[guest5779]

I'll put this in cliff notes form.

1. Will be purchasing a press from Coastal.
2. Have decided heat pressing shirts with plastisol transfers makes the most "economical" sense.
3. Am worried that many plastisol printers (such as First Edition, Dowling), only have a small <25 color supply. What happens when I need different / other colors?
4. Are they able to do fading effects? Such as toning from a very light gray, to jet black?

Thanks!

 

[T-BOT]

3. Am worried that many plastisol printers (such as First Edition, Dowling), only have a small <25 color supply. What happens when I need different / other colors?
4. Are they able to do fading effects? Such as toning from a very light gray, to jet black?

Thanks!

your best bet would be to ask them directly.

as far as i know, plastisol transfer makers can match any of your colors at no charge.
color blends and percentages are easy to do with spot colors. But the artwork needs to allow for such.

 

[guest5779]

Spot colors? I thought that was associated with "screen printing". So spot colors are plastisol transfers that are color matched uhn? The price of those if 2 - 3x as much as the stock colors, there's no money saved by going plastisol as that cost.

Hmm...

 

[T-BOT]

Spot colors? I thought that was associated with "screen printing". So spot colors are plastisol transfers that are color matched uhn? The price of those if 2 - 3x as much as the stock colors, there's no money saved by going plastisol as that cost.

Hmm...

nope,
like i said. It should not be a problem matching your colors (the colors of your artwork). Some plastisol transfer makers may DO charge you for it but NOT all do. This does not change the price because it does not really matter to the transfer makers what colors you use, be it brown, yellow, or lime green, it dont matter.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

Go to a transfer company like Impulse...look over the stock transfers they offer. Do you see all those colors? I am sure they are going to be able to match whatever you think your odd color may be. Lucy is correct...plastisol ink colors and usually on a pantone matching system.

 

[Twinge]

Spot colors? I thought that was associated with "screen printing".

To clarify further, plastisol transfers essentially ARE screen printing. Instead of printing to a t-shirt, they print onto a carrier paper instead, which you can then use to transfer to the shirt instead. There are some variations (in the inks and such), but the process is basically the same.

 

[Solmu]

3. Am worried that many plastisol printers (such as First Edition, Dowling), only have a small <25 color supply. What happens when I need different / other colors?

Some printers will colour match (sometimes for a fee, sometimes not), others won't. Even with the ones who won't, you might be surprised at how far a limited colour pallette can take you.

4. Are they able to do fading effects? Such as toning from a very light gray, to jet black?

They generally won't fade from one colour to another (i.e. red to purple), but should be able to fade from dark to light (i.e. black to grey) using half tones; technically nothing is fading, it's just tricking the eye. It's an effective trick though

Spot colors? I thought that was associated with "screen printing".

Plastisol transfers are screenprinted.

 

[Solmu]

it does not really matter to the transfer makers what colors you use, be it brown, yellow, or lime green, it dont matter.

It does matter to some.

If you want a specific ink colour it needs to be mixed. This takes labour, and creates wastage - both of which cost money. Some printers keep their margins lower (and therefore charge you less) by offering a limited choice of colours.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

I dont understand Solmu....If I can fade white out via a halftone...why cant I fade another color falling into the white fade? Just interested in why we cant so i can create art properly.

 

[Buechee]

so are they cheaper than regular screen printing?

 

[Solmu]

I dont understand Solmu....If I can fade white out via a halftone...why cant I fade another color falling into the white fade? Just interested in why we cant so i can create art properly.

You could fade two colours together using a half tone on each, it's just harder to create the artwork and harder to print. It would also require some tight registration.

Given some printers are reluctant (I'm told) to print a simple halftone, I can't imagine they'd be thrilled about doing it.

Sometimes there is a gap between what is possible and what you can hire someone to do, so you'd need to find out from the prospective printer what they're willing to do. Maybe I'm wrong and they're a lot more willing to work with that kind of thing than I've been lead to believe.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

Solmu...I do many outdoor events and they all have some sort of blend within the spot color in the show shirts. I agree the fades are very halftone simple but thats ok....I just want two colors to blend together within that screened effect

 

[guest5779]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Buechee]

I'm still wondering if and how they are or can be cheaper than regular silk screen. Can someone tell me this?

 

[Twinge]

I'm still wondering if and how they are or can be cheaper than regular silk screen. Can someone tell me this?

I'm not that familiar with the process, but I think they can print multiple orders (or gang up several from the same order) all at once on a huge paper, and then cut everything down. Something like that anyway; I imagine someone with more direct experience can enlighten us further =)

 

[T-BOT]

I'm still wondering if and how they are or can be cheaper than regular silk screen. Can someone tell me this?

well, may be not cheaper $$ then screen print.

i dont have a calculator handy but a ball park figure on running a fair size job would be:

7-8 colors for the designs (w/glue).
500 sheets 25x38 sheet size.
20 Different Designs Yield/Gang total (about the size as Bang-On designs (chest full size).

they would cost you under $.75 to a $1 each design. More or less.

now, how much would that be if you screen printed 10,000 shirts, same job designs specs.. ( 500 of each 20 designs ) ?

...without the cost of the shirt, just the screen printing.

 

[swannn32]

I'm not that familiar with the process, but I think they can print multiple orders (or gang up several from the same order) all at once on a huge paper, and then cut everything down. Something like that anyway; I imagine someone with more direct experience can enlighten us further =)

Yes, this is true. And if you have a longer time frame to save you even more money, you can ask them to gang your job with someone else's of the same color when it comes along. Although usually better to only ask this if it is a one color job or you might be waiting awhile!

With the plastisol transfers - they are screen printed. The set-up involves creating a screen with your image on it, so if your design is small enough it may be able to fit multiple times onto one screen (my screens are 20"x 24" but I don't do transfers), making it so one pass on the screen actually prints 4 images or more depending on your design size. Then they cut them and send them to you.

For a normal screen printer printing directly onto shirts, we can only place the design on one location and the rest of the screen is blank (what a waste). Therefore we have to make 4 times as many passes. Because they have no restrictions on print location (it is printed onto release paper) they are able to print more at a time.

 

[swannn32]

The one major advantage to getting plastisol transfers made and having your shirts screen printed is that you can store your transfers and use them as needed. So you won't have to print them onto shirts.

If you get 5,000 plastisol transfers made, store them , and only keep 50 - 100 items printed at a time, you won't have to have a large inventory.

If you get 5,000 shirts screen printed, then you have to store them (in a warehouse). And who knows if you will sell them all, then you are stuck with printed inventory and all those shirts become "yard sale" items.

Oh, and another reason for plastisol transfers vs. screen printed shirts is because you can print 5,000 transfers at a time and store them, you won't have to go to a screen printer over and over again for smaller orders (100 pieces). Smaller orders for a screen print job always are more expensive. You can get the bulk print price from the plastisol transfers without the risk of wasting blank goods.

 

[T-BOT]

thanks for the info Crystal. Very good points.

 

[Twinge]

While we're talking about it then, what do people think advantages of screen printing over plastisol would be? I imagine they probably fuse with the shirt a little better and last a bit longer; anything else?