[fresh]

now i am no expert but from my reading on this forum it seems as if screen printing is a long process to just print on one shirt. I have decided that heatpresses might be the way to go seeing how all you have to do is prinmt out the image or text and then press it on ..my question is i know that to print on a shirt with a heat press you must use transfer sheets for white shirts and opaque transfers for dark shirts but are there any other types of methods i can use like plasticol.. what are there advantages and disadvantages to my understanding plasticol allows you to just transfer the ink and not the whole sheet like a regular heat transfer..is there a way to just get the image with a regular transfer paper can i just trim all the excess paper? also how does vinyl work do i need a special printer or can i just use an epson? does a vinyl transfer just transfer the image or text or does it also leave a box?

sorry for all the questions

 

[Solmu]

it seems as if screen printing is a long process to just print on one shirt.

Not cost effective either. Screen printing is not something worth doing for a shirt or two here and there, you need to do a print run to justify it. Obviously if you're doing the printing yourself the number you'd need to print for break even is lower than if you outsource it, but it's still not practical for singles (unless you're a high end boutique).

are there any other types of methods i can use like plasticol.

There are other types of methods you can use, like plastisol.

The answers to your questions are all already available on the forums; if you run some searches you should find plenty of answers. In particular Decal_designs has written a lot of good posts on heat pressing vinyl.

 

[fresh]

thank you

 

[InternationalJay]

For vinyl you would need a vinyl cutter, the epson cant help you there... And apparently you can also use it to trim your designs (inside and out) w/ a special program... Check one of my other posts where i asked about it

 

[fresh]

i have read that with vinyl it is best used for text and single color designs ..if i wanted to also do designs would it be best to get an epson printer to print my own or should i just order them from a screenprinter? also once you print the design with vinyl do you have to peel it before you press it or do u peel after?

 

[fresh]

thanks for your answers