[Bugmeister]

I'm starting to experiment with HTV but am still very much a newbie with it. Today I was asked if I do "heat transfer tshirts" which led to the suggestion that an acquaintance's friend is looking for someone to attend a sporting event to apply names on the back of hoodies which had already been screenprinted.

Of course I said "yeah, I can do that kind of stuff", so we'll see what comes of that conversation which could be a nice opening to get into the local spirit wear market.

In the meantime I started thinking about all the elements that are involved in doing this seemingly simple job but in which I have absolutely no experience or real knowledge! Then the questions started coming...and I'm hoping I can get at least a few answered here! (Yeah, I talk a lot, sorry) On the bright side I have some time in which to learn, practice and plan before I need to commit and deliver.

Equipment: What kind of setup do you normally take to something like this? In my case I don't have many options...GCC 30" cutter that only works with my desktop computer, choice of 15x15 or 15x20 presses. I'm curious what works for others so I can expand my equipment sensibly.

Vinyl Selection: If I do get the invitation, I'll ask them what kind of fabrics I can expect to aid in vinyl selection...but what kind of vinyl, colour selection and quantity would you tend to take? I have a lot of unknown htv but wouldn't be comfortable using it in a situation like that so I'd need to buy appropriate stock.

Letter Style: Do you have any "go to" fonts that are typical for team wear like hoodies or tees? How do you size the letters and space them? Typical placement on the garment...how far down from the collar?

Disclaimer: Do you use any kind of disclaimer or waiver to protect you in the event of damaging a garment or the htv not adhering properly due to previous handling of the garment?

Charges: Do you charge the event for your presence/time, or just charge per job? Do you have a required guaranteed minimum payment for being there?

What am I forgetting to consider?

Thanks for any input anyone can give me!

 

[webtrekker]

My thoughts, for what they are worth, would be to steer well clear of this job.

You could be applying htv to lots of different materials for a start. I did a hen party job last year, applying htv to tees they had all bought individually and it was a nightmare. Some, mainly the pure cotton or cotton mix ones, were fine, but others contained materials such as rayon and elastane which left press marks.

Another big problem for you is using your cutter 'in the field.' I've seen many market traders using pre-cut transfers with a heat press and generator, but never one using a cutter.

If you're still thinking of going ahead, and this is only an untried suggestion, could you not get plastisol transfers of letters of the alphabet made up in colours and fonts of your choosing and use these to arrange the various names for pressing?

 

[kostasfmx]

My setup for this project is a Cameo cutter ,a Heatpress and Photoshop software!
For fonts I use the website dafont ,find the perfect font for your project and download it!
For vinyl I use Joto premium
For price I charge per T-shirt and per design!If they want big logo that is more material and that must the customer pay a bit extra

 

[Bugmeister]

My thoughts, for what they are worth, would be to steer well clear of this job.

Probably some good advice, but I'm still debating the merits. I live in a smaller market area and this opportunity could lead to a lot more business and visibility. For a relatively small investment I'm thinking I would rather have a go at it rather than wonder for years if I missed that bus. Yes, it could backfire on me as well but that's why I'm trying to do some research and practice before jumping in.

You could be applying htv to lots of different materials for a start. I did a hen party job last year, applying htv to tees they had all bought individually and it was a nightmare. Some, mainly the pure cotton or cotton mix ones, were fine, but others contained materials such as rayon and elastane which left press marks.

That's one of my concerns. I'll have a lot of questions to ask the organizer if and when I'm contacted but my basic understanding is that it will be the team jerseys or hoodies being distributed that day which people will want done. If that's the case then I can be prepared for that material and have a contingency or waiver for other stuff. Or only do the advertised garments.

Another big problem for you is using your cutter 'in the field.' I've seen many market traders using pre-cut transfers with a heat press and generator, but never one using a cutter.

If you're still thinking of going ahead, and this is only an untried suggestion, could you not get plastisol transfers of letters of the alphabet made up in colours and fonts of your choosing and use these to arrange the various names for pressing?

Each shirt would be a different name so pre-cut and pre-ordered really isn't an option. I know there are letter sheets but I'm thinking the layout time for them isn't worth the effort for the reward.

My setup for this project is a Cameo cutter ,a Heatpress and Photoshop software!

Thanks, it will probably make sense for me to buy the Cameo or similar for some of the other things I'm planning on doing regardless of whether this opportunity materializes. A lot more portable than the GCC and saves the additional wear and tear on the expensive machine. I'm still using Inkscape until I can save up a few more sheckles to buy premium software like PS.

For fonts I use the website dafont ,find the perfect font for your project and download it!
For vinyl I use Joto premium
For price I charge per T-shirt and per design!If they want big logo that is more material and that must the customer pay a bit extra

That works. I need to do some searching for pricing tables on that kind of job too.

 

[binki]

Well you will need one person printing and pressing and one selling and possibly a 3rd depending on how many people there are. You will need 20amp electricity for the heat press as well as your cutter and computer. A booth of some type, business cards, a banner advertising what you do.

Now, we had a retail store and annually there was a 3 day festival and we tried print on demand for the festival with 5 employees and it was a nightmare. We couldn't keep up and that was with everything in our own store. After a few years of that we decided to shut production during the event and it was much better.

If you can print on demand at an event, more power to you. When we do events we take orders and deliver them within a few days.