So, you’re going to be focusing on your own designs, building your own brand, rather than printing Tshirts for other companies or individuals?
If you’ve recently decided this, and you’re now wondering which may be the best Tshirt printing equipment to buy, just hold your horses.
You see, most people have got the cart before the horse, and start looking at buying equipment before they’ve even researched which garment decoration method or methods they’re going to be using.
You can’t possibly make a decision on which equipment to buy, until you know which printing process you’re going to be employing.
Even when it comes down to the heat press, the one piece of equipment which is universal (which you’ll more than likely use regardless of which process you decide on)it still makes a difference – you could end up buying the wrong kind of heat press if you invest in the press before knowing which print process you’ll be working with.
So let’s dive into this:
Which are the best Tshirt printing methods for own brand/own design Tshirt printing?
The first thing I’d suggest you decide, is whether printing in-house is actually the best idea for you, right now. It’s at least a good idea to keep in mind that this isn’t the only option.
The two options to consider, as well as 100% in-house production, is:
- Complete outsourcing
- Outsourced transfers
If I were starting a business now, and I was focusing mainly on Tshirts and other garments, with my own brand, I would probably outsource initially, and bring production in-house only once I’ve got the orders to justify it.
You may be confused at this point, given that this blog is supposed to be about the best Tshirt printing machines, and here I am, suggesting that you don’t buy any Tshirt printing machinery at all ;-).
But you see, printing in-house is not necessarily the best option for everyone.
Also, printing your own Tshirts may be the right option for you a bit further down the line, but it might not be the best option for you right now.
Pros of printing your own Tshirts
- Lower costs & higher margin – Maybe, but not necessarily
- Faster leadime, possibly
- More control
- print on demand
Lower Costs? Well, Maybe.
Yes, printing in-house may lower your costs, and therefore increase your profit margins, but this depends.
It depends on whether your budget restricts you from getting involved in lower cost garment decoration methods.
For example, many people creating their own designs, and building their own brand, would not be getting setup with screen printing, with a multi-head automatic screen printing carousel.
Many would be restricted to lower cost setups such as inkjet transfers, laser transfers, or contour cut vinyl, which are likely to be much higher per Tshirt than the Tshirt printing cost would be if they were to outsource to a professional Tshirt screen printing setup with the best equipment.
Faster Leadtime, possibly.
If we are comparing apples with apples, then yes, you’ll achieve faster lead times in house, as you’ll be the only client, you won’t be in a queue.
But, of course, this depends on whether your budget would allow you to use the same Tshirt printing methods, and the same level of equipment, that the Tshirt printers you could outsource to, may be using.
For example, a bulk Tshirt printer using state of the art direct to garment Tshirt printers, or screen printing using a semi automatic multi head carousel, would churn though an order for 100 Tshirts in the time it would take most people to eat lunch ;-).
So depending on the workload of the printer at the time you contact them, which will usually depend on what time of year it is, it’s likely that your Tshirts will be ready faster, than it would be if you were printing the same quantity of T-shirts using contour cut vinyl, or self weed white toner laser transfer printing, for instance.
More Control.
If you’re printing in house, it gives you complete control over the process. No one cares as much about your brand as you do, it’s fair to say that no one is going to put the same amount of effort into ensuring that your designs are absolutely perfect, as you are.
Having said that, it’s also fair to say that an experienced Tshirt printer will have more knowledge and experience, and may be able to achieve exactly what you were looking for.
With all that said, if you’re still sure that you need to be printing in house – below are the various printing methods you could look at using to print your garments and other items. If you’re interested in finding out more about each process including the best machinery for each process, just click on the links below to find out more about each method.
Inkjet transfers.
This is one of the lowest entry level processes, in terms of setup costs. All you need is a heat press, an inkjet printer, and inkjet transfer paper – plus a contour cutter if you’re wanting to print onto dark garments.
CMYK laser transfers
The setup cost is generally slightly higher with CMYK laser transfer printing, but not massively so, maybe a couple hundred dollars more based on the price of a laser printer vs the cost of an inkjet printer. There’s a wide range of different transfer media available for CMYK laser transfer, including for hard items such as wood, glass, ceramics and even candles.
Contour cut heat transfer vinyl
This isn’t a printing method as such, it involves cutting out text, numbers & designs from sheets, or rolls of colored Tshirt vinyl, with the use of a contour cutter, to be heat pressed onto the garment. It’s a popular method particularly for text and numbers. It’s also fine for simple designs, but just keep in mind that the more detailed the design, the more time consuming and somewhat tedious weeding out there is to do.
Dye Sublimation Printing
This is a brilliant process for a wide range of giftware products, and it is also good for Tshirts and other garments, but with a couple of major drawbacks in terms of fabric type and colour.
Direct to Garment Printing
Direct to garment printers, or “DTG” printers, can be a great option, if you have the budget for it. Direct to garment refers to printers that are made to print directly onto the Tshirt, you’ll still need to cure the print after, with a heat press, as with most Tshirt printing processes.
Tshirt Screen Printing
One of the most popular methods for bulk Tshirt printing. It’s very difficult to compete with Tshirt screen printing for cost, with other Tshirt printing processes. Starting printing via screen though isn’t quite as straight forward as setting up to print Tshirts via digital methods, or vinyl. You’ll need a bit more space, for screen making/developing, screen drying, the screen printing itself, curing the prints, a wash off bay – and it’s a more industrial and a messier process.
