Heat Press Vinyl, Inkjet Heat Transfers, Sublimation Ink...What Should I Use For The Best Results?

1014 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by NoXid, Apr 10, 2018

hswede

Discussion Starter · Apr 8, 2018

Hi! I am new here, and grateful to have found this forum! I started a "little" t-shirt business on the side a few months ago...just for fun, but now it has really started to take off

Up until now, I have been using Prihtful and Printaura to do my tees and ship them out, but now I would like to do them myself. I really like the way that the Prihtful and Printaura tees look. I know that they use DTG, and that is not cost effective for me right now.

I started doing heat press vinyl (got a really highly recommended brand vinyl) and a vinyl cutting machine and a heat press, and the shirts that I have done for fun have turned out really nice. However, I kind of like the vintage and worn type of look to my designs when they are printed on the shirts. I can't seem to get that with vinyl. I also tried the Jet Iron On transfer paper, which is fine, but I don't like how it kind of feels like a sticker. It kind of feels cheap. At the end of the day, I just want the shirts to look good because I am not willing to skimp on the quality. What are your suggestions concerning these different methods? I'm losing my mind because I have lots of orders coming in, and I know I would have a much higher profit margin if I could make them myself.

Thank you for any suggestions!

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Waiting

· #2 · Apr 8, 2018

Screen printing would be your best bet, putting the "distress" in your design. Plastisol (screen printed transfer) printers could do it for you, some even offer the distressed/vintage look from your non-distressed image.

You might also check these links for ways to do it with vinyl.

https://www.silhouetteschoolblog.co...studio-tutorial-distressed-fonts-designs.html

https://adamyukish.com/2010/04/16/creating-a-distressed-look-with-a-vinyl-cutter/

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webtrekker

· #3 · Apr 8, 2018

Because weeding is often a problem with distressed HTV designs, check out 'reverse weeding' using transfer tape.

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proworlded

· #4 · Apr 8, 2018

I would recommend custom plastisol transfers to achieve the product that you want.

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GetemDuck

· #5 · Apr 8, 2018

I agree with proworlded a custom transfer would be your best bet for a distressed look with a soft hand. Get samples from a few vendors and do some test presses. Best of luck in your new adventure.

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NoXid

· #6 · Apr 8, 2018

For low volume on dark shirts there is no good solution. Available methods either require expensive equipment (DTG), or have a heavy hand on the shirt and poor durability (inkjet/laser).

Plastisol transfers, like all screen printed options, are uneconomical in "small" quantities, and each color adds to the expense. But you should verify the math for yourself by looking at the price chart at various suppliers. If the math works out with the quantities you need, this will be your best option.

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webtrekker

· #7 · Apr 8, 2018

The price of plastisol transfers drops exponentially with the quantity ordered. I've found that between 50 and 100 sheets offers an acceptable range, with prices dropping only slowly after that.

Don't forget that, depending on the size of transfers you need, you can gang up designs to fut a sheet, as long as they are all the same colour(s). Single colour designs are the cheapest.

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hswede

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 9, 2018

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my question! I am thinking that I might try the Plastisol out. I think that I'll start with one one design that is selling well. I am getting frustrated because I could be making a lot more, profit margin wise, if I figure out how to just do it myself. There's a bit of a learning curve with all of this, but slow and steady LOL! Thanks, again!

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NoXid

· #9 · Apr 10, 2018

hswede said:
Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my question! I am thinking that I might try the Plastisol out. I think that I'll start with one one design that is selling well. I am getting frustrated because I could be making a lot more, profit margin wise, if I figure out how to just do it myself. There's a bit of a learning curve with all of this, but slow and steady LOL! Thanks, again!

There is profit and then there is profit. You may make less per unit when outsourcing production, but when you do the printing yourself you are putting more of your own labor into the product--you are working for that "extra" money, it is not free. What else could you be doing with that time? Is that the best use of it?

I'm not arguing one way or the other, but you should consider those questions now, and at various points along the way, to see what makes sense for where you are and where you want to go.

FYI Some of the biggest players in online T-shirt sales (one of whom used to be on here), started out with Plastisol transfers and still use them. When someone orders a design and wants it on the back of a women's extra-small puke pink tank top, no problem. They just heat press a transfer on to whatever garment the crazy customer ordered. This way they can support lots of garment styles, colors, and sizes, as well as image placement options while carrying no inventory, other than the transfers themselves.

As you say, give it a shot with your best selling design and see how it goes. Having a quicker production process like this allows you to scale up more easily, and also focus more time and effort on sales, marketing, and designing ... which may net you more $$$$ in the long run than doing the production totally in-house. YMMV, but that would probably be the conventional wisdom. (Note, I screen print my own designs in-house and am not much of a marketing person, so

)

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