[Tnranger]

Hello, I am new to this forum but I have a question. I have just taken over the family business and looking to adding a new product to our line. We currently have embroidery and Heat Transfer. (via vinyl, and transfers.)

I am looking at adding either silk screening, or sublimation.

My thinking on each. Silk Screen only allows the production of cloth products.

dye-sub, will allow other products to expand my product base. However, it is not good on cotton shirts.

I am going back and forth between the two. Anyone have advice on which way is the best to go.

 

[Solmu]

Silk Screen only allows the production of cloth products.

That's not true.

Although from a practical standpoint, it might be true for your specific business.

I am going back and forth between the two. Anyone have advice on which way is the best to go.

It really depends what your market is looking for. And your budget, space constraints, etc. And whether or not you're willing to learn a new skill.

They can both be good. It sounds like dye sub would be easier to integrate into your existing business. It may or may not be where the most revenue lies.

What kind of customer requests are you getting that you can't fulfil? Which will better address those pre-existing demands and needs?

 

[LMCTees]

I agree with this mostly. You will also need to think about what items you will be sublimating on?? Some sublimation products are hard to find.

 

[Texsource Scott]

I agree with Solmu. You need to consider what your target market is. Do you want to do large production runs or just a few. If you are considering larger runs, I would look into screen printing. And as far as you comment on just being able to screen print on just cloth products, that's not true. You would be amazed at what can be screen printed. Glass, Plastic, Ceramic Tile, and many other items can be screen printed. You need to just find the correct ink and method for that particular substrate. Check out my homepage for more information on screen printing. Thanks

 

[Tnranger]

Thanks for the input. I currently have a store front and will keep it. However, starting in a few months I will be doing county fairs and other such events and would like to offer other items i.e. lic. plates, photo t-shirts on the spot, etc. That was my idea. Silk screening on other products just seems like it would take to long and not be cost effective for small single item runs. However, I also want to be able to use what I purchase in my store.

The more I think about it the more I seem to lean toward dye-sub. Anymore ideas to help? Thanks

 

[Solmu]

On-the-spot and single item runs are definitely screenprinting's weakest areas. The two together it pretty much can't do. You can screenprint on-the-spot if it's not a custom order, or you can do a one-off custom order if the customer is willing to pay a premium... but not really both at once.

Dye sub is good at "lic. plates, photo t-shirts on the spot, etc.", screenprinting is not.

Dye sublimation will also be a lot cheaper and a lot easier for you to expand into. If that goes well, you can always look at adding screenprinting as well at a later time.