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Not sure what to do...

4264 Views 29 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  UrMyBoyBlue, 
U
Newbie here... not sure if im posting this in the correct spot or not, but...I need help. I am just starting out with making shirts and am extremely small time. I have a 30 shirt order for a pretty intricate design, with the possibility of being the companys go to for apparel which will get me at the very least 90-120 pieces per year. I currently have a vinyl cutter and a heat press and they have been great! Where I am lost at is I don't know whether I should buy the stuff for screenprinting and begin doing screenprint shirts also or if I should do the companys shirts in vinyl. The weeding with vinyl will be insanely tedious, but I am ok with that for now. Im just not sure what the standard for something like a company shirt is. They want the company name on the back with an intricate picture of a conveyer showing all the beams and rollers and then on the front pocket their logo with each employees name above the pocket. I am currently struggling with funds, as is, so the extra expense of screen printing materials and a screen press scares the crap out of me, but at the same time, Im not sure that I can get the same intricut detail from my vinyl cutter as I could with a screen press.
I have done large qty orders before with layering, but never something with such detail.

Maybe I need to spend more time refining the image? I currently just use inkspace but the image gets pretty blotchy when i trace the bitmap. Attached is an image of the conveyer they would like.

Any thoughts or help would be extremely appreciated!! What would you guys do? Or what did you do when you got your first "big" order?

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seacookie
UrMyBoyBlue said:
Newbie here... not sure if im posting this in the correct spot or not, but...I need help. I am just starting out with making shirts and am extremely small time. I have a 30 shirt order for a pretty intricate design, with the possibility of being the companys go to for apparel which will get me at the very least 90-120 pieces per year. I currently have a vinyl cutter and a heat press and they have been great! Where I am lost at is I don't know whether I should buy the stuff for screenprinting and begin doing screenprint shirts also or if I should do the companys shirts in vinyl. The weeding with vinyl will be insanely tedious, but I am ok with that for now. Im just not sure what the standard for something like a company shirt is. They want the company name on the back with an intricate picture of a conveyer showing all the beams and rollers and then on the front pocket their logo with each employees name above the pocket. I am currently struggling with funds, as is, so the extra expense of screen printing materials and a screen press scares the crap out of me, but at the same time, Im not sure that I can get the same intricut detail from my vinyl cutter as I could with a screen press.
I have done large qty orders before with layering, but never something with such detail.

Maybe I need to spend more time refining the image? I currently just use inkspace but the image gets pretty blotchy when i trace the bitmap. Attached is an image of the conveyer they would like.

Any thoughts or help would be extremely appreciated!! What would you guys do? Or what did you do when you got your first "big" order?
Click to expand...
use image hosting site to publish pictures on this forum. Forum has an issue with attachments.
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seacookie
outsourcing those 30 t-shirts?
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U
Gotcha. Also new to forums... lol.

How do I go about that??
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U
I thought about doing that. There is a local shop I could probably get to do it for me.

Just kinda have that feeling I should do the work if they're paying me to. Lol.

I've tossed around the idea of plastisol transfers also, but never done anything other than vinyl so i'm in new territory here.

Outsourcing may be the best option, although... that would minimize my profits. Another thing I am concerned with on outsourcing is that the company wants a different name on every 3 shirts. So with ten names... it concerns me with the cost of outsourcing.

Would it be acceptable to outsource to a company who will screenprint the design and me add the names in vinyl?
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W
Post your graphic on an image hosting site and post the link here using the
tags.

I use imgs.fyi
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W
If it's white tee-shirts you could do inkjet transfers (with pigment ink on any fabric) or dye sublimation (using sublimation ink on 100% polyester). A $150 Epson WorkForce WF-7210 printer, Cobra inks and refillable cartridges. Press on with your heat press.

You might want to look into having plastisol transfers (screen print on transfer paper) printed then press them on yourself.
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U
Thanks for all the help! Very much appreciated!
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U
http://i.imgs.fyi/img/3lmg.jpg
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W
A deciding factor would be how soon they are needed.
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W
Screen print is going to give you the best look and feel. Even if you could afford the equipment it's going to take awhile for you to get competent at it. If you sub it to a local printer you run the risk of them poaching your client. They will also provide the tees on which they will make some profit, though they can probably buy at a better price than you. Plastisol would be a good option because it would give you the same look and feel while allowing you to keep some of the work in-house.

Dye-sub would give you a nice look and feel but, again, you're restricted to white polyester. You'd also have to buy some equipment and there would be a little bit of getting up to speed.
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B
No way would I attempt that design in vinyl. Even if it did cut OK you'll be weeding forever. You'd have to seriously simplify the design which might not give your customer what they want if that's their logo/emblem/request. As above, I'd go with Plastisol transfers or sub it out to a screen printer you trust not to take the business away. Even if you're not making much money at this stage, once you have the business then you can decide which route is best longer term.
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1
hurts my back just thinking about weeding 30 of those lol
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DrivingZiggy
Not just the weeding, but there's a second color in there that I'm not sure can be deleted or worked around. So that would require a whole nuther round of weeding and then the time-consuming task of lining things up.
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webtrekker
What a ridiculous logo. I'd tell them to go elsewhere.
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W
I'm not sure that's the logo, just a design for the back. Probably some kind of construction firm. I kinda like it.
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seacookie
Waiting said:
I'm not sure that's the logo, just a design for the back. Probably some kind of construction firm. I kinda like it.
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but take in to the calculation that this will be probably even smaller on t-shirt then on monitor.
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W
Yeah, maybe. It's too intricate to be used for a small logo. Took me a bit at first, I thought is was some kind of Escher-like thing.
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U
They are getting there actual logo on the front pocket, but wanting this on the back. I was dreading even thinking about weeding that. Lol. So, what i ended up doing was contracting them out to a locaol scrinprinter for the logos and designs and i will bring them home and add the names myself in vinyl. As long as the screenprinter doesn't try to poach my client, it should work out amazingly! I bought the shirts from s&s myself and am setting up a wholesale account with the screenprinter, so it actually comes out where I will get them printed cheaper than I can buy the vinyl for myself!! Hopefully this turns out to be like a long term relationship where I can contract them my large orders until i get going a little better.
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4
Hello,
This is my first post here.

I am a reseller. I never touch a shirt. Over 24 I have a local large shop. Under I have 2 local people who do vinyl. Both have told me they stop at 24, or if it as you have stated to complicated.



Check with your shirt supplier they should be able to tell you who is local to you.
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