Idiot's Guide to Making a Picture on a T-Shirt

4594 Views 15 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Rodney, Sep 5, 2006

iceman2202

Discussion Starter · Sep 2, 2006

Hello,
I'm sorry because I'm sure you get hundreds of newbies posting about how to transfer images to t-shirts, sorry I'm one of those.

I want to make a few t-shirts for a friends birthday, very simple just a picture on the front (will add text after) but I am not sure how to do it, I've found some cheap t-shirts and transfer paper but I don't want to do it wrong because I can't afford to go out buying more stuff. I will be using the iron-on method as from looking at the forums I now understand that is not the only way.

If anyone could give me a step by step guide or direct me to a site or previous post where I could find this out it would be very much appreciated. Thanks alot

Dan

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badalou

· #2 · Sep 2, 2006

Re: Idiot's Guide

I assume your doing a white shirt?
1. The thing you need to do first and believe it or not is the most important is pre heat the tee in the area your placing the transfer. Get it hot. You need to remove moisture from the garment
2. Make sure your iron is hot!!!! NO STEAM!!!!
3. print your picture (if you are using light transfer) in a mirrored image.Back wards. You should have that setting on your printer.
4. Be sure to print as large as you can on the paper but I would leave a small boarder.
5. After printing cut as close to the picture as you can then lay the image down facing the tee (Remember this is for light paper. This is a hot peel paper so do as it says.
6. With you iron move over every inch of that transfer on top of the shirt hard as you can. (we use a press with lots of pressure.) Every area of the transfer paper should be press at least 30 second with an iron (18-20 second with a press) Then from the top right of the transfer paper peel back. Do not let that paper cool on you are it could stick. Hope this helps. Lou Robin see my video for more info..

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Twinge

· #3 · Sep 3, 2006

I've found the Avery paper (can be gotten at office supply stores) works pretty well for home (non-commercial) use.

Badalou covered it pretty well. I would like to further emphaize that it is VERY important to press down on the iron heavily when pressing the transfer into the shirt; use both hands, and apply solid, heavy pressure to really fuse the transfer to the shirt.

As far as how long to iron over it goes, there really should be some instructions included with the transfer paper you purchased. Usually they recommend up to 2-3 minutes if you're doing a full-size print (30 seconds wouldn't be enough when ironing except for a small design).

IKyoungBumI

· #4 · Sep 3, 2006

dont know why I cant get responses like this... instead everyone bashes on me not to use a hand iron, when I said I dont have the funds, but yet they still keep telling me too. oh well... thanks for this post.. helped out. =P

wiLL

badalou

· #5 · Sep 3, 2006

dont know why I cant get responses like this... instead everyone bashes on me not to use a hand iron, when I said I don't have the funds, but yet they still keep telling me too. oh well... thanks for this post.. helped out. =P

It is not that we don't want you to use a hand iron it just we want you to understand that there is a difference. I started out using a hand iron when I was back selling my tote bags on Ebay. I also found out that when I started making money that I should invest in a press. I am now using my second press as I keep getting larger. The great part is that I paid for my equipment out of profits. This could happen to you. If you feel your doing good work with an iron then keep using it. You and you alone will know where your at and when you can afford a press do it. I know I wish you the best in what you are doing. And if you feel bashed.. bash back!

Solmu

· #6 · Sep 3, 2006

IKyoungBumI said:
dont know why I cant get responses like this...

It's all about context. There's a difference between making some ephemeral shirts for a friends birthday, and making shirts to sell.

A hand iron doesn't create a product worth selling, which is what people told you (I don't think anyone "bashed" you, just gave you good advice). The poster in this thread wasn't looking to sell the product.

Solmu

· #7 · Sep 3, 2006

badalou said:
And if you feel bashed.. bash back!

Or better still, click the "Report Bad Post" link

Twinge

· #8 · Sep 3, 2006

Solmu said:
It's all about context. There's a difference between making some ephemeral shirts for a friends birthday, and making shirts to sell.

Exactly. Iron-ons are perfectly acceptable for hobby use - friends & family, etc. That's what they're made for; you can do them without buying extra equipment (most people already have an iron), but the quality doesn't usually last all too well. You will likely lose many chances for getting repeat customers if you are selling iron-ons; same applies for positive referrals.

At the very least, using an iron instead of a press is also very tiring - to make a good print, you have to apply heavy pressure for 2-3 minutes generally (which can be quite tiring), as opposed to pulling down a press for 10-20 seconds. Big difference if you're doing anything resembling even medium quantity.

T-BOT

· #9 · Sep 3, 2006

Twinge said:
Exactly. Iron-ons are perfectly acceptable for hobby use - friends & family, etc. That's what they're made for; you can do them without buying extra equipment (most people already have an iron), but the quality doesn't usually last all too well.

...well, I would say that there are good quality transfers that ARE made for Home Iron application, like the ones that come inside Magazine Inserts. They would not make a few million of these to be sold inside magazines if they were poor quality.

As for the quality, I would think they would qualify as professional Transfers as any other that IS applied with a heat press.

Solmu

· #10 · Sep 4, 2006

T-BOT said:
They would not make a few million of these to be sold inside magazines if they were poor quality.

Yes they would. I wouldn't have a clue if they do or not, but I think it's fair to say the majority of companies care very little about the quality of something being given away as a free magazine insert, and mass production is not an inherent sign of reliability.

Twinge

· #11 · Sep 4, 2006

Solmu said:
Yes they would. I wouldn't have a clue if they do or not, but I think it's fair to say the majority of companies care very little about the quality of something being given away as a free magazine insert, and mass production is not an inherent sign of reliability.

Definitely. It's often a sign of the opposite, in fact.

T-BOT

· #12 · Sep 4, 2006

do you honestly think a Major Brand name like Nike and such would put out poor quality with free give aways where their BRAND NAME is the focus. I dont think so.

Also, when Chanel gives you a free sample inside Magazine inserts is that poor quality too because its mass produced ? i dont think so.

or when retailers like the GAP give you transfers when you buy a shirt from them, for you to apply with a home iron is that poor quality too ? i dont think so.

badalou

· #13 · Sep 4, 2006

Ahhh... I am going with Lucy on this one guys...

Twinge

· #14 · Sep 4, 2006

T-BOT said:
do you honestly think a Major Brand name like Nike and such would put out poor quality with free give aways where their BRAND NAME is the focus. I dont think so.

Yes, I do think so. The public is often either ignorant, indifferent, or both and companies can use this to their advantage. They may not use the cheapest & crappiest possible solution, but if they can shave a few cents off the cost of making each little transfer that could save them thousands of dollars.

I personally wouldn't expect more than mediocre quality from any free giveaway like that, and wouldn't really be surprised if it was poor - it is free after all.

badalou

· #15 · Sep 5, 2006

ahhhh... this one also..

Rodney

· #16 · Sep 5, 2006

I personally wouldn't expect more than mediocre quality from any free giveaway like that, and wouldn't really be surprised if it was poor - it is free after all.

Not all companies go cheap with their free giveaways

But let's keep to the topic of the thread (which has mostly been taken care of)

ikyoungbumi said:
dont know why I cant get responses like this... instead everyone bashes on me not to use a hand iron

You definitely shouldn't be "bashed" here at T-ShirtForums.com. As Solmu said, if you feel that way, you should click the "Report Bad Post" link to notify the administrators/moderators of the site so we can take care of it.

I think members may try to lead you to the best solution for your issue, and for commercial production, an iron on may not be the best application. But for a one off gift or hobby, it may be just fine. I hope the advice isn't taken the wrong way

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

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