Printing
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To me personally the weight is very important. First of all it tells me if I'm going to use that blank at all. After trying a few samples from here and there I learned to judge by the weight so now the job of picking blanks has become much easier since I can elilminate right away any t that's outside my preffered weight range. Big difference between a 3.5oz sheer jersey t and 6.5oz heavyweight t. They are completely different products in a sense, at times intended for different customer types. The weight also dictates to me the kind of design that'll be used on the t. From the printing perspective - my little experience taught me that the lighter/sheerer the t the less ink I'd use; different thickness require different levels of opacity (that's let's say if you are printing with waterbased for e.g.); when doing heat transfers - need different pressures, sometimes different types of transfers. And this is just for t shirts. I'm sure it'll still be a big factor for me when i'm looking into sweatshirts, fleece or other stuff.
I agree with Annushka. I went to goodwill and got a bunch of different weights, brands, etc of blanks. You can usually find new ones with tags or pretty new looking ones. They are for practice anyway, but it if comes out well, it will sell! I practiced on all the different shirts with different style of purchased transfers and my own printed to see how they held up. There is a world of difference. Some of the better made ladies tees actually almost scorched on just the preheat. Made me wonder what would happen if I had to put a transfer on it for 20 seconds! This is an inexpensive way to find a good brand, good weight and practice,practice , practice. My wardrobe for around the house is almost always a screwed up tee shirt!
I agree with Annushka. I went to goodwill and got a bunch of different weights, brands, etc of blanks. You can usually find new ones with tags or pretty new looking ones. They are for practice anyway, but it if comes out well, it will sell! I practiced on all the different shirts with different style of purchased transfers and my own printed to see how they held up. There is a world of difference. Some of the better made ladies tees actually almost scorched on just the preheat. Made me wonder what would happen if I had to put a transfer on it for 20 seconds! This is an inexpensive way to find a good brand, good weight and practice,practice , practice. My wardrobe for around the house is almost always a screwed up tee shirt!
As I can see.. for screen printing it doesnt really matter the weight right? I as a customer of commercial T shirts have noticed that the price is greater if the T shirt are light (less weight).. why is that? .
I don't think this is always the case, but in more recent time, some lighter weight t-shirts have become more popular because of the "vintage" feel to them, and since it's popular, they can charge more for it. Some lighter weight t-shirts are less expensive though, so I think it might depend on what type of shirt it is. It's also because some lighter weight shirts (e.g. aa) are made from better quality cotton, are more likely to be made in the US and/or sweatshop free, etc. If you compare apples to apples heavier shirts are generally more expensive, but a better quality light shirt will cost more than a poorer quality heavy shirt.
Read about knitting standards at the ASTM ASTM International -Standards are in the store area D 3887 Standard Specification for Tolerances for Knitted Fabrics D 3776 Standard Method for Mass Per Unit Area (Weight) of Fabric Control Without Confusion - Chapter 1 by Joe Clarke How to Print T-shirts for Fun And Profit - Chapter 9 All About Garments by Fresener
Weight is important because it is a way to measure and compare. Notice that every ink company's instruction sheet reminds us to always test before production. This is partly because each fabric has its own unique surface texture that must be conquered by the ink. A smooth surface is much easier to print on than a course fabric because the ink has to penetrate into the "valleys" of the fabric, yet not fill in the holes like a road crew filling potholes. On the surface The print surface is a function of the weaving or knitting method used to make the fabric in the first place. Weaving tends to be smoother, flatter, tighter-packed with little compressibility. Knitting, because loops of yarn are drawn around each other (interlocking) is more flexible, looser with more holes. The texture of a knit is created by what are called wales and courses-similar to the warp and weft of screen mesh. Finished goods can be measured for fiber mass, which is a combination of the texture of the yarn, how thick it is and how tightly it was pulled during the knitting process. The greater the fiber mass, the fewer holes in the fabric which makes it a better printing surface. Knit fabric has a definite face (outside which is smoother) and back (inside), and the face has distinct vertical lines. These vertical lines are different for all shirts and can cause moire patterns with halftone or process prints. Once you have a process job printing well, print as many different shirt brands as you can and notice the difference the shirt makes. Jersey or plain knit is the simplest knit found in most t-shirt fabrics. After jersey, rib knit, fleece, Tompkins knit, interlock, pique and thermal are other popular knitting methods found in garments. They all describe distinct shapes of the wales and courses in a knit--and they all make printing harder because the surface has more texture. Fleece (or pile knitting) and terry cloth (or toweling) is even more complicated, because an extra set of yarns is drawn out in long loops and then cut (sheared) or not, depending on the desired effect. Fabric specifications Thread count and thread diameter will affect the feel and bulk of the material. Just like screen mesh, more threads per inch and thicker fibers will produce thicker material. A knit fabric will usually be specified according to the yarn number, the stitch count, the word "single" and, finally, the type of knit, something like this: 18/40 single jersey, which means number-18 yarn, 40 stitches per inch single-ply cotton, plain knit. It will take
some effort with your suppliers, but ask them to provide you with data on each shirt you buy. You want them to tell you yarn number and the type of yarn; you can count the stitches per inch yourself. The word single is used to describe the ply of the yarn. A single is the most popular and means single-ply: raw cotton twisted into a single thread. Stitch count is measured in stitches per inch, much like mesh, and is the reason all knitters and weavers carry linen loupes (just like printers). Put the loupe on the fabric and use a pointy object (such as a pin) to keep track of your place as you count stitches per inch. Take time to look at the detail of the fabric surface, while you're at it. Again, as with screen mesh, the spacing between the threads will determine how well the fabric breathes and how many holes it offers for ink to fall through. Weight Cotton yarn used for T-shirts is measured by an obscure method called "yarn number," based on how many hanks (840 yards) there are in a pound of yarn. Since this is always based on a pound of yarn, a higher yarn number means a thinner yarn. (Incidentally, there are, 7,500 yards of yarn in the average T-shirt.) Man-made polyester yarn (which, spider-like, is squirted out of spinnerets) is measured by denier. The denier system is based on the weight, in grams, of a 9000-meter length of yarn. Notice that this is the opposite of the cotton-yarn measurement system, naturally, so lower numbers mean finer yarn. Confused, irritated? We're only just getting started. Don't worry though, it's rare to see a shirt, even a poly/cotton blend, described using denier. Yarn Your design and image details must bridge the gaps as the substrate gets coarse--unlike those flat-stock graphic printers with their smooth white paper. The composition of the yarn itself also influences this coverage aspect. Our yarns for shirts are spun (think spinning wheel). The old, established method is "conventional ring-spun" which is 300 years old and takes many more processing steps compared to "open-end spinning" which was invented in Czechoslovakia in 1967. Spinners love open-end because it eliminates three steps and needs almost no knots in the long thread to repair breaks. This means higher production speeds at the mill, less power and space. The yarn is made in a centrifuge so it has a very even diameter. Knitters love it because it runs through their machines like a dream, but the hand is very rough. They add LOTS of softners to make it feel better. Softners are chemical coatings that fill the irrularities of in the yarn to make it smoother like body putty on a car. Softeners are like sizing, they wash out during the first laundering. When you print on the softeners the print looks great, but after the first wash the softners carry away some of the ink. Quality of the shirt effects the loading speed. Lint, fabric weight and hand. texture. You may be better off suppling a higher grade of shirt when there might be a handling advantage. You might not be able to produce as many inferior shirts per day. You could pass this advantage to the customer. Profits come from units per day. Don't be fooled by the illusion of economy with a cheap shirt. Both types of spun yarn have protruding fibers because of the way they were roughly spun together. This can actually be desirable for absorption of ink and perspiration, but you also get
shedding of lint, fibrillation and pilling during handling and laundry. The best printing surface is a high-mass fabric made of combed cotton. The combing aligns and smooths the cotton fibers so they behave. At the opposite end of the agony spectrum are more novel fabrics such as nylon or spandex and Swiss-cheese-like athletic mesh for football uniforms. Elastic stretch and recovery from elongation (from 500 to 700 percent) are the most important properties of spandex. It is very smooth and takes ink well but it is very difficult to formulate and print with an ink that has those same stretching properties. Athletic mesh offers more open area than fiber and you waste tremendous amounts of ink as you print; it passes through the holes and prints the platen richardgreaves - do you know the metric equivalent for the weight of fabric? instead of using yards and ounces?
I see you found this handy table: T-shirt weight in g to oz? While at ISS I heard a lot of terms that I'm not familiar with. Can someone explain what the following cuts mean or their differences....Die Cut, Contour Cut, Kiss Cut, CAD Cut. By the way, does someone know where to find a good definition list for common terms in the sign/banner/awards/engraving/dye-sub/heat transfer world? The SGIA website has a nice glossary: SGIA Glossary of Terms Die cut means that there is a shaped piece of metal (die) that punctures through your object. It's useful for getting exact cuts as well as giving a clean cut through any kind of backing material, so you end up with say a circle shaped sticker that has the exact same circle shaped backing paper on it. Die's are good for mass production of a single size and shape. A kiss cut is the same as a die cut, except the backing material is not punctured. Think of it like those address labels that you feed through your printer, you need it cut, but you don't want the backing paper severed. A contour cut and a CAD (computer aided design) cut to my knowledge are pretty much the same thing. A contour cut is generally done by a router or plotter. A contour is a collection of nodes that the machine uses to cut out very awkward shapes. A flame sticker decal for a vehicle for example. That SGIA link Rodney posted looked pretty handy. A quick google will oftentimes lead you to a pretty solid answer as well, but if there's any confusion, nothing beats asking other users! I know most of the people here are far more advanced in this tee shirt business than me.I am just curious to what jpss stands for. Jet Pro Soft Stretch
When I had the idea for this T-Shirt Crossover project, I really wanted to see first hand what the benefits and drawbacks of heat transfers. It's one thing for me to read all the threads here and have "book knowledge" of how heat transfers work; I'm finding it something totally different to actually press transfers to shirts.
First Lesson
The first thing I learned about plastisol transfers was that not all plastisol transfers are equal. Not that I got poor quality transfers, just that not all transfers are as easy to apply (for a newbie like me) as others. I think for some reason I expected I would heat up my press, pre-heat the garment, press the transfer for a few seconds, and viola, there's my perfect shirt. My reality was that there is a lot more testing of temperature, getting the right pressure, testing how long to press (dwell times), figuring out how fast to peel it off on a hot peel or how cool to let the transfer get for a cold peel. A few months ago, I really knew nothing about heat press brands and what things you would want to look for when buying a heat press. Here are some of the things I've learned and how I learned them
1. Size does matter.
When selecting a heat press, go for the largest press size that your budget will allow. A minimum of 15x15" is often recommended. Some benefits of a larger press: • • • •
Pressing oversized t-shirt designs Pressing names and numbers on jerseys Easier alignment of larger t-shirt sizes When pressing mousepads, you can press multiple items at once
You'll also want to consider whether your press will be mostly stationary or whether you'll want to take it on the road. The 16x20 size presses are great if your press will always be stationary (they are very heavy), but a 15x15 press will be easier to take on the road to shows, events, and fairs. I would not buy either one. I would spend the money upfront to buy a decent press. Don't get anything less than a 15x15. I have the Stahls Might Press 15x15 and am very happy with it. I agree with tcrowder on this one. He said two important things that many people here have stressed in the past: 1.) buy a quality press from the get go and 2.) avoid getting anything less than a 15x15. You may have success with one of the presses you see but often people regret not buying a quality piece of equipment to start. I know said you don't have the money right now... then wait! What's the rush? Start the right way. Simply save up till you can buy something decent and then start. Don't start the wrong way.
I agree with everyone. Irregardless of the low price, after your first few weeks of using it, you'll wish you waited until you could get a 15x15" flat heat press. I started heat transfer printing (sublimation) in August 1987 and spend a whole $295 for a National Screen 15x15" flat heat press. I still use it and it has not given me any problems. Please remember that the only piece of equipment that will make your investment in is a heat press. The problem with purchasing an inexpensive heat press is, you do not have the large platen area to clamp down onto your products. The larger the surface area (15x15" as an example), will produce a consistently high quality imprint. A 1/3" height adjustment is wothless (this is my own opinion) as a mousepad can be 1/4 to 3/8 high. Sublimation products such as dry erase boards, jewelry, etc... can be higher. Make sure the lower platen has a heat resistant foam, and the upper platen is teflon coated. If possible, I would recommend you wait a bit and try to purchase a 15x15" flat heat press think they call 'en clam shells now. You might want to contact a few local screenprinters to see if they may have one lying around in the back of their shop that they don't use or put a small ad in local newspapers. No No No No.. you will be sorry for throwing away your money. Please believe all of us here. We know for what we speak. I know it is hard. You want to get in the business but you'll turn out crappy work. The time it takes you do the work will really upset you. It is all about heating aliments, pressure, timers and ease of use and reliability. You want warranty with your press.
http://cgi.ebay.com/STAHLS-MIGHTY-15...QQcmdZViewItem This is the press I bought. I'm very happy with it. When I bought mine I just used the buy it now, I was tired of chasing auctions. you paid more than I did for the same unit. I paid 632 and that included shipping. great unit. From I reccomend mighty press as well. I got mine from imprintables warehouse. The machine actually burned out after 1 year of use, but it was covered under the one year warranty that it came with, so they sent me the replacement part no problem http://www.boo-zwearhouse.com is selling a 15x15 press with 100 stock transfers for $599.00 if that helps you. Press is labeled Black Max but I think it may just be a rebranded Stahls. Has the same lifetime element warranty. I recently had a buy a new press when my National 15x15 would no longer turn on. I bought a Hix 15x15 Swing Away. So far I love it. It ran $635 locally. I bought a HIX back in 1979. It still works great and makes me money every day. All origional parts never a breakdown. "I bought a HIX back in 1979. It still works great" funny... may be you can get a good buck for it on ebay... " Vintage Heat Press " LOL. I agree, HIX is all you need.
you dont really need all the digital stuff with some heat presses... the clam style is cool too because it takes up less space than the what you-ma-call-it... you know the ones that swing from side to side. You can always get the fully automatic presses when you have a bunch of turkeys working for you.... just kiddin'!! yeah... spend the mula and make it a life time investment with a HIX.
The only way you'd see this press on E-bay would be if you pried it from my cold dead hands. Tees are like cookies, you can smell when their done. Who needs all that Hi tech crap to break down? I bought the Epson cx7800. Thank you for the words of wisdom regarding that. Bought Corel X3 also. Now I just need to know which is the best direction to go for the heat press. Any advice? A lot of members here have recommended in the past not to get anything smaller than 15 x 15. I agree with this. From reading the posts on here from veterans of the business, Hix seems to be the most reliable and popular brand. This lead me to purchase a Hix Presto 15. I have read posts where people complain about electrical problems with the Geo Knight brand but also read Geo Knight owners who have never had a problem. So, consider that. You also need to consider: 1. Your budget for a heat press. 2. How large your designs are. 3. Work load (printing constantly or taking an order or so a day?) Answer those questions and then consider the major brands and what people here have to say about each brand. You will find most recommend Hix. I'll second that. The Hix has been a work horse for many years Stahls Hotronix manufactures great presses. That's who we've chosen to distribute. Many options for different budgets I like the design of the Hix Presto the best. Alot of people are saying "Swingman 15 x15" What is the difference? Does it automatically release when the time is up? Where is the best place to buy one? How do you like yours? The Swingman allows you to place your shirts without fear of touching the heat platen since it "swings" away. With the Presto you simply have to be more careful; it opens 70 degrees so the platen is right above you while you are laying out the shirt. I make it sound more dangerous than it is. Another feature some might say is useful is that the Swingman can press items up to 1-3/4" thick while the Presto can only do .25" thick. If all you plan on pressing is t-shirts than that feature is useless. I didn't care about either of the above features so I went with the Presto. I have yet to press any shirts for customers but have done some test runs and played around with it a lot and I am very pleased. It takes up very little space, easy to adjust pressure and temperature and
very user-friendly. My press does not release automatically when the time is up. Personally I can't see how this would be that useful anyway unless you are doing volume orders. What are you going to do the 20-30 seconds it takes to press a transfer? I can't imagine walking away from the press during that time and since I'm going to be there anyway I have no problem simply pulling the handle up myself. I shopped around for a while looking for the best price for the Presto and finally decided on bestblanks.com. I found one site that had it for $5 cheaper but because their site was very poorly designed and I had never heard of them I chose the more reliable option. There was also a retailer in FL that was offering free shipping on their heat presses but only carried one or two brands and neither was Hix. I'm all for getting a good deal on things but when it comes to the major components of your operation you should bite the bullet and get quality items. Keep in mind that when it comes to experience in the t-shirt business I don't compare to the majority of posters here. So, if some veterans are telling you to get the Swingman 15x15, consider it. You should definitely go with what you feel comfortable purchasing and using. I simply weighed the pros and cons of each machine I was considering and went with what was best for my operation. A lot of people are using this time to stage the next garment, or possibly answer the phone or wait on a customer. With the Auto Open feature you can multi-task or leave the press without worrying about ruining the garment. Not for everyone, but definitely has proven to be a useful feature for high volume & low volume users alike. It's been a couple of months since I posted here last, i'm one of those who wanted to start up but after reading many many posts decided to hold off until I had enough money together to be able to afford the right heat press. I've really caught the bug even though I do not own a heat press yet. I do still have problems navigating my way around forums so please excuse me if this is in the wrong place but I certainly need some advice so thought this was the ok thread to post at. I have a question first which I haven't been able to find an answer to, since researching and reading here I keep seeing presses advertised that "does not need an air compressor" ???? Does this mean that I may have to buy not only a heat press but an air compressor too?? Can someone explain that part please? I just recieved the catalog from imprintables which show the mighty press which i'm sold on really, the advice I need most is on some of the differences between the ones i'm looking at. My budget was originally $800 for a heat press but i'm willing to go as high as the $1095 for the 16x16 phoenix auto open or $1050 for the mighty press digital 16x20 it just means I won't be able to afford as much stock as I originally intended to buy. Ok the advice part, I want to know if the 16x20 would really make that much difference, I want to put stock transfers onto t-shirts and sweaters/hoodies and also will probably want to do some xxl but can all this be done on a 16x16 or would I really be better off with the 16x20?? I know there is an extra 4inches of platen there but most stock transfers are within the 16x16 anyway aren't they?? I want to get the best press I can afford but don't want to waste money on an extra 4 inches if i'm not likely to use it. I want to say at this point me and the wife are committed to setting this up as a business and are going to put our heart and soul into it once we get it up and running, just want to get everything right from the start and I trust the great advice from here. That's about it for now,definitely want to know about the air compressor thing as that's bothering me right now. Thankyou in advance for your advice and replies, look forward to reading them so I can move forward with this. It's only taken me 4 weeks to come up with a shortlist of names for the business,lol (actually a long list).
It was my impression only the larger scale industrial style flatbed heatpresses use air compressors. Not an issue for 15"x15", 16"x20" etc. presses people would typically buy for a home business. Thankyou Lewis for the quick reply (my last name is Lewis) I thought that too at first but i've just copied this from bestblanks, it was the quickest I could find: # 16"x20" Heat platen # Automatic air operated pressing (air compressor required) # PSI pressure control gauge This is a larger press I must admit but on other presses, smaller ones like 15x15 i've seen the words "no need for an air compressor" indicating to me that some The one thing the larger industrial presses and that 16"x20" press have in common is being auto-opening. You could achieve that with either an air compressor or electro-magnets. I believe (though bear in mind I don't sell heat presses so I'm not sure) that the air compressor is only required on auto-opening presses (and not necessarily all auto-opening presses, though I don't know). I suppose others may use it too to achieve their pressure. Sorry I can't give you a more definitive answer. Hopefully someone who can will see this thread. If not, I'd just contact Josh at Imprintables, or a representative of another reputable company, and ask them about it. It shouldn't be hard to get cleared up. I can tell you for sure that most (smaller) presses don't require a separate air-compressor. So the issue for you is do any of the presses I'm considering require one, rather than do they require them in general. ….. I printed 24 white t"s on Sunday and made a few mistakes starting out but then seemed to get a good print. I finished all the shirts I had and had to order more t's to make up for the ones I ruined. I went to press agian on Tuesday and had the shirts I had ruined so I made a few prints with them and can not get a smooth print. I washed out the ink and tried agian. I stirred the ink agian and still print is coming out of dryer rough. Looks good going into dryer but then gets ruff. I'm using 109 screen and rutland snap white ink and I know some suggestions at an earlier post was to try some different inks. I know this ink will print pretty well as I have some decent prints. Help please--before I find a tall bridge.. also need some help on emulsion-- I use Chromeatech Pl and am using the small side of the coater--is that ok?? When do you use the small side of coater and the large or do you just use one side only. I'm one coating on each side. Do you have a good off contact? How many print passes? White ink is going to be thicker than other colors, so even if you mix it up for an 30 minutes, it will be thick. Using 109? I've never heard such, but I guess a 110 is close enough. You should be able to get ink thru it pretty well. If not, I always use an extender which makes your ink smoother and thinner which allows for an easy print, and a soft feel. Get the extender from the brand of ink you used. Usually its recommended to add 20% or less of your total batch. And I always use the thin side of the emulsion coater.
I would stick with the thin side of the coater. We only use the thick side for very low mesh and when we want a thicker coat (rarely in normal scenarios) Are you flooding your screen before printing. Good flood Smooth, constant print Flash Good Flood Smooth, constant print Slight angle of squeegee yet make sure your using the tip/edge. Is the blade real loose, easily bendable? If so you may need to use a new blade thats a little stiffer. what is the best way for computer art work for color seperation for tshirt printing? please help, its the last step i need to start our business. the only thing i did not do in screen printing while working for someone else was the art room. i always got the film in hand to burn to screen and set up to print. THANK YOU MUCH! Craig+Jessica You'll want to use a program like Adobe Illustrator that will automatically seperate the artwork for you so that you may print each color on it's own film. There's different program you can use to fulfill this, there's Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Draw. I would suggest for you to get into one of this program to have a better control of your work; well of course there's always a graphic designer that you can work with if needed. Goodluck!! hello ann, thanks for the reply,so adobe illustrator? i have that also i guess i have to start playing on that ive tried alittle but seem very lost. also do i need a special computer printer to print the seperations onto film or can i use any? thanks for the help. Craig Craig, for a printer, you will want a printer that can print film/paper at size large enough for your designs. A popular printer right now is an Epson 1400, it can print film 13" x 19". You will only print black as you know since you were handed the films in the past. One thing to look at is Ryonet's Blackmax film system, even if you don't buy it, the info on the page will help you learn a lot - Epson 1400 BLACKMAX™ Ultimate Film Output System When sending the separated art from the computer to the printer in films for the different colors, you will need something that functions as RIP if you don't use a Postscript printer. The Epson 1400 is not a postscript printer. If you are only going to print artwork created in spot colors, then you could use Illustrator or CorelDRAW very easily with a little learning for creating your separations. But if you are going to print high color art that was not created as spot color, then you will need to learn a ton of stuff for Photoshop, or, buy software like SPVR - Freehand Software, T-Seps - T-Seps Home |, QuikSeps - QuikSeps Color Separation Software For Screen Printers , or other sep program.
How To Start A Direct To Garment Printing Business
What do I need to start out?: Hardware: First things first: you need a direct to garment printer. Next, you need a computer. You also need a heat press. These components are the basics of any direct to garment business.
Software: Adobe Photoshop is more or less an essential tool in the graphic design world today. Not only will it allow you to create your own art, it will allow you to fix your customer's artwork as well. Don't worry, you don't need to spend a lot to get Photoshop CS 4, the latest and greatest version. Version CS 2 offers a great balance of value and features. Plus, it's much cheaper than CS 4 and compatible with Windows Vista. Knowledge: Now may be the time to invest in a how-to book about running your own business, or to take a course at a community college. If you know how to run a business already, the other piece of knowledge you need is how to work with graphics. Remember that old term, photo-ready art? That denotes artwork that's optimized to the proper size and quality and ready to print. It's the rare customer that will bring you photo-ready art, so it's up to you to prepare the customer's artwork for printing. Usually, you will need computer graphics knowledge to optimize or fix a customer's artwork. If you aren't proficient with Photoshop or another graphics program already, this might be the time to learn. But the easiest route might be hiring an experienced graphic designer, a local college student, or finding a freelance designer at a website like Elance.com to help set up your artwork. Once you have a finished and optimized piece of artwork, printing out a design on a direct to garment printer is easy. Now what do I do?: It's time to purchase your hardware. Take your time researching who to purchase your machine from and which machine to purchase. How long is the machine under warranty? How easy is it to get support? Remember, this is the company that you're going to be calling for support in the future and the machine that you'll be using day in and day out. How easy is it to use the RIP software that comes with the machine? That's the essential piece of software that translates between the computer and the printer. The easier the software and the printer are to use, the easier it will be to have employees do the printing in the future. Getting a machine with one or two timesaving features or a fast print speed can make a big difference over time. You'll be printing thousands of shirts with this machine, so make sure it's robust and reliable. Different direct to garment printers have different resolutions. Some can only print 600x600 dpi, providing less detail than printers which can print up to 1440x1440 dpi. Some direct to garment printers can only print on white or light shirts. In some areas, dark shirts are preferred much more than light shirts, in which case you want to purchase a printer that has white ink to print on dark shirts. Once you've purchased your printer, you need to learn how to use and maintain it. If you don't know how to print, you won't be able to make a profit. What can I print?: You can print virtually anything you can see on the computer screen. That includes photographs, drawings, vector graphics, and bitmap graphics. Remember that you may need computer graphics knowledge to tweak the colors or quality of the graphic that you want to print.
What can I print on?: Your most popular item will likely be t-shirts. 100% cotton shirts will work best, though with today's advanced ink formulations you can print on some polyester and 50/50 garments. We've found that Hanes Tagless shirts print very well. These can be found for a reasonable price, about $2 per shirt. More expensive shirts like American Apparel, geared for upscale markets, generally work well too. You will be able to see a major difference in print quality between a cheap shirt and a quality shirt. Don't forget that you can print on many other goods, like sweatshirts, towels, and even painter's canvas. Mouse pads will print well. You can even make a direct to garment print, then embroider on top of it.
Where can I buy shirts and other printables?: Purchase shirts and other printables from a national distributor like Bodek and Rhodes or Alpha Shirt Supply. Not only will these distributors have better pricing and availability, their shirts will also be free of the chemicals you can find on some blank department store shirts. However, you will usually have to purchase at least a case at a time. A case contains 72 shirts.
What should I print on?: Whatever you can print profitably. While you're in the business of printing great looking apparel, you're also in the business of making money. Unless you see an unprofitable job bringing you profitable business in the future, you may need to just say no.
How much should I sell my shirts and other products for?: Putting a selling price on your products can be difficult. Look at what shirts sell for at other local retailers, including department stores. Generally, you'll want to charge between $12-$30 for light shirts, and $15-$40 for dark shirts. Depending on your geographic area or target demographic, you may charge more or less. Because you're direct to garment printing and not screen printing or heat pressing, you can charge more than average. That's because you're able to print shirts with sharp detail, with thousands of colors, and with personalized designs. That's something that other processes can't match. Charge more for personalizing designs and less for stock art. Charge more for larger designs, because they take more time and use more ink. Charge less for orders in quantity, but only if there is little or no personalization involved.
More profit-making tips: Find a screen printer that you can trust. You may be able to find someone local, or you can look online. Employ them as a contract printer. That means that, whenever a customer comes in with a job that isn't suitable for direct to garment printing, you can contract out that job to
the screen printer. You won't make nearly as much profit, but you'll keep the customer and keep the customer satisfied. If you're really lucky, the screen printer will employ you as a contract printer for sampling or for its small jobs. You'll also want to purchase a set of heat pressable numbers and letters. Sometimes, all a school or sports team wants is some simple numbers on t-shirts or team jerseys. It's simpler to heat press these than to print them with a direct to garment printer. When you deliver these simple shirts, include a sample of what you can do with your direct to garment printer. For example, print a picture on a shirt and tell the coach that you can print the team's photo on t-shirts or even print individual pictures of the players on shirts for their parents to wear. This could turn into a nice marketing opportunity and, since the team changes every year, a chance for regular business.
How To Start A Direct To Garment Printing Business
What do I need to start out?: Hardware: First things first: you need a direct to garment printer. Next, you need a computer. You also need a heat press. These components are the basics of any direct to garment business. Software: Adobe Photoshop is more or less an essential tool in the graphic design world today. Not only will it allow you to create your own art, it will allow you to fix your customer's artwork as well. Don't worry, you don't need to spend a lot to get Photoshop CS 4, the latest and greatest version. Version CS 2 offers a great balance of value and features. Plus, it's much cheaper than CS 4 and compatible with Windows Vista. Knowledge: Now may be the time to invest in a how-to book about running your own business, or to take a course at a community college. If you know how to run a business already, the other piece of knowledge you need is how to work with graphics. Remember that old term, photo-ready art? That denotes artwork that's optimized to the proper size and quality and ready to print. It's the rare customer that will bring you photo-ready art, so it's up to you to prepare the customer's artwork for printing. Usually, you will need computer graphics knowledge to optimize or fix a customer's artwork. If you aren't proficient with Photoshop or another graphics program already, this might be the time to learn. But the easiest route might be hiring an experienced graphic designer, a local college student, or finding a freelance designer at a website like Elance.com to help set up your artwork. Once you have a finished and optimized piece of artwork, printing out a design on a direct to garment printer is easy. Now what do I do?: It's time to purchase your hardware. Take your time researching who to purchase your machine from and which machine to purchase. How long is the machine under warranty? How easy is it to get support? Remember, this is the company that you're going to be calling for support in the future and the machine that you'll be using day in and day out. How easy is it to use the RIP software that comes with the machine? That's the essential piece of software that translates between the computer and the printer. The easier the software and the printer are to use, the easier it will be to have employees do the printing in the future.
Getting a machine with one or two timesaving features or a fast print speed can make a big difference over time. You'll be printing thousands of shirts with this machine, so make sure it's robust and reliable. Different direct to garment printers have different resolutions. Some can only print 600x600 dpi, providing less detail than printers which can print up to 1440x1440 dpi. Some direct to garment printers can only print on white or light shirts. In some areas, dark shirts are preferred much more than light shirts, in which case you want to purchase a printer that has white ink to print on dark shirts. Once you've purchased your printer, you need to learn how to use and maintain it. If you don't know how to print, you won't be able to make a profit. What can I print?: You can print virtually anything you can see on the computer screen. That includes photographs, drawings, vector graphics, and bitmap graphics. Remember that you may need computer graphics knowledge to tweak the colors or quality of the graphic that you want to print.
What can I print on?: Your most popular item will likely be t-shirts. 100% cotton shirts will work best, though with today's advanced ink formulations you can print on some polyester and 50/50 garments. We've found that Hanes Tagless shirts print very well. These can be found for a reasonable price, about $2 per shirt. More expensive shirts like American Apparel, geared for upscale markets, generally work well too. You will be able to see a major difference in print quality between a cheap shirt and a quality shirt. Don't forget that you can print on many other goods, like sweatshirts, towels, and even painter's canvas. Mouse pads will print well. You can even make a direct to garment print, then embroider on top of it.
Where can I buy shirts and other printables?: Purchase shirts and other printables from a national distributor like Bodek and Rhodes or Alpha Shirt Supply. Not only will these distributors have better pricing and availability, their shirts will also be free of the chemicals you can find on some blank department store shirts. However, you will usually have to purchase at least a case at a time. A case contains 72 shirts.
What should I print on?: Whatever you can print profitably. While you're in the business of printing great looking apparel, you're also in the business of making money. Unless you see an unprofitable job bringing you profitable business in the future, you may need to just say no.
How much should I sell my shirts and other products for?: Putting a selling price on your products can be difficult. Look at what shirts sell for at other local retailers, including department stores. Generally, you'll want to charge between $12-$30 for light shirts, and $15-$40 for dark shirts. Depending on your geographic area or target demographic, you may charge more or less. Because you're direct to garment printing and not screen printing or heat pressing, you can charge more than average. That's because you're able to print shirts with sharp detail, with thousands of colors, and with personalized designs. That's something that other processes can't match. Charge more for personalizing designs and less for stock art. Charge more for larger designs, because they take more time and use more ink. Charge less for orders in quantity, but only if there is little or no personalization involved.
More profit-making tips: Find a screen printer that you can trust. You may be able to find someone local, or you can look online. Employ them as a contract printer. That means that, whenever a customer comes in with a job that isn't suitable for direct to garment printing, you can contract out that job to the screen printer. You won't make nearly as much profit, but you'll keep the customer and keep the customer satisfied. If you're really lucky, the screen printer will employ you as a contract printer for sampling or for its small jobs. You'll also want to purchase a set of heat pressable numbers and letters. Sometimes, all a school or sports team wants is some simple numbers on t-shirts or team jerseys. It's simpler to heat press these than to print them with a direct to garment printer. When you deliver these simple shirts, include a sample of what you can do with your direct to garment printer. For example, print a picture on a shirt and tell the coach that you can print the team's photo on t-shirts or even print individual pictures of the players on shirts for their parents to wear. This could turn into a nice marketing opportunity and, since the team changes every year, a chance for regular business.
I am interested to start a DTG T-shirt printing business. I really appreciate if you can help me with tips, advice and insights. I saw the "BULLET" - Is it a good machine? Easy to operate and maintain? Are there any better machines out there? Where can i buy the most affordable, quality T-shirts in large quantities? Any idea what are most popular colors, and how many should i buy in order to start the business? What is the approximate average net profit from each T-shirt? How long does a DTG printed T-shirt keep the colors after washing and wearing. What are the expenses for running this business.
Rent space, The machine, Ink, T-shirts, Marketing, Office & Shipping supplies Anything else? Any other advice, tips and suggestions is really appreciate as it will help me avoid mistakes. Before you pick the tool , choose the business. Do you have a passion that you could build a business in that is not saturated like golf , or vampires ? good place to start. The dtg, or transfers, or mug clamp are just the equiptment to make , say black barbies, or Jewish sayings, or Only in Alabama...whatever. second get your artwork together and test the market with contract printing. Its ok if you don't make a profit..you are looking at JUSTIFYING the equiptment purchase. By the questions you are asking you are nowhere near spending 20k + to SEE if you can build a business. Spending the 20k should be predicated on the fact that your EXISTING business can be MORE profitable, not seeing if it can survive. Plenty of threads here to address the other questions you ask. DTG's are like cars ...once you buiy them , they are worth 1/2 of what you paid for it almost immediately...and, technology is moving quickly. I have several design ideas and several designers to work with. I also have the money to invest, 20k is not my limit and i can afford to invest. The most important things i want to know are, 1 - Is the BULLET a good machines, or is there a better one out there. 2 - Where can i buy large quantities (4-7 thousand at a time) of T-shirts for the cheapest price yet decent/good quality cotton products. 3 - What is the approximate average cost producing a single standard white T-shirt,- that includes buying the t-shirt and the Ink. I would love to get info on good T-shirt distributors. If you want to buy several thousand tee shirts, I assume you already have orders. I would STILL recommend you contract print ,with that quantity you can make a good profit with no risk. As far as the shirts, with out seeing the designs and knowing who your market is everyday tees ...Sanmar, Bodek and Rhodes, Alpha all carry Gildan, Anvil, Hanes etc.. For more trendy shirts S+S active wear is a good source. again there are threads here that exhaust that topic, plus fullfillment, tags etc. do some homework to narrow your questions When designing artwork for DTG, What is the best/recommended resolution to use? Any special details/instruction i need to tell my designer to work by to achieve the highest quality artwork for my new DTG business? I prefer at least 100 dpi. But vector is not as crucial as a photograph, so it varies. When ink hits cotton it spreads so be careful with thick fonts and spacing...test before you print. a shirt will not look like a computer screen. Be aware that printing on dark shirts requires a layer of white ink first, so the finished print comes out feeling not unlike a transfer, but it will not crack, but the hand is still thick and gummy.
attracttive packaging with a nice wash info tag and company /concept name can add percieved value too, plus allow you to sell for $19.95 vs $15.95.. What is the best image format for DTG T-shirt printing - AI,PSD,JPEG? any flat image works ...jpeg, tiff... If you are going to print a full sized front make sure the image can be enlarged without losing detail is there a special shopping cart software or CMS system especially designed for t-shirt stores, with size charts, color selection etc I have a T-Jet Blazer Express for sale that I used to get me started. I printed custom designs on baby clothes for a year or so before I got into screenprinting. A t-jet or DTG printer would be great for a designer. If you are interested contact me because I need to sell my equipment to make room for more screenprinting equipment. We gave over 20k for our printer and extras in Dec 2008. I need to sell it asap. ….. Hi, im new to the forums and I am interested in starting my own t-shirt business. The first question i have, is what is the best method of printing the shirts?? Also, what all equipment would need to br purchased to start out as i have none yet. So far, the screen printing has caught my eye, but still im curious if there is a better way? Thanks for your help. Note that there are different methods of printing, from Silk screen to DTG (Direct to Garment) printing to heat transfers. You may want to familiarise yourself with the different methods before you pick on printer. this would help you make a more informed decision. does anyone own their own s/p business? if so how'd you start? I've been designing artwork professionally for 3 yrs now, and i want to get into the print side of things. i just have little to no knowledge of where to start. id like to get small press and see how that goes, but im leaary of the startup cost to start a business like this. any info or ideas will help me a lot. thanks for your time and help. mike Theres quite a few posts about different Start-up Kits that are available... Theres a wide range of prices... If its really something you want to do/learn then find one within your budget and start learning... Once you do experience will teach you quickly what you really want or need and at least you'll be bringing in money to help instead of only digging in your pocket... As you and your business grow you'll be expanding and upgrading equipment, as the needs of your business make themselves known... Over a period of time I have spent an awfull lot of money on better equipment and higher volume.... however not once have i had to go back into my pocket to do so... Good Luck and Welcome to the Wonderfull World of Screen Printing....LOL __________________
http://www.squirtstshirts.com
That 'LOL' on the end is really encouraging Squirts! dfb, I agree with Squirts. The best thing you can do is first of all become screen printing savvy. Comb the forums (this place is the best information resource on the net!) and read up. Write stuff down you didn't know. Then look into starter kits and try it out. There's no better way to do it than by experimenting like crazy! Apprentice or volunteer at a local screen printing company. Not only will you not have to pay $1000 to figure out if you like it or not, but you will learn how to do it, and likely even learn how to run parts of the business.
I agree with Annushka. I went to goodwill and got a bunch of different weights, brands, etc of blanks. You can usually find new ones with tags or pretty new looking ones. They are for practice anyway, but it if comes out well, it will sell! I practiced on all the different shirts with different style of purchased transfers and my own printed to see how they held up. There is a world of difference. Some of the better made ladies tees actually almost scorched on just the preheat. Made me wonder what would happen if I had to put a transfer on it for 20 seconds! This is an inexpensive way to find a good brand, good weight and practice,practice , practice. My wardrobe for around the house is almost always a screwed up tee shirt!
I agree with Annushka. I went to goodwill and got a bunch of different weights, brands, etc of blanks. You can usually find new ones with tags or pretty new looking ones. They are for practice anyway, but it if comes out well, it will sell! I practiced on all the different shirts with different style of purchased transfers and my own printed to see how they held up. There is a world of difference. Some of the better made ladies tees actually almost scorched on just the preheat. Made me wonder what would happen if I had to put a transfer on it for 20 seconds! This is an inexpensive way to find a good brand, good weight and practice,practice , practice. My wardrobe for around the house is almost always a screwed up tee shirt!
As I can see.. for screen printing it doesnt really matter the weight right? I as a customer of commercial T shirts have noticed that the price is greater if the T shirt are light (less weight).. why is that? .
I don't think this is always the case, but in more recent time, some lighter weight t-shirts have become more popular because of the "vintage" feel to them, and since it's popular, they can charge more for it. Some lighter weight t-shirts are less expensive though, so I think it might depend on what type of shirt it is. It's also because some lighter weight shirts (e.g. aa) are made from better quality cotton, are more likely to be made in the US and/or sweatshop free, etc. If you compare apples to apples heavier shirts are generally more expensive, but a better quality light shirt will cost more than a poorer quality heavy shirt.
Read about knitting standards at the ASTM ASTM International -Standards are in the store area D 3887 Standard Specification for Tolerances for Knitted Fabrics D 3776 Standard Method for Mass Per Unit Area (Weight) of Fabric Control Without Confusion - Chapter 1 by Joe Clarke How to Print T-shirts for Fun And Profit - Chapter 9 All About Garments by Fresener
Weight is important because it is a way to measure and compare. Notice that every ink company's instruction sheet reminds us to always test before production. This is partly because each fabric has its own unique surface texture that must be conquered by the ink. A smooth surface is much easier to print on than a course fabric because the ink has to penetrate into the "valleys" of the fabric, yet not fill in the holes like a road crew filling potholes. On the surface The print surface is a function of the weaving or knitting method used to make the fabric in the first place. Weaving tends to be smoother, flatter, tighter-packed with little compressibility. Knitting, because loops of yarn are drawn around each other (interlocking) is more flexible, looser with more holes. The texture of a knit is created by what are called wales and courses-similar to the warp and weft of screen mesh. Finished goods can be measured for fiber mass, which is a combination of the texture of the yarn, how thick it is and how tightly it was pulled during the knitting process. The greater the fiber mass, the fewer holes in the fabric which makes it a better printing surface. Knit fabric has a definite face (outside which is smoother) and back (inside), and the face has distinct vertical lines. These vertical lines are different for all shirts and can cause moire patterns with halftone or process prints. Once you have a process job printing well, print as many different shirt brands as you can and notice the difference the shirt makes. Jersey or plain knit is the simplest knit found in most t-shirt fabrics. After jersey, rib knit, fleece, Tompkins knit, interlock, pique and thermal are other popular knitting methods found in garments. They all describe distinct shapes of the wales and courses in a knit--and they all make printing harder because the surface has more texture. Fleece (or pile knitting) and terry cloth (or toweling) is even more complicated, because an extra set of yarns is drawn out in long loops and then cut (sheared) or not, depending on the desired effect. Fabric specifications Thread count and thread diameter will affect the feel and bulk of the material. Just like screen mesh, more threads per inch and thicker fibers will produce thicker material. A knit fabric will usually be specified according to the yarn number, the stitch count, the word "single" and, finally, the type of knit, something like this: 18/40 single jersey, which means number-18 yarn, 40 stitches per inch single-ply cotton, plain knit. It will take
some effort with your suppliers, but ask them to provide you with data on each shirt you buy. You want them to tell you yarn number and the type of yarn; you can count the stitches per inch yourself. The word single is used to describe the ply of the yarn. A single is the most popular and means single-ply: raw cotton twisted into a single thread. Stitch count is measured in stitches per inch, much like mesh, and is the reason all knitters and weavers carry linen loupes (just like printers). Put the loupe on the fabric and use a pointy object (such as a pin) to keep track of your place as you count stitches per inch. Take time to look at the detail of the fabric surface, while you're at it. Again, as with screen mesh, the spacing between the threads will determine how well the fabric breathes and how many holes it offers for ink to fall through. Weight Cotton yarn used for T-shirts is measured by an obscure method called "yarn number," based on how many hanks (840 yards) there are in a pound of yarn. Since this is always based on a pound of yarn, a higher yarn number means a thinner yarn. (Incidentally, there are, 7,500 yards of yarn in the average T-shirt.) Man-made polyester yarn (which, spider-like, is squirted out of spinnerets) is measured by denier. The denier system is based on the weight, in grams, of a 9000-meter length of yarn. Notice that this is the opposite of the cotton-yarn measurement system, naturally, so lower numbers mean finer yarn. Confused, irritated? We're only just getting started. Don't worry though, it's rare to see a shirt, even a poly/cotton blend, described using denier. Yarn Your design and image details must bridge the gaps as the substrate gets coarse--unlike those flat-stock graphic printers with their smooth white paper. The composition of the yarn itself also influences this coverage aspect. Our yarns for shirts are spun (think spinning wheel). The old, established method is "conventional ring-spun" which is 300 years old and takes many more processing steps compared to "open-end spinning" which was invented in Czechoslovakia in 1967. Spinners love open-end because it eliminates three steps and needs almost no knots in the long thread to repair breaks. This means higher production speeds at the mill, less power and space. The yarn is made in a centrifuge so it has a very even diameter. Knitters love it because it runs through their machines like a dream, but the hand is very rough. They add LOTS of softners to make it feel better. Softners are chemical coatings that fill the irrularities of in the yarn to make it smoother like body putty on a car. Softeners are like sizing, they wash out during the first laundering. When you print on the softeners the print looks great, but after the first wash the softners carry away some of the ink. Quality of the shirt effects the loading speed. Lint, fabric weight and hand. texture. You may be better off suppling a higher grade of shirt when there might be a handling advantage. You might not be able to produce as many inferior shirts per day. You could pass this advantage to the customer. Profits come from units per day. Don't be fooled by the illusion of economy with a cheap shirt. Both types of spun yarn have protruding fibers because of the way they were roughly spun together. This can actually be desirable for absorption of ink and perspiration, but you also get
shedding of lint, fibrillation and pilling during handling and laundry. The best printing surface is a high-mass fabric made of combed cotton. The combing aligns and smooths the cotton fibers so they behave. At the opposite end of the agony spectrum are more novel fabrics such as nylon or spandex and Swiss-cheese-like athletic mesh for football uniforms. Elastic stretch and recovery from elongation (from 500 to 700 percent) are the most important properties of spandex. It is very smooth and takes ink well but it is very difficult to formulate and print with an ink that has those same stretching properties. Athletic mesh offers more open area than fiber and you waste tremendous amounts of ink as you print; it passes through the holes and prints the platen richardgreaves - do you know the metric equivalent for the weight of fabric? instead of using yards and ounces?
I see you found this handy table: T-shirt weight in g to oz? While at ISS I heard a lot of terms that I'm not familiar with. Can someone explain what the following cuts mean or their differences....Die Cut, Contour Cut, Kiss Cut, CAD Cut. By the way, does someone know where to find a good definition list for common terms in the sign/banner/awards/engraving/dye-sub/heat transfer world? The SGIA website has a nice glossary: SGIA Glossary of Terms Die cut means that there is a shaped piece of metal (die) that punctures through your object. It's useful for getting exact cuts as well as giving a clean cut through any kind of backing material, so you end up with say a circle shaped sticker that has the exact same circle shaped backing paper on it. Die's are good for mass production of a single size and shape. A kiss cut is the same as a die cut, except the backing material is not punctured. Think of it like those address labels that you feed through your printer, you need it cut, but you don't want the backing paper severed. A contour cut and a CAD (computer aided design) cut to my knowledge are pretty much the same thing. A contour cut is generally done by a router or plotter. A contour is a collection of nodes that the machine uses to cut out very awkward shapes. A flame sticker decal for a vehicle for example. That SGIA link Rodney posted looked pretty handy. A quick google will oftentimes lead you to a pretty solid answer as well, but if there's any confusion, nothing beats asking other users! I know most of the people here are far more advanced in this tee shirt business than me.I am just curious to what jpss stands for. Jet Pro Soft Stretch
When I had the idea for this T-Shirt Crossover project, I really wanted to see first hand what the benefits and drawbacks of heat transfers. It's one thing for me to read all the threads here and have "book knowledge" of how heat transfers work; I'm finding it something totally different to actually press transfers to shirts.
First Lesson
The first thing I learned about plastisol transfers was that not all plastisol transfers are equal. Not that I got poor quality transfers, just that not all transfers are as easy to apply (for a newbie like me) as others. I think for some reason I expected I would heat up my press, pre-heat the garment, press the transfer for a few seconds, and viola, there's my perfect shirt. My reality was that there is a lot more testing of temperature, getting the right pressure, testing how long to press (dwell times), figuring out how fast to peel it off on a hot peel or how cool to let the transfer get for a cold peel. A few months ago, I really knew nothing about heat press brands and what things you would want to look for when buying a heat press. Here are some of the things I've learned and how I learned them
1. Size does matter.
When selecting a heat press, go for the largest press size that your budget will allow. A minimum of 15x15" is often recommended. Some benefits of a larger press: • • • •
Pressing oversized t-shirt designs Pressing names and numbers on jerseys Easier alignment of larger t-shirt sizes When pressing mousepads, you can press multiple items at once
You'll also want to consider whether your press will be mostly stationary or whether you'll want to take it on the road. The 16x20 size presses are great if your press will always be stationary (they are very heavy), but a 15x15 press will be easier to take on the road to shows, events, and fairs. I would not buy either one. I would spend the money upfront to buy a decent press. Don't get anything less than a 15x15. I have the Stahls Might Press 15x15 and am very happy with it. I agree with tcrowder on this one. He said two important things that many people here have stressed in the past: 1.) buy a quality press from the get go and 2.) avoid getting anything less than a 15x15. You may have success with one of the presses you see but often people regret not buying a quality piece of equipment to start. I know said you don't have the money right now... then wait! What's the rush? Start the right way. Simply save up till you can buy something decent and then start. Don't start the wrong way.
I agree with everyone. Irregardless of the low price, after your first few weeks of using it, you'll wish you waited until you could get a 15x15" flat heat press. I started heat transfer printing (sublimation) in August 1987 and spend a whole $295 for a National Screen 15x15" flat heat press. I still use it and it has not given me any problems. Please remember that the only piece of equipment that will make your investment in is a heat press. The problem with purchasing an inexpensive heat press is, you do not have the large platen area to clamp down onto your products. The larger the surface area (15x15" as an example), will produce a consistently high quality imprint. A 1/3" height adjustment is wothless (this is my own opinion) as a mousepad can be 1/4 to 3/8 high. Sublimation products such as dry erase boards, jewelry, etc... can be higher. Make sure the lower platen has a heat resistant foam, and the upper platen is teflon coated. If possible, I would recommend you wait a bit and try to purchase a 15x15" flat heat press think they call 'en clam shells now. You might want to contact a few local screenprinters to see if they may have one lying around in the back of their shop that they don't use or put a small ad in local newspapers. No No No No.. you will be sorry for throwing away your money. Please believe all of us here. We know for what we speak. I know it is hard. You want to get in the business but you'll turn out crappy work. The time it takes you do the work will really upset you. It is all about heating aliments, pressure, timers and ease of use and reliability. You want warranty with your press.
http://cgi.ebay.com/STAHLS-MIGHTY-15...QQcmdZViewItem This is the press I bought. I'm very happy with it. When I bought mine I just used the buy it now, I was tired of chasing auctions. you paid more than I did for the same unit. I paid 632 and that included shipping. great unit. From I reccomend mighty press as well. I got mine from imprintables warehouse. The machine actually burned out after 1 year of use, but it was covered under the one year warranty that it came with, so they sent me the replacement part no problem http://www.boo-zwearhouse.com is selling a 15x15 press with 100 stock transfers for $599.00 if that helps you. Press is labeled Black Max but I think it may just be a rebranded Stahls. Has the same lifetime element warranty. I recently had a buy a new press when my National 15x15 would no longer turn on. I bought a Hix 15x15 Swing Away. So far I love it. It ran $635 locally. I bought a HIX back in 1979. It still works great and makes me money every day. All origional parts never a breakdown. "I bought a HIX back in 1979. It still works great" funny... may be you can get a good buck for it on ebay... " Vintage Heat Press " LOL. I agree, HIX is all you need.
you dont really need all the digital stuff with some heat presses... the clam style is cool too because it takes up less space than the what you-ma-call-it... you know the ones that swing from side to side. You can always get the fully automatic presses when you have a bunch of turkeys working for you.... just kiddin'!! yeah... spend the mula and make it a life time investment with a HIX.
The only way you'd see this press on E-bay would be if you pried it from my cold dead hands. Tees are like cookies, you can smell when their done. Who needs all that Hi tech crap to break down? I bought the Epson cx7800. Thank you for the words of wisdom regarding that. Bought Corel X3 also. Now I just need to know which is the best direction to go for the heat press. Any advice? A lot of members here have recommended in the past not to get anything smaller than 15 x 15. I agree with this. From reading the posts on here from veterans of the business, Hix seems to be the most reliable and popular brand. This lead me to purchase a Hix Presto 15. I have read posts where people complain about electrical problems with the Geo Knight brand but also read Geo Knight owners who have never had a problem. So, consider that. You also need to consider: 1. Your budget for a heat press. 2. How large your designs are. 3. Work load (printing constantly or taking an order or so a day?) Answer those questions and then consider the major brands and what people here have to say about each brand. You will find most recommend Hix. I'll second that. The Hix has been a work horse for many years Stahls Hotronix manufactures great presses. That's who we've chosen to distribute. Many options for different budgets I like the design of the Hix Presto the best. Alot of people are saying "Swingman 15 x15" What is the difference? Does it automatically release when the time is up? Where is the best place to buy one? How do you like yours? The Swingman allows you to place your shirts without fear of touching the heat platen since it "swings" away. With the Presto you simply have to be more careful; it opens 70 degrees so the platen is right above you while you are laying out the shirt. I make it sound more dangerous than it is. Another feature some might say is useful is that the Swingman can press items up to 1-3/4" thick while the Presto can only do .25" thick. If all you plan on pressing is t-shirts than that feature is useless. I didn't care about either of the above features so I went with the Presto. I have yet to press any shirts for customers but have done some test runs and played around with it a lot and I am very pleased. It takes up very little space, easy to adjust pressure and temperature and
very user-friendly. My press does not release automatically when the time is up. Personally I can't see how this would be that useful anyway unless you are doing volume orders. What are you going to do the 20-30 seconds it takes to press a transfer? I can't imagine walking away from the press during that time and since I'm going to be there anyway I have no problem simply pulling the handle up myself. I shopped around for a while looking for the best price for the Presto and finally decided on bestblanks.com. I found one site that had it for $5 cheaper but because their site was very poorly designed and I had never heard of them I chose the more reliable option. There was also a retailer in FL that was offering free shipping on their heat presses but only carried one or two brands and neither was Hix. I'm all for getting a good deal on things but when it comes to the major components of your operation you should bite the bullet and get quality items. Keep in mind that when it comes to experience in the t-shirt business I don't compare to the majority of posters here. So, if some veterans are telling you to get the Swingman 15x15, consider it. You should definitely go with what you feel comfortable purchasing and using. I simply weighed the pros and cons of each machine I was considering and went with what was best for my operation. A lot of people are using this time to stage the next garment, or possibly answer the phone or wait on a customer. With the Auto Open feature you can multi-task or leave the press without worrying about ruining the garment. Not for everyone, but definitely has proven to be a useful feature for high volume & low volume users alike. It's been a couple of months since I posted here last, i'm one of those who wanted to start up but after reading many many posts decided to hold off until I had enough money together to be able to afford the right heat press. I've really caught the bug even though I do not own a heat press yet. I do still have problems navigating my way around forums so please excuse me if this is in the wrong place but I certainly need some advice so thought this was the ok thread to post at. I have a question first which I haven't been able to find an answer to, since researching and reading here I keep seeing presses advertised that "does not need an air compressor" ???? Does this mean that I may have to buy not only a heat press but an air compressor too?? Can someone explain that part please? I just recieved the catalog from imprintables which show the mighty press which i'm sold on really, the advice I need most is on some of the differences between the ones i'm looking at. My budget was originally $800 for a heat press but i'm willing to go as high as the $1095 for the 16x16 phoenix auto open or $1050 for the mighty press digital 16x20 it just means I won't be able to afford as much stock as I originally intended to buy. Ok the advice part, I want to know if the 16x20 would really make that much difference, I want to put stock transfers onto t-shirts and sweaters/hoodies and also will probably want to do some xxl but can all this be done on a 16x16 or would I really be better off with the 16x20?? I know there is an extra 4inches of platen there but most stock transfers are within the 16x16 anyway aren't they?? I want to get the best press I can afford but don't want to waste money on an extra 4 inches if i'm not likely to use it. I want to say at this point me and the wife are committed to setting this up as a business and are going to put our heart and soul into it once we get it up and running, just want to get everything right from the start and I trust the great advice from here. That's about it for now,definitely want to know about the air compressor thing as that's bothering me right now. Thankyou in advance for your advice and replies, look forward to reading them so I can move forward with this. It's only taken me 4 weeks to come up with a shortlist of names for the business,lol (actually a long list).
It was my impression only the larger scale industrial style flatbed heatpresses use air compressors. Not an issue for 15"x15", 16"x20" etc. presses people would typically buy for a home business. Thankyou Lewis for the quick reply (my last name is Lewis) I thought that too at first but i've just copied this from bestblanks, it was the quickest I could find: # 16"x20" Heat platen # Automatic air operated pressing (air compressor required) # PSI pressure control gauge This is a larger press I must admit but on other presses, smaller ones like 15x15 i've seen the words "no need for an air compressor" indicating to me that some The one thing the larger industrial presses and that 16"x20" press have in common is being auto-opening. You could achieve that with either an air compressor or electro-magnets. I believe (though bear in mind I don't sell heat presses so I'm not sure) that the air compressor is only required on auto-opening presses (and not necessarily all auto-opening presses, though I don't know). I suppose others may use it too to achieve their pressure. Sorry I can't give you a more definitive answer. Hopefully someone who can will see this thread. If not, I'd just contact Josh at Imprintables, or a representative of another reputable company, and ask them about it. It shouldn't be hard to get cleared up. I can tell you for sure that most (smaller) presses don't require a separate air-compressor. So the issue for you is do any of the presses I'm considering require one, rather than do they require them in general. ….. I printed 24 white t"s on Sunday and made a few mistakes starting out but then seemed to get a good print. I finished all the shirts I had and had to order more t's to make up for the ones I ruined. I went to press agian on Tuesday and had the shirts I had ruined so I made a few prints with them and can not get a smooth print. I washed out the ink and tried agian. I stirred the ink agian and still print is coming out of dryer rough. Looks good going into dryer but then gets ruff. I'm using 109 screen and rutland snap white ink and I know some suggestions at an earlier post was to try some different inks. I know this ink will print pretty well as I have some decent prints. Help please--before I find a tall bridge.. also need some help on emulsion-- I use Chromeatech Pl and am using the small side of the coater--is that ok?? When do you use the small side of coater and the large or do you just use one side only. I'm one coating on each side. Do you have a good off contact? How many print passes? White ink is going to be thicker than other colors, so even if you mix it up for an 30 minutes, it will be thick. Using 109? I've never heard such, but I guess a 110 is close enough. You should be able to get ink thru it pretty well. If not, I always use an extender which makes your ink smoother and thinner which allows for an easy print, and a soft feel. Get the extender from the brand of ink you used. Usually its recommended to add 20% or less of your total batch. And I always use the thin side of the emulsion coater.
I would stick with the thin side of the coater. We only use the thick side for very low mesh and when we want a thicker coat (rarely in normal scenarios) Are you flooding your screen before printing. Good flood Smooth, constant print Flash Good Flood Smooth, constant print Slight angle of squeegee yet make sure your using the tip/edge. Is the blade real loose, easily bendable? If so you may need to use a new blade thats a little stiffer. what is the best way for computer art work for color seperation for tshirt printing? please help, its the last step i need to start our business. the only thing i did not do in screen printing while working for someone else was the art room. i always got the film in hand to burn to screen and set up to print. THANK YOU MUCH! Craig+Jessica You'll want to use a program like Adobe Illustrator that will automatically seperate the artwork for you so that you may print each color on it's own film. There's different program you can use to fulfill this, there's Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Draw. I would suggest for you to get into one of this program to have a better control of your work; well of course there's always a graphic designer that you can work with if needed. Goodluck!! hello ann, thanks for the reply,so adobe illustrator? i have that also i guess i have to start playing on that ive tried alittle but seem very lost. also do i need a special computer printer to print the seperations onto film or can i use any? thanks for the help. Craig Craig, for a printer, you will want a printer that can print film/paper at size large enough for your designs. A popular printer right now is an Epson 1400, it can print film 13" x 19". You will only print black as you know since you were handed the films in the past. One thing to look at is Ryonet's Blackmax film system, even if you don't buy it, the info on the page will help you learn a lot - Epson 1400 BLACKMAX™ Ultimate Film Output System When sending the separated art from the computer to the printer in films for the different colors, you will need something that functions as RIP if you don't use a Postscript printer. The Epson 1400 is not a postscript printer. If you are only going to print artwork created in spot colors, then you could use Illustrator or CorelDRAW very easily with a little learning for creating your separations. But if you are going to print high color art that was not created as spot color, then you will need to learn a ton of stuff for Photoshop, or, buy software like SPVR - Freehand Software, T-Seps - T-Seps Home |, QuikSeps - QuikSeps Color Separation Software For Screen Printers , or other sep program.
How To Start A Direct To Garment Printing Business
What do I need to start out?: Hardware: First things first: you need a direct to garment printer. Next, you need a computer. You also need a heat press. These components are the basics of any direct to garment business.
Software: Adobe Photoshop is more or less an essential tool in the graphic design world today. Not only will it allow you to create your own art, it will allow you to fix your customer's artwork as well. Don't worry, you don't need to spend a lot to get Photoshop CS 4, the latest and greatest version. Version CS 2 offers a great balance of value and features. Plus, it's much cheaper than CS 4 and compatible with Windows Vista. Knowledge: Now may be the time to invest in a how-to book about running your own business, or to take a course at a community college. If you know how to run a business already, the other piece of knowledge you need is how to work with graphics. Remember that old term, photo-ready art? That denotes artwork that's optimized to the proper size and quality and ready to print. It's the rare customer that will bring you photo-ready art, so it's up to you to prepare the customer's artwork for printing. Usually, you will need computer graphics knowledge to optimize or fix a customer's artwork. If you aren't proficient with Photoshop or another graphics program already, this might be the time to learn. But the easiest route might be hiring an experienced graphic designer, a local college student, or finding a freelance designer at a website like Elance.com to help set up your artwork. Once you have a finished and optimized piece of artwork, printing out a design on a direct to garment printer is easy. Now what do I do?: It's time to purchase your hardware. Take your time researching who to purchase your machine from and which machine to purchase. How long is the machine under warranty? How easy is it to get support? Remember, this is the company that you're going to be calling for support in the future and the machine that you'll be using day in and day out. How easy is it to use the RIP software that comes with the machine? That's the essential piece of software that translates between the computer and the printer. The easier the software and the printer are to use, the easier it will be to have employees do the printing in the future. Getting a machine with one or two timesaving features or a fast print speed can make a big difference over time. You'll be printing thousands of shirts with this machine, so make sure it's robust and reliable. Different direct to garment printers have different resolutions. Some can only print 600x600 dpi, providing less detail than printers which can print up to 1440x1440 dpi. Some direct to garment printers can only print on white or light shirts. In some areas, dark shirts are preferred much more than light shirts, in which case you want to purchase a printer that has white ink to print on dark shirts. Once you've purchased your printer, you need to learn how to use and maintain it. If you don't know how to print, you won't be able to make a profit. What can I print?: You can print virtually anything you can see on the computer screen. That includes photographs, drawings, vector graphics, and bitmap graphics. Remember that you may need computer graphics knowledge to tweak the colors or quality of the graphic that you want to print.
What can I print on?: Your most popular item will likely be t-shirts. 100% cotton shirts will work best, though with today's advanced ink formulations you can print on some polyester and 50/50 garments. We've found that Hanes Tagless shirts print very well. These can be found for a reasonable price, about $2 per shirt. More expensive shirts like American Apparel, geared for upscale markets, generally work well too. You will be able to see a major difference in print quality between a cheap shirt and a quality shirt. Don't forget that you can print on many other goods, like sweatshirts, towels, and even painter's canvas. Mouse pads will print well. You can even make a direct to garment print, then embroider on top of it.
Where can I buy shirts and other printables?: Purchase shirts and other printables from a national distributor like Bodek and Rhodes or Alpha Shirt Supply. Not only will these distributors have better pricing and availability, their shirts will also be free of the chemicals you can find on some blank department store shirts. However, you will usually have to purchase at least a case at a time. A case contains 72 shirts.
What should I print on?: Whatever you can print profitably. While you're in the business of printing great looking apparel, you're also in the business of making money. Unless you see an unprofitable job bringing you profitable business in the future, you may need to just say no.
How much should I sell my shirts and other products for?: Putting a selling price on your products can be difficult. Look at what shirts sell for at other local retailers, including department stores. Generally, you'll want to charge between $12-$30 for light shirts, and $15-$40 for dark shirts. Depending on your geographic area or target demographic, you may charge more or less. Because you're direct to garment printing and not screen printing or heat pressing, you can charge more than average. That's because you're able to print shirts with sharp detail, with thousands of colors, and with personalized designs. That's something that other processes can't match. Charge more for personalizing designs and less for stock art. Charge more for larger designs, because they take more time and use more ink. Charge less for orders in quantity, but only if there is little or no personalization involved.
More profit-making tips: Find a screen printer that you can trust. You may be able to find someone local, or you can look online. Employ them as a contract printer. That means that, whenever a customer comes in with a job that isn't suitable for direct to garment printing, you can contract out that job to
the screen printer. You won't make nearly as much profit, but you'll keep the customer and keep the customer satisfied. If you're really lucky, the screen printer will employ you as a contract printer for sampling or for its small jobs. You'll also want to purchase a set of heat pressable numbers and letters. Sometimes, all a school or sports team wants is some simple numbers on t-shirts or team jerseys. It's simpler to heat press these than to print them with a direct to garment printer. When you deliver these simple shirts, include a sample of what you can do with your direct to garment printer. For example, print a picture on a shirt and tell the coach that you can print the team's photo on t-shirts or even print individual pictures of the players on shirts for their parents to wear. This could turn into a nice marketing opportunity and, since the team changes every year, a chance for regular business.
How To Start A Direct To Garment Printing Business
What do I need to start out?: Hardware: First things first: you need a direct to garment printer. Next, you need a computer. You also need a heat press. These components are the basics of any direct to garment business. Software: Adobe Photoshop is more or less an essential tool in the graphic design world today. Not only will it allow you to create your own art, it will allow you to fix your customer's artwork as well. Don't worry, you don't need to spend a lot to get Photoshop CS 4, the latest and greatest version. Version CS 2 offers a great balance of value and features. Plus, it's much cheaper than CS 4 and compatible with Windows Vista. Knowledge: Now may be the time to invest in a how-to book about running your own business, or to take a course at a community college. If you know how to run a business already, the other piece of knowledge you need is how to work with graphics. Remember that old term, photo-ready art? That denotes artwork that's optimized to the proper size and quality and ready to print. It's the rare customer that will bring you photo-ready art, so it's up to you to prepare the customer's artwork for printing. Usually, you will need computer graphics knowledge to optimize or fix a customer's artwork. If you aren't proficient with Photoshop or another graphics program already, this might be the time to learn. But the easiest route might be hiring an experienced graphic designer, a local college student, or finding a freelance designer at a website like Elance.com to help set up your artwork. Once you have a finished and optimized piece of artwork, printing out a design on a direct to garment printer is easy. Now what do I do?: It's time to purchase your hardware. Take your time researching who to purchase your machine from and which machine to purchase. How long is the machine under warranty? How easy is it to get support? Remember, this is the company that you're going to be calling for support in the future and the machine that you'll be using day in and day out. How easy is it to use the RIP software that comes with the machine? That's the essential piece of software that translates between the computer and the printer. The easier the software and the printer are to use, the easier it will be to have employees do the printing in the future.
Getting a machine with one or two timesaving features or a fast print speed can make a big difference over time. You'll be printing thousands of shirts with this machine, so make sure it's robust and reliable. Different direct to garment printers have different resolutions. Some can only print 600x600 dpi, providing less detail than printers which can print up to 1440x1440 dpi. Some direct to garment printers can only print on white or light shirts. In some areas, dark shirts are preferred much more than light shirts, in which case you want to purchase a printer that has white ink to print on dark shirts. Once you've purchased your printer, you need to learn how to use and maintain it. If you don't know how to print, you won't be able to make a profit. What can I print?: You can print virtually anything you can see on the computer screen. That includes photographs, drawings, vector graphics, and bitmap graphics. Remember that you may need computer graphics knowledge to tweak the colors or quality of the graphic that you want to print.
What can I print on?: Your most popular item will likely be t-shirts. 100% cotton shirts will work best, though with today's advanced ink formulations you can print on some polyester and 50/50 garments. We've found that Hanes Tagless shirts print very well. These can be found for a reasonable price, about $2 per shirt. More expensive shirts like American Apparel, geared for upscale markets, generally work well too. You will be able to see a major difference in print quality between a cheap shirt and a quality shirt. Don't forget that you can print on many other goods, like sweatshirts, towels, and even painter's canvas. Mouse pads will print well. You can even make a direct to garment print, then embroider on top of it.
Where can I buy shirts and other printables?: Purchase shirts and other printables from a national distributor like Bodek and Rhodes or Alpha Shirt Supply. Not only will these distributors have better pricing and availability, their shirts will also be free of the chemicals you can find on some blank department store shirts. However, you will usually have to purchase at least a case at a time. A case contains 72 shirts.
What should I print on?: Whatever you can print profitably. While you're in the business of printing great looking apparel, you're also in the business of making money. Unless you see an unprofitable job bringing you profitable business in the future, you may need to just say no.
How much should I sell my shirts and other products for?: Putting a selling price on your products can be difficult. Look at what shirts sell for at other local retailers, including department stores. Generally, you'll want to charge between $12-$30 for light shirts, and $15-$40 for dark shirts. Depending on your geographic area or target demographic, you may charge more or less. Because you're direct to garment printing and not screen printing or heat pressing, you can charge more than average. That's because you're able to print shirts with sharp detail, with thousands of colors, and with personalized designs. That's something that other processes can't match. Charge more for personalizing designs and less for stock art. Charge more for larger designs, because they take more time and use more ink. Charge less for orders in quantity, but only if there is little or no personalization involved.
More profit-making tips: Find a screen printer that you can trust. You may be able to find someone local, or you can look online. Employ them as a contract printer. That means that, whenever a customer comes in with a job that isn't suitable for direct to garment printing, you can contract out that job to the screen printer. You won't make nearly as much profit, but you'll keep the customer and keep the customer satisfied. If you're really lucky, the screen printer will employ you as a contract printer for sampling or for its small jobs. You'll also want to purchase a set of heat pressable numbers and letters. Sometimes, all a school or sports team wants is some simple numbers on t-shirts or team jerseys. It's simpler to heat press these than to print them with a direct to garment printer. When you deliver these simple shirts, include a sample of what you can do with your direct to garment printer. For example, print a picture on a shirt and tell the coach that you can print the team's photo on t-shirts or even print individual pictures of the players on shirts for their parents to wear. This could turn into a nice marketing opportunity and, since the team changes every year, a chance for regular business.
I am interested to start a DTG T-shirt printing business. I really appreciate if you can help me with tips, advice and insights. I saw the "BULLET" - Is it a good machine? Easy to operate and maintain? Are there any better machines out there? Where can i buy the most affordable, quality T-shirts in large quantities? Any idea what are most popular colors, and how many should i buy in order to start the business? What is the approximate average net profit from each T-shirt? How long does a DTG printed T-shirt keep the colors after washing and wearing. What are the expenses for running this business.
Rent space, The machine, Ink, T-shirts, Marketing, Office & Shipping supplies Anything else? Any other advice, tips and suggestions is really appreciate as it will help me avoid mistakes. Before you pick the tool , choose the business. Do you have a passion that you could build a business in that is not saturated like golf , or vampires ? good place to start. The dtg, or transfers, or mug clamp are just the equiptment to make , say black barbies, or Jewish sayings, or Only in Alabama...whatever. second get your artwork together and test the market with contract printing. Its ok if you don't make a profit..you are looking at JUSTIFYING the equiptment purchase. By the questions you are asking you are nowhere near spending 20k + to SEE if you can build a business. Spending the 20k should be predicated on the fact that your EXISTING business can be MORE profitable, not seeing if it can survive. Plenty of threads here to address the other questions you ask. DTG's are like cars ...once you buiy them , they are worth 1/2 of what you paid for it almost immediately...and, technology is moving quickly. I have several design ideas and several designers to work with. I also have the money to invest, 20k is not my limit and i can afford to invest. The most important things i want to know are, 1 - Is the BULLET a good machines, or is there a better one out there. 2 - Where can i buy large quantities (4-7 thousand at a time) of T-shirts for the cheapest price yet decent/good quality cotton products. 3 - What is the approximate average cost producing a single standard white T-shirt,- that includes buying the t-shirt and the Ink. I would love to get info on good T-shirt distributors. If you want to buy several thousand tee shirts, I assume you already have orders. I would STILL recommend you contract print ,with that quantity you can make a good profit with no risk. As far as the shirts, with out seeing the designs and knowing who your market is everyday tees ...Sanmar, Bodek and Rhodes, Alpha all carry Gildan, Anvil, Hanes etc.. For more trendy shirts S+S active wear is a good source. again there are threads here that exhaust that topic, plus fullfillment, tags etc. do some homework to narrow your questions When designing artwork for DTG, What is the best/recommended resolution to use? Any special details/instruction i need to tell my designer to work by to achieve the highest quality artwork for my new DTG business? I prefer at least 100 dpi. But vector is not as crucial as a photograph, so it varies. When ink hits cotton it spreads so be careful with thick fonts and spacing...test before you print. a shirt will not look like a computer screen. Be aware that printing on dark shirts requires a layer of white ink first, so the finished print comes out feeling not unlike a transfer, but it will not crack, but the hand is still thick and gummy.
attracttive packaging with a nice wash info tag and company /concept name can add percieved value too, plus allow you to sell for $19.95 vs $15.95.. What is the best image format for DTG T-shirt printing - AI,PSD,JPEG? any flat image works ...jpeg, tiff... If you are going to print a full sized front make sure the image can be enlarged without losing detail is there a special shopping cart software or CMS system especially designed for t-shirt stores, with size charts, color selection etc I have a T-Jet Blazer Express for sale that I used to get me started. I printed custom designs on baby clothes for a year or so before I got into screenprinting. A t-jet or DTG printer would be great for a designer. If you are interested contact me because I need to sell my equipment to make room for more screenprinting equipment. We gave over 20k for our printer and extras in Dec 2008. I need to sell it asap. ….. Hi, im new to the forums and I am interested in starting my own t-shirt business. The first question i have, is what is the best method of printing the shirts?? Also, what all equipment would need to br purchased to start out as i have none yet. So far, the screen printing has caught my eye, but still im curious if there is a better way? Thanks for your help. Note that there are different methods of printing, from Silk screen to DTG (Direct to Garment) printing to heat transfers. You may want to familiarise yourself with the different methods before you pick on printer. this would help you make a more informed decision. does anyone own their own s/p business? if so how'd you start? I've been designing artwork professionally for 3 yrs now, and i want to get into the print side of things. i just have little to no knowledge of where to start. id like to get small press and see how that goes, but im leaary of the startup cost to start a business like this. any info or ideas will help me a lot. thanks for your time and help. mike Theres quite a few posts about different Start-up Kits that are available... Theres a wide range of prices... If its really something you want to do/learn then find one within your budget and start learning... Once you do experience will teach you quickly what you really want or need and at least you'll be bringing in money to help instead of only digging in your pocket... As you and your business grow you'll be expanding and upgrading equipment, as the needs of your business make themselves known... Over a period of time I have spent an awfull lot of money on better equipment and higher volume.... however not once have i had to go back into my pocket to do so... Good Luck and Welcome to the Wonderfull World of Screen Printing....LOL __________________
http://www.squirtstshirts.com
That 'LOL' on the end is really encouraging Squirts! dfb, I agree with Squirts. The best thing you can do is first of all become screen printing savvy. Comb the forums (this place is the best information resource on the net!) and read up. Write stuff down you didn't know. Then look into starter kits and try it out. There's no better way to do it than by experimenting like crazy! Apprentice or volunteer at a local screen printing company. Not only will you not have to pay $1000 to figure out if you like it or not, but you will learn how to do it, and likely even learn how to run parts of the business.
