making tshirts - newbie & long sorry!!

[cherise88 4]

well i have dabbled in making vinyl decals for 4-5 years now and glass etching...  now i want to venture in making tshirts.... i have no clue on where to start and what to buy.... i guess is it better to do silk screen shirts or heat press shirts??? i know nothing about either one...can you do multi colored designs on heat press tshirts??  i dont have a ton of room and have heard multi colored screen printing takes up alot of room??? can someone steer me on what i need to get started??? it seems the tshirts i have bought that are silk screen done seem to be great quality, is that possible with heat pressed... idk if i ever had a heat pressed tshirt???  so i guess i am asking what i need ... i think heat pressed maybe be better as i am doing it out of my home and have already taken up space from the wife, so she is really going to dig this new adventure -> no she really is going to be pissed but thats OK... what do i need for heat pressed/what to buy.... i guess my biggest fear is multi colored shirts, if those are possible or not... is there a certain material needed for heat pressed/is it a different type of vinyl??? i would be very thankful if i can get peoples opinions and help with getting started on this new adventure... even picture examples of what others have made will be fun to see...thank you and sorry for the long post!! looking forward to see if i can do this or not...!!!  

 

btw, i do have a plotter and use sure cuts alot.. the plotter is from the SC series, its loud noisy but has never let me down...it has been a true work horse for me!

[Sue2 920]

You need to take some time to research this forum and youtube

all your questions will be answered.

Here's a start....

 

 

Sue2

[DCMoney 91]

75% of my sales are Heat Transfer T-shirts. Personally I like the HTV over screen printing, all my screen printed shirts eventually crack after a wash or 2 and I have yet to have a HTV shirt crack or fail. In my opinion there's a lot more to learn and buy when doing screen printing. It might be something I eventually get into but not right now.

 

HTV is a little bit more money, roughly 3 times the cost of something like 651 vinyl. Personally I think HTV would be easier to get into, buy a press, buy some HTV make a shirt.

 

I've dropped all glass etching from my etsy and ebay, do some here and there for friends but for me there's more money to be made doing shirts. Same for small decals I keep raising my prices on them and now basically keep them as cheap lures on ebay and etsy to get people to look at my shop for similar items.

 

I started in February of this year with a cheap 15x15 swing away press. After a month realized I wanted to upgrade to a better press. My advice to brand new users buy a 16x20 to start with if you don't want to spend the money on a more expensive press. I sold my cheap 15x15 for $50 less than I paid for it 6 months after I bought it.

 

Can you do multi color, sure it's more time and material. But it's possible. 

 

 

[cherise88 4]

thanks both for the info... what is a good heat press to buy...and if i am following this right... you need HTV vinyl to make the logo/picture...

[Sue2 920]

I have an older Hotronix 16x20" swing-away press...

This would be my choice if purchasing a new one now.

 

http://www.uscutter.com/Hotronix-Fusion-16-x-20-Heat-Press

 

Sue2

[SeeJaysPlace 476]

I dis like HTV, I don't like how it feels when it's worn on a shirt just my opinion!

I Screen Print and much rather do that then HTV!

But when someone wants just ONE shirt! HTV is the way to go! It's a lot cheaper!

 

But when you get 20-50+ shirts Screen Printing is the way to go!

 

and yes screen printing there is a lot of up front cost to get started and a big learning curve!  But it is well worth it if you have the space to do it!

 

[DCMoney 91]

thanks both for the info... what is a good heat press to buy...and if i am following this right... you need HTV vinyl to make the logo/picture...

 

I went back and forth between a Hotronix fusion like Sue linked to and a Geo Knight DK20SP.

 

I personally went with the DK20SP because I wanted auto release and a pneumatic action.

 

http://www.uscutter.com/Geo-Knight-16-x-20-Air-Op-Swing-Away-Heat-Press-DK20SP

 

I didn't buy mine new, searched craigslist (search tempest) and ebay for months and found a great deal on my Dk20SP.

[LPWash 75]

75% of my sales are Heat Transfer T-shirts. Personally I like the HTV over screen printing, all my screen printed shirts eventually crack after a wash or 2 and I have yet to have a HTV shirt crack or fail. In my opinion there's a lot more to learn and buy when doing screen printing. It might be something I eventually get into but not right now.

 

HTV is a little bit more money, roughly 3 times the cost of something like 651 vinyl. Personally I think HTV would be easier to get into, buy a press, buy some HTV make a shirt.

 

I've dropped all glass etching from my etsy and ebay, do some here and there for friends but for me there's more money to be made doing shirts. Same for small decals I keep raising my prices on them and now basically keep them as cheap lures on ebay and etsy to get people to look at my shop for similar items.

 

I started in February of this year with a cheap 15x15 swing away press. After a month realized I wanted to upgrade to a better press. My advice to brand new users buy a 16x20 to start with if you don't want to spend the money on a more expensive press. I sold my cheap 15x15 for $50 less than I paid for it 6 months after I bought it.

 

Can you do multi color, sure it's more time and material. But it's possible. 

 

 

If your shirts are cracking after two washes, they are not being cured properly.  

[cherise88 4]

so is there a printer you can use to print directly onto the shirt?? or is there a printer that can print your design and then heat press them onto your shirt??? i want to do basically multiple color pictures/logos but don't want to mess with making multi layer vinyl logos or pictures... seems the more i dig for info, the more confused it gets..shouldnt be this tough lol..

[Jburns 239]

sounds like you would like a sublimation printer to print an image on, then heat press onto a blank shirt....plenty of info on this site about this topic.

 

edit: yes you can print directly to shirt- check out DTG ( direct to garment) printers.

[Sue2 920]

Direct to garment equipment is probably out of your price range and

space availability right now.

On-the-cheap, you may want to look into an inkjet printer with pigment inks

and the JPSS transfers for clothing and 3G (for dark colors).

 

These imprints are not as long-lived as direct to garment or sublimation

but are less expensive to test the waters.

 

Or you can try sublimation with the special inks (contact Richard at COBRA).

https://www.cobraink.com/

 

With both these options you will need a heat press...watch CL and the 

big auction sites for people giving up their slightly used presses.

There's lot of them out there who thought this would be a big

money maker and failed.

 

Search this forum...there's plenty of FREE info on all the above options.

 

Sue2

[djque 246]

I'm with seejay but I don't dislike vinyl but I do silkscreen but waterbase and there is nothing like the feel of waterbase, oh wait there is no feel. I do plastisol and sometime make plastisol transfers but when doing 100+ shirts silkscreen is the way to go.

 

Like said above DTG would be out of your budget maybe and sublimation is for white and light color tshirts that are 100% poly. but you dont just do tshirts with sublimation as I do mugs,socks,hats,waterbottles, mouse pads, phone cases, etc.

 

 

[SeeJaysPlace 476]

I'm with seejay but I don't dislike vinyl but I do silkscreen but waterbase and there is nothing like the feel of waterbase, oh wait there is no feel. I do plastisol and sometime make plastisol transfers but when doing 100+ shirts silkscreen is the way to go.

 

Like said above DTG would be out of your budget maybe and sublimation is for white and light color tshirts that are 100% poly. but you dont just do tshirts with sublimation as I do mugs,socks,hats,waterbottles, mouse pads, phone cases, etc.

I use plastisol only! I have never done waterbase, .. maybe i should try it someday!

[SeeJaysPlace 476]

This is my mess lol

 

[cherise88 4]

If anyone wants to give me any advice on equipment, this is what I kinda want to do... I think I should stay away from silk screen right now until I get more space and experience !!

**sublimation

**sublimation printer (is it possible to do 3 or 4 coloŕ design for tshirts) ??

Or is it not worth spending money on it for making tshirts ... I want it too look good but don't want that heavyness design compared to silk screen ... plus have to use a special tshirt ? Also what do you need for paper to print on?

** heat press. .. something like a 15x15

** mug press.... these take a special made cup ? .. saw a up right press on ebay for $99 ...

Want good decent stuff to use but not making this my living... tshirts, mugs, can koozies ect... printer would be the most important? ??

Thank you for the help !!

[djque 246]

If anyone wants to give me any advice on equipment, this is what I kinda want to do... I think I should stay away from silk screen right now until I get more space and experience !!

**sublimation

**sublimation printer (is it possible to do 3 or 4 coloŕ design for tshirts) ??

Or is it not worth spending money on it for making tshirts ... I want it too look good but don't want that heavyness design compared to silk screen ... plus have to use a special tshirt ? Also what do you need for paper to print on?

** heat press. .. something like a 15x15

** mug press.... these take a special made cup ? .. saw a up right press on ebay for $99 ...

Want good decent stuff to use but not making this my living... tshirts, mugs, can koozies ect... printer would be the most important? ??

Thank you for the help !!

this is a little late but sublimation I also do that too. It does everything you mentioned and more. I use a epson 7510 and i have not user it in a month or so. On tshirts they have to be white or light color so that's the bad side. silkscreen don't take up alot of room unless your going for the gusto like,

Burning screens

Coating screens

Exposure unit

Conveyor dryer

Drying rack

Light table

Silkscreen press (not the tabletop ones)

Storing gallons of ink,emulsion,cleaners

Etc, this is when silkscreen gets different.this is a good. Starter kit that has everything needed. http://www.screenprinting.com/semi-pro-4-color-screen-printing-kit_2#.Vp0IU7KIZoN