etc) under the heat of the press. I use Durabrite inks and I don't have that trouble, but alot of folks do.

They switch to a re-fill cart or bulk system from one of the suppliers, and the problem is solved. Once they get passed installation, most folks seems really happy... they are always happy with the inks, but sometimes bulk systems clog and than they are dealing with that, but otherwise, the re-fill cart folks seem pretty happy most of the time. I will be going re-fill cart, and I am going to follow the people to inkjetcarts.us. There are other suppliers like inkjetfly, shopdyesub, inkrepublic... but from what I've read, inkjetcarts.us seems to be the name I hear most.

Okay, wow, that was long.. sorry.

As far as I know, no special inks for JPSS, pigment, Claria, dye, pigment compatable and Claria compatable inks seem to be working just fine, for almost everyone.

The only time I hear of issues is when folks print with too much ink, once they switch to text/normal mode, away from photo or best mode, the problems are resolving.

 

[COEDS]

I use a c120 for all my ink jet transfers and the oem. I like the fact that ,I can get ink at the office supply store and not have to order it. I know ordering ink in bulk is much more cost efficient. ... JB