[flamer]

I have never screen printed before and I wasn't planning on doing it, I had planned to label my shirts by cutting my logo in vinyl and heat pressing it on the shirt. Although that solution looks nice I think the vinyl might wear off as it will be rubbing constantly against the skin and could become annoying and also it is fairly expensive and time consuming to do.

What I was thinking is paying a screen printer to make me a very small screen with my logo and screen printing them myself and instead of curing just use the heat press to cure. I guess my questions are, How do I avoid bleed through? What ink should I use (100% cotton shirts), Is it true a screen can only be used a certain number of times? I will probably do about 50, leave the screen sitting around for a month then do another 50. Also any ideas on how to do the sizing information? I have seen some people print all sizes on the shirt then just circle the actual size with ink.

 

[INKSCREENS]

I have never screen printed before and I wasn't planning on doing it, I had planned to label my shirts by cutting my logo in vinyl and heat pressing it on the shirt. Although that solution looks nice I think the vinyl might wear off as it will be rubbing constantly against the skin and could become annoying and also it is fairly expensive and time consuming to do.

What I was thinking is paying a screen printer to make me a very small screen with my logo and screen printing them myself and instead of curing just use the heat press to cure. I guess my questions are, How do I avoid bleed through? What ink should I use (100% cotton shirts), Is it true a screen can only be used a certain number of times? I will probably do about 50, leave the screen sitting around for a month then do another 50. Also any ideas on how to do the sizing information? I have seen some people print all sizes on the shirt then just circle the actual size with ink.

Your best bet is to have plastisol transfers made of each size and heat press them on as you need them. We print transfers but you need to special request them.

 

[trendlogo]

I use fmexpressions.com for plastisol transfers. You can fit quite a few tags on a sheet - 4 sheet sizes to choose from. Never had a problem with bleed-through.

 

[flamer]

Why is platisol better than screen printing? i understand they are very similar, but buying a one off screen that could last me for quite some time seems a lot better solution than paying someone for every label?

 

[splathead]

While not impossible, it's very difficult to heat press plastisol ink. You have to be very careful as it can get messy and if ink gets on your platen, it's very difficult to get off.

Using an ink similar in color to the shirt is a trick to avoid bleed-through. Dark gray on black, light gray or beige on white, etc.

If you do go the route of circling the size, use a rubber stamp dipped in your plastisol ink. Have one made at office depot with just a circle on it.

I use screens now, but when i first started out I made my label screens with this: EZScreenPrint - SCREEN PRINTING IN LESS THAN AN HOUR!

Cost came to $5 per size as I cut each sheet in half and used each half for a size. If you use waterbased ink, wash up is a breeze and then you could use your heat press to cure. Or use an ink like Union which air dries.

 

[trendlogo]

Say my label is 2"x1". I can fit 48 labels on a 9"x12.75" sheet from f&m. I order 144 sheets @ .84/sheet = $120.96. That's 48 x 144 = 6,912 labels for $120.96. Less than 2 cents a label. It takes 7 seconds to press the label into the shirt with no setup and no mess. Press them as you need them.

 

[TshirtGuru]

While not impossible, it's very difficult to heat press plastisol ink. You have to be very careful as it can get messy and if ink gets on your platen, it's very difficult to get off.

Using an ink similar in color to the shirt is a trick to avoid bleed-through. Dark gray on black, light gray or beige on white, etc.

If you do go the route of circling the size, use a rubber stamp dipped in your plastisol ink. Have one made at office depot with just a circle on it.

I use screens now, but when i first started out I made my label screens with this: EZScreenPrint - SCREEN PRINTING IN LESS THAN AN HOUR!

Cost came to $5 per size as I cut each sheet in half and used each half for a size. If you use waterbased ink, wash up is a breeze and then you could use your heat press to cure. Or use an ink like Union which air dries.

It's not difficult to press plastisol transfers. You place the plastisol transfer facing downwards and press. Simple as that really.

 

[splathead]

It's not difficult to press plastisol transfers. You place the plastisol transfer facing downwards and press. Simple as that really.

Henry, I wasn't referring to plastisol transfers. The OP seemed to indicate he wanted to screen print the labels directly on the shirt and then use his heat press to cure.

 

[flamer]

I will look into the plastisol option, i doubt I will find anyone who will be able to do them at 84c a sheet though.

splathead gave me a very good idea if I go for the screening option though, instead of printing all sizes and circling the actual size I could just get 4 stamps made up (s,m,l,x) and use those to stamp the size code on each garment.

 

[splathead]

I could just get 4 stamps made up (s,m,l,x) and use those to stamp the size code on each garment.

This will only work if your labels are designed with a grunge look. Using a rubber stamp will be inexact and you will have uneven application a lot.