Best way forward to start T-SHIRT printing?

[Dave271069]

[INDENT]hi all, ive got a heat press, and all the stuff to do Sublimation and normal printing, Can you advise or recommend which is the best way forward to start printing some t-shirts, not on a great scale but just a few, should i buy sub ones or should i just use Transfer Paper? what you think?
is sub more expensive?
will transfer look ok?
[/INDENT]

[crystaluk]

Sublimation tshirts are much better in quality than a transfer the image is fused onto the tshirt. If you have a good quality transfer paper print using pigment inks it should last a decent time but definately a sub tshirt is better but it's only white or pastel coloured tshirts for darks it's transfer paper. No harm in trying both of them and if you tell us which equipment you have others can give you better advice

[Dave271069]

Thanks, basic equipment, Epson s22 Chinese heat press etc, it's ok for what I'm doing which is mugs and gifts iPhone iPad cases etc.
i was trying to work out the cost of a sub t-shirt and how much to sell .

[WorthDoingRight]

Sub t-shirts work out at around £4 each to buy (so realistically twice the cost of a similar cotton t-shirt). Sublimation ink probably costs an additional 50p per A4 sheet over pigment/dye ink although the paper costs probably 25p less than for light t-shirt paper.

So if you sell it for more than £2.25 above the cost of a cotton t-shirt then you should be ok me thinks!

However remember that polyester shirts do not appeal to all and customers are an unknown quantity when buying anything.

[ASLCreative]

I personally think it all depends on the end use and what is being printed onto the T-shirt

Example:

Photographs:

A T-Shirt that will be given away "Free" and is only expected to be worn a few times, then a cheap T-shirt and transfer print is cheaper to make than the cost of a subli T-Shirt.

A T-shirt that will be worn again and again and needs to be of good quality then a Subli T-shirt would be better.

Text

A normal cotton T-shirt with clothing vinyl is probably the best.

[Dave271069]

Text

A normal cotton T-shirt with clothing vinyl is probably the best.[/QUOTE]

Thats my next purchase ! A vinyl cutter / plotter

[Dave271069]

Just purchased 2 sub t shirts from BMS. Next job is to source them for a cheaper price. £12 plus for two tshirts won't get me rich quick . But at least I can have a practise on them.
anyone want to PM me where to get some nice cheap ones from?

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Dave

Subli tee shirts are not cheap. As WorthDoingRight says, subli ones are about £4.00 where as standard cotton tees are about £1.40-1.50 from the likes of BTC Activewear or Ralawise or Uneek etc etc . You could try Xpres for subli tees but I suspect they are about the same price as BMS and all the other Sublimation suppliers.

If you are going to be doing laser transfers then make sure you get the right transfers. There are a lot of types on the market and they really vary in quality and how long they last. If you are selling the gaments then you can always put washing instructions in the garment that explains that they must be washed inside out and no higher than 60 degrees (if using something like The Magic Touch).

[logobear]

I think you should practice and perfect with what you have before buying more stuff. It is all too easy to think that ....I can make money if only i have a widgetprinter.....
learn your craft, make some mistakes, wear what you make, talk to people, give or even sell a bit of product made with what kit you have now, and LEARN !
Then, you can decide if/what you want/need next ( ebay is full of people who bought stuff they didn't want or need!)