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I've been thinking about getting a heat press but not sure how worth it they are. What kind of price should I be expecting to be able to buy blank tee shirts for?  It seems to me that there's not a lot of profit per shirt... Maybe I'm wrong?

 

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Just to get some ideas, check out www.jiffyshirts.com.  I've heard you can get better prices from Sanmar but you will need to set up a business account with them.

Here's how I approached it... VERY SIMPLISTIC, so those that do this a lot please let me know if my thinking is on track:

Here's my assumptions based on doing 15 good quality full front shirts, working out of my home with negligible expenses:

5 yard roll of Easyweed Stretch - $38 (normal price) + $11.99 shipping (worst case) = $49 = $3.27 per foot

15 Bella Canvas Super Soft T from Jiffyshirts = $60 (Orders over $59 ship free)

Selling price for custom shirts = $225 ($15 each)

Revenue from Shits ($225) - Expenses ($109) = $116 ($7.73 per shirt)

Obviously there's a lot of variables and other things to factor in from a business perspective.

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I used to do a little of everything. Now I do almost exclusively tee's and other garments. Not a lot of profit per piece but if you make 30-50% mark-up on the shirt itself and then make some money on the cut, weed and press you can make bank in the end especially when you get into large orders. When you DO start to get large orders that are becoming too time consuming to cut and weed or have too much coverage area to be practical with the cost of HTV you can switch to plastisol transfers like F&M. My order sizes have gotten so big that many of them have to be plastisol just due to the time it would take to prep all the vinyl. I use a rule of thumb of about 25 shirts but if the coverage area is large I go for plastisol with less than that sometimes. Takes a little longer to send off the design and wait for the transfers so if it's a rush then HTV wins the day. 

I suggest a swing style press if you have the space in your work area to allow it. They let you have the best experience in getting everything straight. The budget models of swingers are generally fair quality as far as even heat. Most budget presses will be off with temperature so be sure and check with an infrared heat gun to verify. The clam presses are usually cheaper but the really cheap ones do not have a center point load and will not allow the platen to adjust to thick garments properly.  Get at least a 15"x 15" anything smaller is hard to get your placement right. 

Another cool aspect of this arena is if you DO screw one up you're usually only out about $3-$5 and some time to re-do. When ordering large orders I always bring in a couple extra of the predominant size in case I make a mistake. I build those extra shirts into the cost of the quote and keep them if I don't mess up. 

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I have a Stalhs heattronic  11x15 I bought 5-6 years ago that’s still in the box.....I am probably going to start using it soon to add to the services offered I am probably going to retire because of my knees and ankles are shot so I will offer signs ready to install and possibly decals, license plates and shirts and screen printed and printed services from my vendor. Getting old sucks and I can’t do what I need to do in the contracting business or the sign installation business.

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53 minutes ago, mabscotthandyman said:

I have a Stalhs heattronic  11x15 I bought 5-6 years ago that’s still in the box.....I am probably going to start using it soon to add to the services offered I am probably going to retire because of my knees and ankles are shot so I will offer signs ready to install and possibly decals, license plates and shirts and screen printed and printed services from my vendor. Getting old sucks and I can’t do what I need to do in the contracting business or the sign installation business.

sorry to hear of the ailments but totally understand - after 3 drs 2 of them did several shots in lower back and no relief I really really understand where you are coming from.  I did the shots without anesthesia so I didn't need to bother my kids to have a driver :/

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52 minutes ago, mabscotthandyman said:

I have a Stalhs heattronic  11x15 I bought 5-6 years ago that’s still in the box.....I am probably going to start using it soon to add to the services offered I am probably going to retire because of my knees and ankles are shot so I will offer signs ready to install and possibly decals, license plates and shirts and screen printed and printed services from my vendor. Getting old sucks and I can’t do what I need to do in the contracting business or the sign installation business.

Get that press out of the box!   Heat press is really fun.

...and here are your first two shirts for yourself...I personally have one of each!

1749117632_First2shirts....thumb.jpg.a93acec04161bee44c235c955b72b219.jpg

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On 1/27/2020 at 9:06 AM, Wildgoose said:

I used to do a little of everything. Now I do almost exclusively tee's and other garments. Not a lot of profit per piece but if you make 30-50% mark-up on the shirt itself and then make some money on the cut, weed and press you can make bank in the end especially when you get into large orders. When you DO start to get large orders that are becoming too time consuming to cut and weed or have too much coverage area to be practical with the cost of HTV you can switch to plastisol transfers like F&M. My order sizes have gotten so big that many of them have to be plastisol just due to the time it would take to prep all the vinyl. I use a rule of thumb of about 25 shirts but if the coverage area is large I go for plastisol with less than that sometimes. Takes a little longer to send off the design and wait for the transfers so if it's a rush then HTV wins the day. 

I suggest a swing style press if you have the space in your work area to allow it. They let you have the best experience in getting everything straight. The budget models of swingers are generally fair quality as far as even heat. Most budget presses will be off with temperature so be sure and check with an infrared heat gun to verify. The clam presses are usually cheaper but the really cheap ones do not have a center point load and will not allow the platen to adjust to thick garments properly.  Get at least a 15"x 15" anything smaller is hard to get your placement right. 

Another cool aspect of this arena is if you DO screw one up you're usually only out about $3-$5 and some time to re-do. When ordering large orders I always bring in a couple extra of the predominant size in case I make a mistake. I build those extra shirts into the cost of the quote and keep them if I don't mess up. 

That’s great info for a starter. I’ve been doing decals for years a d trying to avoid shirts cause the market is swamped. Lately I’ve been getting requests do thinking I might get into it. Can you tell me which heat press you would Recommend? I’m an all in type of person so I don’t want to go w beg hi we and then just keep upgrading. I’d like to start w a great on right off. Thanks

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The T-shirt market is virtually endless ---- is it 'swamped' with competition? Sure, what isn't? However, you already know that there's a demand from people you know, so why are you trying to overthink this? A heat press is simple. It heats up, it presses down. That's it.

https://www.uscutter.com/Swing-Arm-heat-presses

Starting at $350 and going up to several thousands of $$.

Pick one. Remember to mirror your cuts on HTV !!!

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5 hours ago, VinylM said:

That’s great info for a starter. I’ve been doing decals for years a d trying to avoid shirts cause the market is swamped. Lately I’ve been getting requests do thinking I might get into it. Can you tell me which heat press you would Recommend? I’m an all in type of person so I don’t want to go w beg hi we and then just keep upgrading. I’d like to start w a great on right off. Thanks

if you want to start with one you won't be upgrading look for a geo knight, hotronix or mighty press - all rock solid and last very long. along with those brands use more heating coils over the face of the platen for more even heat where cheaper presses use less coils and attempt to use the mass of the aluminum in the casting to even the heat out 

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If you can manage it, get a 16 x 20".  They allow for the larger imprint sizes...

Frequently I am pressing 2X & 3X shirts...... to look right you need to enlarge the logo/graphic to fill the shirt.

A 16" x 20" press can usually handle it in one pressing.

Sue2

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On 11/13/2020 at 6:23 AM, VinylM said:

That’s great info for a starter. I’ve been doing decals for years a d trying to avoid shirts cause the market is swamped. Lately I’ve been getting requests do thinking I might get into it. Can you tell me which heat press you would Recommend? I’m an all in type of person so I don’t want to go w beg hi we and then just keep upgrading. I’d like to start w a great on right off. Thanks

I use the Hotronix Fusion. Somewhere I did a write up on it. The quick change platens and true threading of shirts make it the machine of choice for me. However the brands listed by Dakota are all great and Hix is also a good brand. I prefer a swing away press but they take up more space. Definitely go with the 16x20 platen. Smaller stuff will need press pillows and press pads if you don’t have other sizes of platens but the larger size is worth it for most work. 

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