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Uncle Remus

which is better screen printing or heat transfer??

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I am fixxing to expand my product line....mainly for a band wanting merchandise & am wanting to do shirts, hats, hoodies, thongs, etc....So which process gives a better product at the best price with the least amount of headaches...screen printing or heat transfer???

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Hello I will offer you my opinion but its a little bias as I have never done any screen printing. But I will tell you the advantages of doing heat transfer and some of the drawbacks as well.

First you can do heat transfers with a printer , the transfer paper , either a household iron or heatpress. Very convenient and in my opinion the level of detail is better than screen print. The costs involved are minimal and its great for doing one off designs. There is very little set up time and you can literally have your finished product in minutes with little or no clean up. I run things from my apartment so its the only way I can go right now. I may get into doing screen printing in the future because it can be cheaper for larger volumes of shirts.

Screen printing feels very natural when you run you hand over the design. Whereas heat transfer paper (even the best stuff out there) feels less natural kind of like the feel of an iron on (but more flexible than the ones from the 80's), and the space where the heat transfer is on the shirt wont really breath like it would if it were screen print.

It arguable as to which lasts longer but I will have to say I believe that screen print (if done properly) should last longer than an heat transfer. But both will last long enough that you wont have upset customers.

Screen printing involves creating screens with each color's design assigned to it. So if you are doing a 3 color shirt you will need at least 3 screens. Each screen must be designed with graphics software and usually a transparency must be printed out, then each transparency (1 per color) must be exposed to a silk screen in either sun light or with a light box. Once this is done the parts not covered by the transparency are washed out with hose leaving the design. Each screen must be accurately placed on the shirt as to line up with the other colors and then the ink is applied. I am sure I am leaving out some things but you can see screen printing involves a lot of start up time when compared with heat transfer and it can get messy. But the cost per shirt is better for large volumes. This is why usually you cant get a screen printer to do an order of 5 shirts. The start up time and down time makes that cost preventative unless you going to pay 30 -50 dollars per shirt! You have to apply each color separately until its done . This is why you see screen printing equipment with a carousel of 3 to 4 screens . The screens are literally on a circular machine and laid down over the top of the shirt, then the ink for 1 color is applied and then they spin this to another screen and apply the second color and so on.

Screen printing has no limits on size. So doing all over prints is possible with screen printing.

Heat Transfer has limits on how wide and how long (unless its on a roll then its just the width) BUT the wider the paper the wider the printer you need. Personally doing 8.5 x 11 inches heat transfers is usually a bit small and you have to cut out the design of the heat transfer paper unless you want it to look like a rectangle on a shirt!. This is why ppl here are getting the laser point 24 because it can cut the transfer paper for you so you dont have to do it by hand.

Heres a pic of a heat transfer I did. You really cant tell and the detail is incredible. This was done on an Epson 1400 with Jetware for Darks Heat Transfer Paper.

34eydyo.jpg

I did this with 2 pieces of 8.5x11 and cut it out. there are larger sizes of heat transfer available but I haven't ordered any yet. You can even tell where the 2 pieces meet but I assure you its 2 pieces.

I also like the fact that I can order Heat Transfer paper in small quantities so as not to keep only as much as i need on hand.

with screen printing you have to keep several colors of inks and screens and special tools and chemicals to clean the screens when finished.

Well I think I have about wrote a book on this. I hope this has helped and if any body finds any errors with my information please feel free to correct me.

Regards

SHeister

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Heat tranfers are a good option for small orders, or peice sales.

Screen printing is good for bulk orders.  It is more washable than vinyl if cured properly.  I won't take orders under 24 peices for screen printing.  I will let my competition have those headaches.

Embroidery is a good option for both as long as the design is not to complicated and under 10,000 stitches.

If you come across large orders you can't handle we do sub work for shops all over the country.

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Less headaches=heat transfer, by a long shot. 

However, if you have the motivation, screenprinting can be a profitable addition to your arsenal. 

Plastisol transfers with a heatpress are far superior to inkjet transfers, but won't necessarily be profitable until you get a higher quantity.  Same as screenprinting, but you dont have to buy and learn the equipment and processes.  Plastisol (screenprinting ink) will last considerably longer than inkjet transfers, and will probably outlast the fabric of the shirt.

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thanks to everyone for their input on this subject....I don't currently have the required space for the screenprinting equipment, so I guess I will be buying a heat press....

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Me either Renee  :thumbsup:

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Plastisol transfers work fine and give you the same feel as silk screening unless you are using waterbased inks that tend to have no hand to them.

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Plastisol transfers work fine and give you the same feel as silk screening unless you are using waterbased inks that tend to have no hand to them.

yes but you either have to have them made by a screen printer or you have to screen print them yourself. it kind of goes back to screen printing. I still think for the detail, convenience, cost, and ease of use, heat transfers are the best way to go. I have been having a lot of success with Jetware latley.

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I'd say there isn't really a best way to go.  There are many different techniques that can be used and each of them has a niche that makes the most sense.

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I would sightly disagree . Heat transfers for shirts with a good printer are better for small to medium quantities depending on what your charging per shirt and  they are  Fast , Easy, Convenient, sharp detail, and if done properly, will last a long time. If you are doing large quantity then screen print may be worth the start and finishing time and labor in between as the price per shirt will be less after a certain quantity. As for underpants . Umm probably the plastisol transfer because it can be more easily applied to a small area. Though I guess it can be done with regular screen printing it would be weird to have this tshirt sized screen for a small item like a bikini. Albeit you may be able to get a smaller screen. The plastisol transfer may be more convenient in the end and less mess.

I would say just try a transfer because your initial investment will be minimal , heck they even sell t shirt transfers at craft stores like Joann fabrics and at office supply stores like Office Max. You will spend about 10 -12 dollars on a few transfers. You just print them usually with a regular inkjet printer (though they do make them for laser printers too) and then transfer them with iron or heat press to shirt and your done! If you dont like it , your only out a few bux. But if you do like them you can search online for larger transfer paper sizes and better quality ones too. The shirt in the pic I posted is done the Jetware for darks and I love the quality. Initial investment in screen printing will be at least a few hundred bux. I saw a 1 color screen printing kit at Joann fabrics for 300 bux on sale for 240. And that was pretty cheap for screen printing kits.

Good Luck

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I use transfers regularly along with many other techniques, but I would never represent them as best solution for all circumstances.  I understand that you might just be talking from inexperience, but there are many times transfers don't work well or make good sense.  For example, I'd like to see how you would do some designs that require discharge printing or layering different colors and techniques on dark colors.  If you are just doing simple designs in small quantities or customized names and numbers on dark colors then heat press vinyl is a better way to go.  If you are regularly doing 50+ quantities then the money you will save with silk screening will pay for the setup in no time.  The thickness of transfers for dark items is unacceptable by many customers as well.  Transfers are getting better, but there are many situations that they just don't work well. 

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Thanks! you kind of just said what I did in my previous post with less words. I did want to point out that I was suggesting this person start with transfers because of minimal investment to do a test run. In a perfect world , I do think screen printing is the best way because of the way it feels on the shirt and its pretty detailed too. BUT in the real world screen printing requires expensive equip and you need a place to do all this. Not to mention the mess involved. This is again why I never stated transfers were superior, just a more convenient way to get started. Pheeew!

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Screen printing is cool and everything, I did it in high school in graphics class, it's kinda messy, and if you're not doing a lot at a time it would seem like a hassle.

With heat transfer vinyl you can also have a better view of where your design is going.

I dunno, I'm still new to it all myself, but when I think about screen printing, it just sounds like a headache. I don't have the huge space needed for all of the stuff, the sinks for degreasing your screens and rinsing off ink, cleaning up, etc...can you even wash that stuff down residential drains, would it clog them?

Just sounds more complicated than vinyl. 

Vinyl is no mess, minimal clean up, and seems like you would have a lot less mistakes.

If I did screen printing I don't think I would enjoy it as much, I feel I would look at it as a chore instead of something I enjoy doing.

 

Just my noobie 2 cents!

(don't know about printing onto iron on vinyl quality doesn't seem that great for those, I do the solid color vinyl, no photographs, etc)

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Screen printing is cool and everything, I did it in high school in graphics class, it's kinda messy, and if you're not doing a lot at a time it would seem like a hassle.

With heat transfer vinyl you can also have a better view of where your design is going.

I dunno, I'm still new to it all myself, but when I think about screen printing, it just sounds like a headache. I don't have the huge space needed for all of the stuff, the sinks for degreasing your screens and rinsing off ink, cleaning up, etc...can you even wash that stuff down residential drains, would it clog them?

Just sounds more complicated than vinyl. 

Vinyl is no mess, minimal clean up, and seems like you would have a lot less mistakes.

If I did screen printing I don't think I would enjoy it as much, I feel I would look at it as a chore instead of something I enjoy doing.

 

Just my noobie 2 cents!

(don't know about printing onto iron on vinyl quality doesn't seem that great for those, I do the solid color vinyl, no photographs, etc)

LOL - 4 yrs later a reply . . .  .not sure if the original posters will see it or not this late in the game.

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