Creating custom designs for t-shirts can be an exciting business to get into. According to Shopify, the printing method you choose would depend upon what kind of quality you want to provide your customers, as well as how much time and effort you want to put into creating every single t-shirt. Before you start searching for a screen printing company or a heat transfer manufacturer, let’s take a closer look at the two most famous techniques:
Screen Printing
This method involves printing designs using several layers of color, one layer at a time. This technique is best for simple designs with only a few colors, and is great for creating bulk orders as you can print colors on several t-shirts at once using a screen printing machine. If you set everything up correctly, you could potentially make hundreds of dollars per hour, according to Screen Printing How-To.
The disadvantage of this printing technique is that it is not as cost effective if you are only planning to do small orders. The extensive set-up may not be worth if it you’re only planning to print a single t-shirt with a specific design. To make the most out of the screens you will be creating, you need to take on bulk orders in order to make a profit, or else you may end up with screens you might never use again.
Heat Transfers
This technique works great for more intricate designs with a wide spectrum of colors. All you need for this method are a good quality printer, some heat transfer paper, and a clam shell heat press. Instead of transferring colors one layer at a time, you will only have to press the final image in one go. This technique also offers a greater quality than iron-on transfers.
To make your job easier, you can outsource the print work to a heat transfer manufacturer so that you do not have to spend as much time printing designs on one sheet of paper at a time. By outsourcing the printing to a company, but by buying the t-shirts yourself, you can save a lot of time and money.
In order to decide on which technique you should use, think about how much work you want to do for each t-shirt you want to sell. Once you’ve decided on that, you can start canvassing for the equipment and materials you need to start up your t-shirt business.
