# Time needed to make 60 shirts vinyl vs screen printing



## PURI

Can anyone compare what is the time frame to make 60 shirts with vinyl vs screen printing. It's a single color white shirt with dark color design. Thanks.


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## numbercruncher

Did a lot of time studies in my day, screen printing a dark one color print on 60 white shirts - ten to 15 minutes depending on size of image -


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## PURI

numbercruncher said:


> Did a lot of time studies in my day, screen printing a dark one color print on 60 white shirts - ten to 15 minutes depending on size of image -


That's sounds quick!  
What kind of equipment? I don't have anything fancy available.


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## smacity

Well you need to print film positive, burn screen, washout screen, dry screen, align image and print. If you are half decent with screen printing then it would be more cost effective in material and time.

Steve


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## PatWibble

A lot depends on the complexity of the design. Unless it is very simple to weed, you are looking at a couple of hours minimum to do sixty with vinyl.
Screen printing time depends on your set-up If you are doing everything yourself and printing using a small manual then you have to allow 30 - 60 min for the printing ( depending on if you have a conveyor or flash dryer), plus time to print the film, make the screen, setup the press, clean down and reclaim after. Probably still a two hour job.

Material cost will be part of your decision.

I have done larger jobs on vinyl in the past. In did a 50 piece job recently, five letter company name and simple logo that came to 3" x 7". Vinyl cost £10, screen making, tape, chemicals and ink would be about the same. I charged an extra £1 per shirt because I used vinyl...

Another thing to consider - are you likely to get a repeat order on the same design? If you are then maybe the screen is the way to go.


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## phatdaddy

Screen printing is the only way to go! I can do 60 one colour in about 20 min, plus 20-30min for screen setup and reclaim.


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## splathead

Not to mention screen printing would be a fraction of the cost vs vinyl.


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## djque

Damn I must be slow 60 shirts one color in 15 minutes & 20 Minutes.


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## rastoma

PURI said:


> Can anyone compare what is the time frame to make 60 shirts with vinyl vs screen printing. It's a single color white shirt with dark color design. Thanks.



You don't say exactly how big the design is and how intricate it is. How long does it take you to cut and weed just one of them?

Quantity 60 is too much for vinyl. If your handy with a basic saw and can screw together some 2x4's you can find plans online to make a simple 1 color printing press for around $30 or less. You'll then have to invest in screens, chemicals and ink. But after the initial purchase you can print 1 color shirts for around 5-10 cents, depending on size of the design.

Vinyl is great for a handful of shirts. For 60 shirts and if you don't want to buy the supplies yet, just get some plastisol transfers made. A lot less work and more profit. Though you'll have 5-6 days lead time waiting on them to get printed and shipped so for rush jobs they are not good. 

If the design is no bigger than 15"x15" you can get 60 transfers for around $40 shipped from F&M. That's 67 cents and 7 seconds of work per shirt. Way better than vinyl.


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## Viper Graphics

Ahem.....20 minutes?  Maybe if you print and throw them on the floor? .....do you dry them?  If I run my conveyor dryer that fast they will come out the back still wet. . . . .maybe I need to turn the heat waaaaay up?


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## LostboyTNT

When I get rolling, screen printing a simple dark on light garment, I can easily run 60 shirts, in less than a half hour on a manual press, but you also have to account for the time to print the transparency, burn the screen, wash it out, dry it, tape it, align it, test print, THEN run production, then cleanup. 

If you ask me, unless you're only doing a handful of shirts, or they are different (numbers, names, sizes, etc..) It's always better to screen print them..

I know even when I'm rolling, it still takes me minutes per shirt, to vinyl cut, (and weed, and press) Plus depending on the size of the print, and the complexity of the weed, it could take even longer, and probably quite a bit more expensive. 

screen print cost and use
transparency
emulsion
tape
ink
cleanup and reclaim chemicals
electricity to run dryer
cost: less than $5 - 
time start to finish: 1-1.5 hrs

Vinyl cut cost and use
heat press Vinyl 
electricity to run press (and cutter)
cost: $25 +/- (depending on size of image/vinyl used)
time start to finish: 3-4 hrs (depending on complexity of weeded cut)

I think we have a clear winner


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## PatWibble

LostboyTNT said:


> I think we have a clear winner


Not necessarily. 
60+/- pieces is probably the tipping point. After that the speed of screen printing is going to take over. But when all is said and done, everything boils down to the _most profitable _use of your time, not how quickly you get the job done.

Customer preference, selling price, size and complexity all come into it.

On a simple logo or text design time is similar, which brings everything down to vinyl usage. 
Screen printing is a disjointed process, so 1.5 hrs is spread over a longer period. Even if you have a screen ready to burn, you still have to account for the time taken to re coat the screen for the next job. 
Vinyl is a start to finish job, half of it sat down at the bench with a cup of coffee and a Danish. You can get 40 logos from a metre of vinyl, or 30 3" x 8" text/logos. So vinyl usage is 1.5 - 2 metres ( £9 - £12). Anything bigger then the numbers swing back to screen printing ( unless selling price dictates otherwise).

Working on my costs-
Screen
Emulsion, Film, tape, chemicals & Ink £3
Power £0.5
Cost of processing waste water £1
Cost of hazardous waste disposal (rags, solvents etc)£1
Total £5.50 + £108 (60 t-shirts @£1.80) = £113.5
Selling price £240 ([email protected]£4) = *£126.50 profit.*

Vinyl
2m vinyl £12
power £0.50
waste disposal £1
Total £13.50 + £108 ( t-shirts) = £121.50
selling price £300 ( 60 @ £5) =* £178.50 profit.

*Even if you use a full size print, and the vinylgoes up to £60, the total cost goes up to £169.50, giving £130.50 profit. I printed some 'FIRST AID' t -shirts, with a large cross underneath - weeding was easy, vinyl cost £1 per garment, which was charged for.

The trick is to make the customer believe that vinyl is a 'premium' option, and charging slightly more for it. (' Nicer finish,but takes longer and the materials cost more....').


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## DrivingZiggy

I just stumbled across a Stahl's video tackling this question. Of course it's going to be (at least a little bit) slanted toward their product(s). But from their calculations, the point where screen printing becomes the more economical/efficient way to go is at ~48. Here's the vid: Screen Printing vs. Heat Transfers: Cost, Time, Profit


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## abetterimage

+1 for screen print. We won't print less than 12 on the screen press. Below that we do vinyl or DTG. But we charge WAY more for vinyl work. I hate cutting, weeding, pressing. I'd much rather screen print, and believe it to be more profitable in the long run. Ink is much cheaper than vinyl.
Most of our vinyl work is names and numbers on sports shirts, where each shirt is customized. Vinyl makes sense for that.


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## djque

Ok so I just finished doing a 1 color 60 tshirt order on my 4 color 2 station press took me about 1.5hrs just to print them.another 1hr for the previous design time and film I had already printed.so the first time it was 2 hrs this time it was 1.5hr. This was print flash print flash cure on pallet. I didn't use my conveyor.


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