# best USA made blanks for DTG & why?



## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

i'm in the process of planning to start a tree hugger themed DTG business and want to use US made tees instead of cost cutting chinese blanks. there are more manufacturers than i imagined. 

if all things are equal, i'd rather get the cheapest blanks possible, but on that's a couple dollars more expensive offers a much better print surface and ink retention, then i'd go with that as i'm keen on offering the absolutely best product possible. if it's $8+ blanks, then i'll just have to raise my prices to the $20 mark i really don't want to hit if possible.

what US made blanks have you tried that you like the best, and why?
price?
fabric quality?
durability?

i imagine that MOST printers tend to go with the cheapest tees, or brand recognition like hanes and fruit of the loom, neither of which is actuallt US made anymore.

any opinions on the matter are greatly appreciated


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

for what it's worth, i'm most interested in* bayside* and *jensen* for the $5ish prices followed by $8* eagle*


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

bentcycle said:


> i'm in the process of planning to start a tree hugger themed DTG business and want to use US made tees instead of cost cutting chinese blanks. there are more manufacturers than i imagined.
> 
> if all things are equal, i'd rather get the cheapest blanks possible, but on that's a couple dollars more expensive offers a much better print surface and ink retention, then i'd go with that as i'm keen on offering the absolutely best product possible. if it's $8+ blanks, then i'll just have to raise my prices to the $20 mark i really don't want to hit if possible.
> 
> ...


Very few blanks actually come from China.....Most are from Mexico, Thailand or Central America.....

As far as using US made blanks.....IMO you will go broke very quickly....While clients may indicate they have "ideals" as soon as they have to get out their chequebook, those ideals disappear...


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## Smalzstein (Jul 22, 2008)

royster13 said:


> Very few blanks actually come from China.....Most are from Mexico, Thailand or Central America.....
> 
> As far as using US made blanks.....IMO you will go broke very quickly....While clients may indicate they have "ideals" as soon as they have to get out their chequebook, those ideals disappear...


Sad but it's true. And hipsters are dying out (finally) so you will lose a lot of customers.


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

hey. i'm a hipster doofus, and my MARKET is fellow hipdoos. printing tees isn't a mere money making scheme to me, it's a small way i can advertise technology that can help save this planet from dying, namely bicycling.

my motives are atypical, otherwise, i'd just do the down & dirt cheap plastisol thing. i'm still not keen on having to get my inks from dupont for that matter

that i'm doing the exact opposite of MOST printers here is part of my niche with virtually no competition. thanks for inadvertantly reminding me of the wisdom behind it.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

bentcycle said:


> hey. i'm a hipster doofus, and my MARKET is fellow hipdoos. printing tees isn't a mere money making scheme to me, it's a small way i can advertise technology that can help save this planet from dying, namely bicycling.
> 
> my motives are atypical, otherwise, i'd just do the down & dirt cheap plastisol thing. i'm still not keen on having to get my inks from dupont for that matter
> 
> that i'm doing the exact opposite of MOST printers here is part of my niche with virtually no competition. thanks for inadvertantly reminding me of the wisdom behind it.


If you do not want to make money and you have a "boatload" of cash to subsidize your business, you will do well...Good luck....


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## Smalzstein (Jul 22, 2008)

Bicycling saving this planet from dying.. now thas a good one.


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

well... so far, the best advice i've gotten on the subject comes from an old PM i'd forgotten about trying to find one that i THINK veriefies that "image armor" is the best pretreatment as i can't seem to find verification on that with keyword searches, but for any other hidoos looking to go the local/organic route, here's something that might help...



> I also am hoping to use shirts made in the USA... I'm very big on that. The most highly recommended shirts for DTG that I've come across are by a company called *SpectraUSA* (www.spectratees.com)... their model #3100 are excellent (soft, smooth, ringspun, good construction and reputed to produce an excellent print on DTG). I've been impressed. The 3100s are partially made in the USA (the yarn is spun and dyed in California, but sewn in Baja Mexico) with a bunch of colors available. They do offer a 100% made in USA model (31 USA) same quality, but only in black and white and a little more expensive.


funny coincidence that i'm planning on getting a spectra 3000 DTG printer


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## limey (Apr 6, 2006)

Aim high and if made in USA is your thing then go for it.
I sell my brand shirts which are custom died to my specs and printed by myself I sell typically for $32 a go.
I have a simple business model I produce the best quality I can and if people think it's to much then find go to Walmart cause my time is too valuable. Stuck with your goals and values 7 billion out there to sell to.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

limey said:


> Aim high and if made in USA is your thing then go for it.


What are you "aiming" at?.....I believe the theory that "If you sell to the masses, you eat with the classes"....


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## limey (Apr 6, 2006)

Aim of following your preset goals, be it top end designs, top end printing or USA made shirts.
Never heard the masses saying before but I like to hear new ones Royster


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## ProArtShirts (May 3, 2010)

bentcycle said:


> for what it's worth, i'm most interested in* bayside* and *jensen* for the $5ish prices followed by $8* eagle*


Bayside have coarse feel, and the head hole seems a bit small from my experience.


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

Q:


> What are you "aiming" at?.....I believe the theory that "If you sell to the masses, you eat with the classes"....


A: tree huggers have this saying... _"think global, act local"_

besides buying local made shirts being more ecologically friendly as they don't need to be shipped from whatever other country everyone else buys their blanks, it supports the local economy at a time when greedy corpoartions farm EVERYTHING out to asia, india and mexico etc. for higher profit margins. that totally goes against my personal hipdoo ethics.

i would like to also contribute to improving MY COUNTRY's economy in my own little way. i'm quite sure a lot of my customers will appreciate that sentiment though i never though of myself as as a rabid "patriot".

part of my mission statement is doing exactly the opposite of what greedy amoral corporations are doing while raping mother earth

when aliens finally land on earth, the final tombstone, carved by robots, will read _"i made a lot of money!"_

another hipdoo saying i take to heart is _"people before profits"_

greed is fugly fugly fugly as far as i'm concerned. i'm fighting as best i can with my _"eff you gasholes"_ themed shi_rts_ i'm not in this to get rich either. if i can make enough money between making tees, doing graphic and web design and working a part time job to rent a house, buy a nice stereo and CDs once in a while, eat whatever i feel like cooking, and keep my bicycle(s) running, i'm happy.



> Bayside have coarse feel, and the head hole seems a bit small from my experience.


NOW we're talkin'! thanks a bunch for that LITERAL heads up! hahahahaha! i'll add that note to my research. coarse weave sounds like a bad print surface, and i too hate small head holes. i want my customers to love their shirts the same way i've always loved every mountain design tee i've bought


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## ProArtShirts (May 3, 2010)

I like Gildan for quality and they are made in Haiti primarily, at least the last tags I looked at.
Personally I'm pretty happy with anything NOT made in China.


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

haiti could really use the money i'm sure. they are one of the worst off financially countries in the world and that's not even counting the aids epidemic AND environmental disasters.

i still want to be able to advertise _"100% cotton & 100% made in USA"_ though. the US economy is hurting. i should know. i decided to start the vocational regabilitation program i'm in at first to look for a job after wasting a month and a half sending out resumes and filling out applications and not so much as getting a single interview, even at freakin' target!


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## bentcycle (May 1, 2014)

as to the comment that made in USA cotton tees are a "dead market", my market research for my business plan shows the exact OPPOSITE. made in USA and organic cotton (in particular) are fast growing markets. i'm glad to see that environmentalism is catching on. people that commute by bycycle are up 50% from 2006 too i think, so that's ANOTHER growing market.

it takes a cyclist to know what another cyclist wants even if the "walmarts of teeshirts" guys saturate the market with thousands of uninspired designs.


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## MZDEELO (Oct 14, 2006)

Spectra USA | Apparel Manufacturing Company

They have shirts that are entirely made and manufactured in the US

the rest of the catalog has shirts that were manufactured (knitted/dyed) in the US but were cut and sewn in mexico.

i recommend using their 3100 series tshirts.


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