Is this too hard to start?

1129 Views 12 Replies 4 Participants Last post by drdoct, May 30, 2012

drdoct

Discussion Starter · May 30, 2012

I've been doing transfers from F&M and they're pretty good quality but now I've got a 50+ order and wanting to try out my new (to me) press. It's a one color job and about 10x12. I have zero frames or anything so I want to start small and go and get whatever mesh I need frame and of course the smallest emulsion I can buy and a scoop and a squeegee and some white plastisol (smallest I can get again). And do this run to see if it's really for me. I've got a decent exposure setup and a 4x4 press with a flash dryer. I'm just wondering if I could print this kind of detail right off the bat. I'm including my artwork (I had to redo it all and it's a little different) and then also the original shirt. The original shirt isn't anything to write home about IMO and the customer doesn't care if it's exact. Are my lines too thin? Should I just go and order some transfers and forget this? My goal is to end up printing but I'll be honest it scares me. ANY help would be greatly appreciated on this.

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drdoct

Discussion Starter · #2 · May 30, 2012

Also, there's a 4x4 on left chest too so it'd be a 2 hit job. What would you charge just for the printing? I know my shirt markup already but really the printing is just such new ground.

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luke_pickering

· #3 · May 30, 2012

You should be OK with that for a first attempt. So long as you get your exposures right it'll be fine. I found the hardest part of screen printing was registering multiple colours - single colours are fairly simple, even with minute detail.

You might consider writing off the proffit from this job as your 'training budget' so if you foul any shirts and end up only breaking even, well you still learned something. If you have the kit just go for it, you'll never get started otherwise.

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royster13

· #4 · May 30, 2012

You have to decide if printing works for you.....But me, who no longer likes getting his hands dirty, says this is a job for transfers all the way....Especially with the 15 cent deal going on right now...Even if the order is 50 shirts, I would order 150+ transfers (should be under 60.00 all in) and put the extras into inventory.....Then you can sell them extras later on.....Can the art be resized to fit the 9 x 12.75 deal?..

I buy shirts on sale if I can......Some get used for regular orders but early in the new year (when cash flow usually sucks) I match up shirts on hand with extra transfers on hand and have a sale.....This can generate some badly needed cash flow...

PS...With the 2nd imprint, the math is not as good with transfers....But with white I can always gang multiple designs together....I look over the extras transfers I have on hand and fill the gang sheet with some of my stock designs and/or extras for other clients for either current orders or potential future orders....

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luke_pickering

· #5 · May 30, 2012

Do they weed those transfers for you?

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royster13

· #6 · May 30, 2012

luke_pickering said:
Do they weed those transfers for you?

Nothing to weed with plastisol transfers.....

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luke_pickering

· #7 · May 30, 2012

Do what Royster says then - it's a no-brainer at those prices.

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drdoct

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 30, 2012

I think I can resize it to the max size. I was really worried that the detail would be too much for the F&M deal, but this isn't much detail? Pretty much all I've ever done with them is big pictures and writing. That whole thing gets reduced to 4x4 so that may be a problem. I've got a production heat press so I can knock out 50 shirts in around an hour or so. I guess I'll send it to F&M and see what they think. I'd rather not learn printing on a job, but at my own pace, but was just thinking that this could be a good start since I didn't know if F&M's detail was good enough.

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royster13

· #9 · May 30, 2012

Same art on front and back?.....Just reduced for front?....

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drdoct

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 30, 2012

YEP, just a reduced version.

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royster13

· #11 · May 30, 2012

Well too many fine details for transfers on the small size....

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Fenrir

· #12 · May 30, 2012

The company next door to us has 3 different versions of their logo, highly detailed for the 8' main sign board, moderately detailed for the sign on the front door that I made, and low detail that's stenciled on their boxes.

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drdoct

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 30, 2012

I'm thinking to change it up a lot by adding a truck with a trailer on the front. It will make the image bigger and it's less detailed. I've got to get it all approved anyway from the customer so I might as well put it out. I think their old shirts look pretty ratty on the small logo too so they should be willing to change.

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