[Wilmerlens]

Hello Friends, My name is Wilmer, and I go by "Wilmer Lens" on my social media accounts. I am a New York based photographer and digital artist. I have been interested in turning my art pieces into t-shirts for a while now but I am really new to the whole process. I have tried some print on demand services that use DTG methods, but truthfully I didn't like the quality. The colors would always be a bit off or when working with a thicker material like a hoodie the print would look a bit muddy.

One of my friends suggested I should try either screen printing or heat transfer since my art uses a ton of color.
Anyway, I am here to learn as much as I can and hopefully get some guidance on how to start printing my work on t-shirts.

Thanks for having me

 

[NoXid]

Quality tends to vary with POD DTG, as there is a fair amount to get dialed-in for optimum results with a particular image on a particular garment color and fabric composition. But since they are only printing one of a particular image, they will be using a more generalized optimization, and may also be saving money on ink by cutting back on that a bit.

You might have better luck with a local shop that has a DTG printer, at least if you are going to print multiple copies of a piece at one time.

If you are printing enough copies at one time, then screen printing would likely be your best bet (every color adds to the setup costs--the more colors, the larger the quantity of prints for it to be an affordable cost per unit).

If printing to white garments and 100% Polyester is acceptable, then sublimation printing will look great and is very durable. But often neither 100% poly nor white is desired. The various inkjet and laser transfers for dark garments leave a lot to be desired in terms of handfeel and durability, and thus I wouldn't consider them retail quality.

There are various other types of transfers one can order, each with its own pros and cons. The biggest pro of transfers in general is if you have a heat press and will press the art to blank garments as orders come in (as opposed to having a batch of shirts printed and then maybe running out of a particular size and color while having a bunch of some other combination left over).

In any case, welcome aboard

 

[Wilmerlens]

Quality tends to vary with POD DTG, as there is a fair amount to get dialed-in for optimum results with a particular image on a particular garment color and fabric composition. But since they are only printing one of a particular image, they will be using a more generalized optimization, and may also be saving money on ink by cutting back on that a bit.

You might have better luck with a local shop that has a DTG printer, at least if you are going to print multiple copies of a piece at one time.

If you are printing enough copies at one time, then screen printing would likely be your best bet (every color adds to the setup costs--the more colors, the larger the quantity of prints for it to be an affordable cost per unit).

If printing to white garments and 100% Polyester is acceptable, then sublimation printing will look great and is very durable. But often neither 100% poly nor white is desired. The various inkjet and laser transfers for dark garments leave a lot to be desired in terms of handfeel and durability, and thus I wouldn't consider them retail quality.

There are various other types of transfers one can order, each with its own pros and cons. The biggest pro of transfers in general is if you have a heat press and will press the art to blank garments as orders come in (as opposed to having a batch of shirts printed and then maybe running out of a particular size and color while having a bunch of some other combination left over).

In any case, welcome aboard

Wow thank you so much for the information! I will def keep posting on here. My art is mainly photography with photoshop edits. At the moment I think doing the heat transfer since I looking into buying a new heat press and getting transfer sheets from supacolor.

For now maybe doing pre-sales to cover the cost and get the sizes for people would be better instead of purchasing large quantity of shirts.

Anyway thank you very much for the helpful info!

 

[binki]

.. I have tried some print on demand services that use DTG methods, but truthfully I didn't like the quality. The colors would always be a bit off or when working with a thicker material like a hoodie the print would look a bit muddy.
...

Welcome. I can tell you if you use a quality product like in the link below, you will get supeior results. When we did DTG ourselves the AA brand (now defunct and the same guy has LAA with the same quality) produced the most vibrant colors for DTG.

Here is a link for hoodies but basically anything they produce is simply the highest quality you can get.

HF-09 - 14oz. Heavy Fleece Hooded Pullover Sweatshirt

This fleece is very heavy and will provide you with warmth in temperatures as low as 50°F (10°C). This hooded pullover sweatshirt is made in South Central, Los Angeles by expert sewers using premium construction materials and techniques. Made in Los Angeles, Calif. Our experienced seamstresses...

losangelesapparel.net