If you are looking to start a small t-shirt business, or maybe you have and you are having trouble navigating all the options for supplies, let me help you out a little bit. There are several methods for making shirts and the two I primarily use are HTV (heat transfer vinyl) and Sublimation. These two methods are very different and require different supplies and equipment. I'll give you the run down of each in this two part blog. HTV uses a single color at a time, so sometimes you have to do layers, or just do the image in the one color. Sublimation allows you to print anything, but it's limited to lighter colored or bleached shirts and the substrate (what you sublimate on) has to have a higher (than 50%) polyester count which can also limit your shirt options.
Lets start with HTV. This is where most people start. Someone gave you a Silhouette or a Cricut as a gift, and you want to use them to start making a little money on the side. That's how a lot of us started. I, personally, prefer the Silhouette Cameo. The software can be a *tiny bit more complicated to learn on the front end, but in the end you have, in my opinion, a better opportunity to create custom designs. If designing is not your thing, and you think you'll use other people's designs, then you could go either way. The Silhouette will cut more than just vinyl- think paper crafts- but we're just here to make shirts for today. I'll go into more detail in another post about how I use the software and any tips or tricks I've figured out over the years.
I have tried a LOT of different vinyls and I have landed on a favorite for sure. The only time I don't use it is when they don't have the color I need for a very specific project (like a customer's logo). Thermoflex Plus is, hands down, my favorite. It doesn't have the "plastic" feel that some of the less expensive vinyl has. It's thin, smooth, and pretty flexible. It holds up well to washing and drying and just generally feels sturdy. I usually get it here, but have also had to purchase from Amazon if I need just a small amount or I'm in a hurry. Heat Transfer Warehouse has a great selection, and the larger the roll you buy, the better the deal. Sometimes Thermoflex doesn't have a color I need and I go to my second choice- Siser. Siser also has a pretty good feel, but in my opinion it doesn't feel quite as thin as the Thermoflex. Now, please understand, this is a very small difference between the two that most people wouldn't even notice. Here is one of our best sellers that I make using HTV.
Now, you have your vinyl and you've used your plotter (that's what the Silhouette and Cricut are) to cut your design...but you need it to adhere to your shirt. This is where the H in HTV comes in. You need heat. A lot of heat. You could, technically, use an iron, but I really don't recommend it. The heat can be uneven and sometimes not hot enough. You really want the heat to cover the entire design at once for an even application. In comes the heat press. You have several options here. Cricut has made a press that is only the top (like a large square iron) but any pressure applied comes from you and even the largest one is sometimes not large enough. A larger, commercial, heat press can run you anywhere from $250- $2500. I know this seems steep, but if you're just starting out you can begin with a much cheaper one. I have a Fancier Studio clamshell press that looks like this:
I purchased it when I got my first large shirt order and it's been reliable. There is a lot of opinion on heat presses. If you have the room for it, a swing away with a pull out drawer is the way to go.
This covers what I think to be the three most important items you need to start your own tshirt biz using HTV. Check out my next post to see what else you would need in order to do sublimation.
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