family home based business
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985 Posts
Welcome to the forums, good luck and let me tell you, it is not easy, but it is not impossible either. Takes a lot of effort, but at the end it well worth it.
I will recommend you to read as much as you can from previous posts, and then ask, ask, ask
.
I will recommend you to read as much as you can from previous posts, and then ask, ask, ask
.
Joined
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74 Posts
Welcome, Silkcity! This is THE place to find any info you need.
Are you using your own designs? Do you have any equipment yet or are you still in the planning stages? Tell us about yourself.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Paintergirl
Are you using your own designs? Do you have any equipment yet or are you still in the planning stages? Tell us about yourself.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Paintergirl
HI pAINTERGIRL I have a good idea of what designs i intend to print. I do not have any equipment except for my p.c. and I have limited $$ to invest . I see some used presses on e bay and would like the 16/20 press as I think it would be better for my designs . I dont intend to make alot of $$ as I think if I could get my family involed and we could work together it would be worth it . I went to my public library and had no luck finding any books on the heat press or tee shirt business .Do you know of any books on the subject
thx. ken
thx. ken
Joined
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74 Posts
Hi Ken,
No, I don't know of any books. I get my help right here and from the supplier I bought my press from. By the way, E-bay is good, but RESEARCH everything! Used presses don't come with warranties or tech support. And stick with name brands. You will find many good posts on the subject right here. I read about everything before I made a single purchase, and I'm glad now I did. It saved me $$.
Best of Luck, and have FUN!
Paintergirl
No, I don't know of any books. I get my help right here and from the supplier I bought my press from. By the way, E-bay is good, but RESEARCH everything! Used presses don't come with warranties or tech support. And stick with name brands. You will find many good posts on the subject right here. I read about everything before I made a single purchase, and I'm glad now I did. It saved me $$.
Best of Luck, and have FUN!
Paintergirl
Joined
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1,808 Posts
Welcome Silkcity, Paintergirl is correct. You will learna lot here on the forums, just read up and do the searches and if you still don't find what you are looking for just ask.
Welcome aboard and good luck with it all
Welcome aboard and good luck with it all
Joined
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1,808 Posts
Paintergirl.I see you are from Ohio also, what part?
Joined
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74 Posts
HI Chris,
Northwest Ohio, near Toledo. How 'bout you?
Paintergirl
Northwest Ohio, near Toledo. How 'bout you?
Paintergirl
Joined
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1,808 Posts
Lancaster. Between Columbus and Athens
What type of printing do you do?
What type of printing do you do?
Joined
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18 Posts
I'm also starting that heat press thing! I buy a Geo Knight DK20S (16/20) for 1 000$ with the stand on Ebay. It was a really good deal, because i'm in Québec (French part of Canada) and the press was like 30 min away from my place, again i save on the shipping! The guy sell me his press because he was having trouble making his own design and he ebay account was close due to his fake UPS t-shirt... he was running a home based business like you want to do. I think you have a great plan but don't forget to be legit! Good Luck
Joined
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74 Posts
I heat press my original floral art on Ladies and Girls shirts
Joined
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72 Posts
Ken -
Paintergirl is right - you can find some books on Amazon.com, but in all honesty you're best served to save your money and search this forum. You will find yourself here for hours, but it will all pay off! I would suggest making a list and searching by each of your topics. Of course if you can't find the info you are looking for, POST - everyone here is SOOO helpful!!! And you will get a ton of excellent advice.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOU BIZ!!!!
Kimberly
Paintergirl is right - you can find some books on Amazon.com, but in all honesty you're best served to save your money and search this forum. You will find yourself here for hours, but it will all pay off! I would suggest making a list and searching by each of your topics. Of course if you can't find the info you are looking for, POST - everyone here is SOOO helpful!!! And you will get a ton of excellent advice.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOU BIZ!!!!
Kimberly
Joined
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426 Posts
I bought all three of my heat presses "used" on Craigslist. I have been pleased with all of them!
JP12
DK20
Chinese hat press
I also bought 3 refurbished printers:
Okidata 5800cdn
Epson 88+
Epson 120
In Feb I invested in a New Dell Inspiron XPS 1530 laptop (I already have my graphics software, I use an old version of Photoshop)
Then very recently I bought a new USCutter Laserpoint 24 cutter.
I think my equipment purchases are now done for awhile, I have everything I put on my wish list last fall.
I have earned many times more than I paid for them in just 8 months. I mostly sell my shirts at horse shows where I show and vend. I work full time and moonlight running a series of niche websites selling all sorts of things including of course apparel and hats. The apparel and hats part of my moonlighting satisfy my need to be creative, I love it!. I also like to make jewelry and websites.
My day job is working for a large company in the IT department as a Web Release Manager (over 130 domains).
If you do your research, plan and buy your equipment carefully you can make a very prosperous side business! Good luck
JP12
DK20
Chinese hat press
I also bought 3 refurbished printers:
Okidata 5800cdn
Epson 88+
Epson 120
In Feb I invested in a New Dell Inspiron XPS 1530 laptop (I already have my graphics software, I use an old version of Photoshop)
Then very recently I bought a new USCutter Laserpoint 24 cutter.
I think my equipment purchases are now done for awhile, I have everything I put on my wish list last fall.
I have earned many times more than I paid for them in just 8 months. I mostly sell my shirts at horse shows where I show and vend. I work full time and moonlight running a series of niche websites selling all sorts of things including of course apparel and hats. The apparel and hats part of my moonlighting satisfy my need to be creative, I love it!. I also like to make jewelry and websites.
My day job is working for a large company in the IT department as a Web Release Manager (over 130 domains).
If you do your research, plan and buy your equipment carefully you can make a very prosperous side business! Good luck
Joined
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72 Posts
TM -I bought all three of my heat presses "used" on Craigslist. I have been pleased with all of them!
JP12
DK20
Chinese hat press
I also bought 3 refurbished printers:
Okidata 5800cdn
Epson 88+
Epson 120
In Feb I invested in a New Dell Inspiron XPS 1530 laptop (I already have my graphics software, I use an old version of Photoshop)
Then very recently I bought a new USCutter Laserpoint 24 cutter.
I think my equipment purchases are now done for awhile, I have everything I put on my wish list last fall.
I have earned many times more than I paid for them in just 8 months. I mostly sell my shirts at horse shows where I show and vend. I work full time and moonlight running a series of niche websites selling all sorts of things including of course apparel and hats. The apparel and hats part of my moonlighting satisfy my need to be creative, I love it!. I also like to make jewelry and websites.
My day job is working for a large company in the IT department as a Web Release Manager (over 130 domains).
If you do your research, plan and buy your equipment carefully you can make a very prosperous side business! Good luck
That is great advice! I jumped in and wasted A LOT of money my first year - bought equipment that was expensive that turned out to be garbage, kept buying different transfers that didn't work out - and had a lot of wasted product because of it.
Research and planning are core to being successful!
K
Joined
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74 Posts
Research and planning are core to being successful!
I couldn't agree more! I had picked out a generic press for about $200.00, then read posts about problems people were having with that very brand and others in that price range. So I decided to keep reading and learning here before I made a purchase. I've had no problems with the press I ultimately chose, and while it isn't large (11"x15") it serves my needs quite well, as my new printer only prints 81/2"x11"'s. But if I decide to invest later in a larger printer, my Stahl's press will have better resale value, or be usable as an over flow press. So yes, READ READ READ and ASK ASK ASK! That's what the forum is here for.
Paintergirl
I couldn't agree more! I had picked out a generic press for about $200.00, then read posts about problems people were having with that very brand and others in that price range. So I decided to keep reading and learning here before I made a purchase. I've had no problems with the press I ultimately chose, and while it isn't large (11"x15") it serves my needs quite well, as my new printer only prints 81/2"x11"'s. But if I decide to invest later in a larger printer, my Stahl's press will have better resale value, or be usable as an over flow press. So yes, READ READ READ and ASK ASK ASK! That's what the forum is here for.
Paintergirl
Joined
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74 Posts
Hey Ken,
I've been hit or miss around here for awhile and haven't seen you lately. Are you still visiting the Forums? I'm curious (aka "nosy" ;-) how you are doing.
Paintergirl
I've been hit or miss around here for awhile and haven't seen you lately. Are you still visiting the Forums? I'm curious (aka "nosy" ;-) how you are doing.
Paintergirl
Hi , paintergirl , I am still looking for a heat press mainly on e bay , im not looking for a full time business, I do have time during the week as I drive party buses and stretch limos weekends, so I have some good ideas for party tshirts etc. I hear so much about a good american made press , but jeeez they are $$ I am looking at a 16-20 press on e bay from empire mkts. then i need the printer scanner paper etc. any suggestions ? and thankyou.
Joined
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74 Posts
Hi Ken,
I have been very happy with my Stahls 11x15. Of course, my designs are very bright, busy and colorful, so I think they would "scream" if they were much larger. I bought mine from Alpha Supply. Since I want my colors to be as vibrant as possible, I use Alpha Green Dark transfer paper for all my shirts, including the white ones. I'm currently thinking about a different printer myself, as I am concerned about the washability of the Ink for my Brother printer.
By the way, I work full time too, selling car parts (YUCKKKK). It's even harder now to keep my mind on it because I am always thinking about t-shirts. I'm thinking about a sales contest or two with T's as the prizes. I have had to come up with some landscape designs now for men's shirts (thank-you, Bob Ross hehe)! I'm also experimenting with photos of bugs and spiders, and manipulating the colors with my computer. I'm learning alot about the computer lately (I've only had it for about 8 years).
You mentioned getting your family involved. How is that going? Are they helping you with your research?
Keep us posted,
Paintergirl
I have been very happy with my Stahls 11x15. Of course, my designs are very bright, busy and colorful, so I think they would "scream" if they were much larger. I bought mine from Alpha Supply. Since I want my colors to be as vibrant as possible, I use Alpha Green Dark transfer paper for all my shirts, including the white ones. I'm currently thinking about a different printer myself, as I am concerned about the washability of the Ink for my Brother printer.
By the way, I work full time too, selling car parts (YUCKKKK). It's even harder now to keep my mind on it because I am always thinking about t-shirts. I'm thinking about a sales contest or two with T's as the prizes. I have had to come up with some landscape designs now for men's shirts (thank-you, Bob Ross hehe)! I'm also experimenting with photos of bugs and spiders, and manipulating the colors with my computer. I'm learning alot about the computer lately (I've only had it for about 8 years).
You mentioned getting your family involved. How is that going? Are they helping you with your research?
Keep us posted,
Paintergirl
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