# What do i need to print my own heat transfers



## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

hello all, im new to this site, and I am toying with the idea of starting an online t shirt business. ( as im sure most of you are or have ) I just need to know how and where to buy a printer that will print heat transfers so i can put them on a t shirt. The info out there is overwhelming. im not trying to spend a fortune, just need a printer and paper and ink obviously that i can use to print heat transfers that i upload. not sure if i need special software or not, was hoping you fine folks could help. thanks in advance!!!!


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

If your trying to start small all you need is a heat press transfers an inkjet printer I use the epson workforce 545 it works great and was about $80 at walmart and you will need a cameo cutter to cut your transfers unless you will cut by hand

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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

thanks so much for the response!! is it hard to cut by hand? i cant just print the image and then press? do u recommend a certain cutter? sorry for the newb questions lol


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

You can just print and press but if you don't cut your design out the paper will leave clear film on the shirt I personally didn't like it so I brought a cutter its called the cameo silhouette 

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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

You can always cut by hand but its time consuming and if you make a mistake you just wasted ink and a transfer 

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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

ok awesome. i seriously appreciate your input, thank you very much


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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

how about for paper and ink? im assuming obviously that i need special paper and a certain ink? thanks again


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

I use durabrite ultra ink but you could use standard printer ink but the colors wont look as good and you will need 2 types of transfers 1 for light garments and opaque paper for dark garments. I use Red Grid inkjet transfer for the light and Jet dark for dark garments 

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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

ok great, ill def look into that. is there an ink package that comes with all the colors?


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

Yes you can get a pack with all the colors except black you have to by black separate


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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

ok thanks AGAIN. there are a lot of types of transfer paper, any certain ones you recommend over others?


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

Red Grid

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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

Ok.duh you said that in your.previous post sorry it was.late.last night lol. How.are the transfer papers at pro world I was interested in the spend 299$ get heat press.for $99 deal.what do.you think


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

I have never done business with them but i think thats a horrible deal you have to spend $299 in transfers and then pay $99 for the heat press thats $400 and what about shipping? is it free? Either way my advice would be to check out craigslist for a heat press in your area thats how i found mine and its was brand new in the box for $300 and plus gas to go pick it up the guy even showed me how to operate it and gave me some free transfers but to buy transfers i would suggest Transfer Paper, Heat Press, Heat Transfer Vinyl, Sublimation - Coastal Business they have 100 sheet pack of light Red Grid transfers for $50. You should try and spend as least money as possible starting off .


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Arthur is the heat getting to you?.....The Pro-World deal is a heck of a good one in my mind...


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

Lol No one needs $300 worth of heat transfers just starting out and plus idk how much shipping is on pro world but shipping a heat press has to be expensive they are heavy


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Yes but they do need a heat press....Pro World sells lot of these packages and 300.00 in transfer is not very many...I do some events where I sell a couple hundred shirts in a day (stock transfers)....


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

Well yes if someone is planning on solely basing there business on heat pressed shirts i could see how this could be beneficial but when i brought my heat press i was buying so i coulod make enough money to buy a decent screen printing press so having all those transfers left over would have been a waste cause all i use my heat press for now is curing my shirts (no one wants heat pressed shirts when you can screen print them) but yes if you only wanna heat press are plan on doing it for long go for it cause the more transfers the better


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

"no one wants heat pressed shirts when you can screen print them"......Well I sell way more heat pressed shirts (plastisol transfers) than screen printed shirts so your comment certainly does not apply to me.....And I also heat press lots of names and numbers for folks that use a local screen printer who for some reason chooses not to do names & numbers.....

In any event, if a person can save 150.00 to 200.00 on a press maybe even if the have no use for all the transfers, they purchase, they may still be ahead of the game......In the alternative, they can sell what is surplus to them on ebay...


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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

lol thanks for the info guys. i probably dont need all those transfers TO START. especially since ill be printing a lot of my own. besides the heat press dont i need some sort of matt or non stick sheet? 

EDIT: found the answer to that one lol.


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

Teflon sheet


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## calhtech (Feb 4, 2012)

arthurkay said:


> You can just print and press but if you don't cut your design out the paper will leave clear film on the shirt I personally didn't like it so I brought a cutter its called the cameo silhouette
> 
> Sent from my DROIDX using T-Shirt Forums


How well does the Cameo working for Transfer cutouts?


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

royster13 said:


> "no one wants heat pressed shirts when you can screen print them"......Well I sell way more heat pressed shirts (plastisol transfers) than screen printed shirts so your comment certainly does not apply to me.....And I also heat press lots of names and numbers for folks that use a local screen printer who for some reason chooses not to do names & numbers.....
> 
> In any event, if a person can save 150.00 to 200.00 on a press maybe even if the have no use for all the transfers, they purchase, they may still be ahead of the game......In the alternative, they can sell what is surplus to them on ebay...


You sell more heat presed shirts because thats what you structure your business on and thats the only reason you sell more heat pressed shirts anyone who has ever screened printer properly knows the quality is 10x better then a heat pressed shirt especially after the shirt has been washed . This is why the people who go to your local screen printer only come to you for the service their screen printer turns down and not to you to begin with people who know the difference between the two always choose screen print as their first choice


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

10x better....I doubt it......


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

calhtech said:


> How well does the Cameo working for Transfer cutouts?


It works pretty good of course there are a few occasional problems with fine lines and small text. Some times it cuts them out and sometimes the blade chews them up right off the paper.


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

royster13 said:


> 10x better....I doubt it......


Lol ok not 10x but you get the point


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

What point?......


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

This guy...


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## adewale (Jul 17, 2012)

Thank you for the info! noted.


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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

lol no drama come on now. what is the difference between screen printing and using a heat press? i thought u recommended me to get a heat press? maybe because im new to this? ordered a heat press, epson 545 and teflon sheet. also bought about 20 transfers. just need the cutter and some t shirts now haha


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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

also, since im starting with just white tees do i still need a cutter? thanks


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## arthurkay (Aug 3, 2012)

I didn't recommend a heat press you asked what you needed to heat press transfers. Right? But a heat press is good to start off with that's how I started screen printing requires a little more skill money and time but your shirts will be high quality but I screen printing press could be something you can work towards because they are more expensive and yes the clear film from the transfers is still going to show on white shirts the only reason you wouldn't need a cutter is if your design covers the entire transfer sheet

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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

arthurkay said:


> I didn't recommend a heat press you asked what you needed to heat press transfers. Right? But a heat press is good to start off with that's how I started screen printing requires a little more skill money and time but your shirts will be high quality but I screen printing press could be something you can work towards because they are more expensive and yes the clear film from the transfers is still going to show on white shirts the only reason you wouldn't need a cutter is if your design covers the entire transfer sheet
> 
> Sent from my DROIDX using T-Shirt Forums


Correct. My apologies. Hoping the quality is still good using a heat press . So much to learn still lol. Thanks again


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

The discussion of heat transfers always gets blurry because of the various kinds of heat transfers....If you are printing them yourself most often they will be ink jet transfers....Either you like ink jet transfers or you do not.....And for me, I am in the "do not like them" camp......I do not think they have any place in a business to business selling situation because in my mind they are not of an acceptable quality.....


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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

royster13 said:


> The discussion of heat transfers always gets blurry because of the various kinds of heat transfers....If you are printing them yourself most often they will be ink jet transfers....Either you like ink jet transfers or you do not.....And for me, I am in the "do not like them" camp......I do not think they have any place in a business to business selling situation because in my mind they are not of an acceptable quality.....


Thank you for the input. Most of my business will be transfers that I purchase online. Some here n there will be done w inkjet printer. Why is the quality so bad on these? Besides turning short.inside.out.on.first wash and drying.properly after, are there any tips to improve quality? Thank.you


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

If I knew why they are so bad, I would invent a new system, patent it and get rich.....Sorry for the "smart ***" comment but I really have no idea why they are the way they are.....

And as far as washing instructions, they are kind of useless as most folks pay no attention.....All they care about is that when the shirt starts to look bad it is your fault....And I choose not to go down this road.....And if you read through the forums here, you will see many others that pick my side versus the other side....


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## chaz517 (Aug 5, 2012)

Lol its all.good thanks for the input . What method.do.most people use then?


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## valleyboy_1 (Jan 23, 2010)

Arthur, I think you got it twisted. Plastisol transfers ARE screen printed transfers. The only difference is instead of pressing directly on the garment, you press on release paper to be applied via Heat press. And the heat press is a vital to to any print shop. Try screen printing caps, you'll be investing in a heat press in no time. And Chaz when you get a vinyl cutter, you'll fall in love with what you can do with it. However, the cameo, which is what i'm starting with, only has a 12" cutting width. Most people start with a 24" vinyl cutter if they decide to explore this method of printing. Good luck!


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