Guest dudestore Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 I had never done this before but will try it someday as I want to run some business with my own personal design or store logo on tshirts, etc. I already bought: - iron thing - 1 white/ 1 back tshirts (for testing) - packages from Avery.com (Ink Jet Dark/Plain T-shirt Transfers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 Just muh 2 cents... Have you been to cafepress.com? They do the same sort of thing for logo design. I have a store there, however, I must say this; I have had company wearables made both by professional screenprinting and by iron transfer. If it's not done by screenprinting professionally, the quality of the transfer really bites comparitively. (No matter how nice the quality of the shirt is). Cafepress.com does not use a professional screenprint. They use heat transfer for the clothing, and the product quality is less than favorable. However, as a bonus to heat transfer, it does not require a setup fee for creating the actual screen to make logo gift items to keep on file. This is the biggest part of the expense for getting something screenprinted. Another bonus to the cafepress-style heat transfers, is that you get a huge bulk discount if you buy in specific tiers of quantities. At the same time though, it is much cheaper and higher quality in the long run if you are doing large bulk of the same items, to do it by screenprinting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dudestore Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 Really? Gee... I guess I wasted my money. Gotta check CafePress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OSKicks Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 i have done it before, don't do it youself , and your site has 2 be BIG for people to buy it, or no 1 will, -----------Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I hope I didn't rain on your parade or anything. For personal and family items and perhaps small fundraisers and such where you can charge a very nominal amount for the work, your idea is a good one. For large quantities however, you will most definitely want the quality that having it done by screen printing offers. While cafepress charges a lot for the items at retail, the bulk discount they offer for small projects isn't bad. And the quality isn't terrible, but doing it by heat transfer shows a noticable difference and affects the longevity of the wear of the product after only a couple of washes. :errm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dudestore Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I tried a test of putting a design on tshirt.. and it looked damn good like what I expected to see like from computer. I just either create a design or print a pic of something. What i did was printed the paintballware.com logo and transfered to tshirt. It look good.. however, kinda hard to think where (middle? left side? right side?). I looked at CafePress and it seem good but the prices for bulk discount.. i dunno. I'm not sure how many tshirts i will need because i haven't start selling anything on my site (paintballware.com). Anyway, thanks all of you for getting my attention to think about what I need or how much $$ to spend.. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I've used them here and there, especially for making mousepads and mugs. My best advice is to upload your images at their best resolution in .png format and everything will resize (including and excluding bleed) really great regardless of the dimensions. Mug and mousepad quality is great. I have not a single complaint about those. Try buying one shirt before you buy in bulk though, and you'll see what I mean with the heat transfer quality. I couldn't possibly purchase more than one or two shirts from there that aren't just for me and a few friends, personally. The image lasts about 2-3 washes. It's a disappointment. :errm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 Hey, I'm just finishing my CC store. I'll sell T-Shirts and some of them are made with heat transfers. The thing is that there are heat transfers for all qualitys/prices... You can go to a regular computer store and buy some iron-on transfers and make your shirts at home, but don't expect them to last more then 5/6 washes... I've invested some $$$ on a pro heat-press that is miles awain from the iron-on method. You'll probably wear out the T-Shirt and the printed work still is at it's best... Anyway, just wanted to say that there are a lot of ways to print T-shirts. Have one sample made for you, wash it a couple of times before you place touy bulk order. You could avoid problems this way. Personally I don´t know how CafePress work, but one some of my local competition uses it. I'm glad to ear that their quality is not that good, though Cheers, Pardon__me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest twisted Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 The problem I find with cafepress, is their sizes. You can ONLY have things printed in the sizes they permit, and for T-shirts, thats not very big. Might be OK if its a company moniker or something to go on the breast, but for large desinsg that you want to cover a large area...forget it. 8" x 11" just doesn't cut it. Stick to the mugs and overpriced mousepads. :errm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I alao want to have a try by my own.Share all of your ideas.Thank you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I've heard Zazzle.com does print on demand like cafepress does but uses screeprint. Haven't tried them yet to check their quality, but I plan to. I have tried cafepress and have done my own transfers and agree about quality problems. I also used to screen print my own and it just doesn't compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest textile-clothing Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I've heard Zazzle.com does print on demand like cafepress does but uses screeprint. Haven't tried them yet to check their quality, but I plan to. I have tried cafepress and have done my own transfers and agree about quality problems. I also used to screen print my own and it just doesn't compare. rather i prefer to buy it online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Story books Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Hi...Dudestore. I did this business. Here are some tips, which can help you. 1 - Set up a written plan as a road map and follow it, check it daily and see if you are swearing from it and if so make course corrections. 2 - Hire your people yourself and train them yourself - no one knows what you want better than you. Teach them to shut up and listen. 3 - Keep your employees happy. A happy employee is less likely to steal, more likely to exude joy and, as a result will result in happier customers. 4 - Talk to your customers as they leave the store, the ones that bought will tell you what they likes, the ones that didn't buy will tell you why they didn't buy, listen and take notes. These are YOUR people. 5 - Leave work AT work. For the most part, when you lock the doors at night and head home, remember that the job will still be there in the morning. You need a balance between work and personal life to be happy and avoid burn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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