# Are my designs Screen printable?? Please help



## pietran2 (Jul 24, 2008)

Hello, I am new to this and much like many of you I am in the process of creating a t-shirt company. I have all of my designs, 10 shirts total, for a "first batch". I want to print 10 of each for a total of 100 shirts (cost?) and I want them screen printed, preferably water based because i have read the colors are more vibrant. The only thing is that I do not know if my work is screen printable due to; colors (between 3-5 colors in each) amount of detail, size of image (takes up the whole front, not on the sleeves, neck, or back though) etc. I also do not know how to attach images to this thread or I would show you. Also, any suggestions of where I could have my shirts screen printed or what steps I should take from here is greatly appreciated. Thank you!


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## R1Lover (Jun 7, 2008)

You will need to post them up in order to get an answer really, it's tough to say without seeing it.


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## pietran2 (Jul 24, 2008)

How do I post the images? They are all photoshop psd format.


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## MR.NEED ANSWERS (Jul 14, 2008)

pietran2 said:


> How do I post the images? They are all photoshop psd format.


 
im not a pro at this ... but im not sure but i believe there is a link beside ( preview post ) button that says = Need to Upload an Image? or maybe you can just click here ...where its blue at....


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## Catbox (Oct 3, 2007)

you can convert them to jpeg/png or gif to be seen on theses boards... as far as i know there is no way to see a .psd without opening it up...


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## pshawny (Feb 27, 2008)

You would have to "save for web" under the file menu and choose jpeg.


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## pietran2 (Jul 24, 2008)

I dunno if this works?


]ImageShack® - Image Hosting










]ImageShack® - Image Hosting







[/URL]


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## pietran2 (Jul 24, 2008)

Yeah! if you click on the blue text above (the two image shack links) you can check out 2 of my hopeful shirts. Let me know what you think as well as if they are screen printable, and what you think it would cost.


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## R1Lover (Jun 7, 2008)

yes that is screen printable for sure... and about the only way you can do it too.


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## pietran2 (Jul 24, 2008)

Also I am curious as to where or what company could screen print the images i posted above. If anyone knows of a reputable print making company that does this kind of t-shirt work please let me know.


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## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

best bet is look in your yellow pages for somebody near you. call them and ask to stop by to see some of their work. if they are any good you'll know. your designs are cool but not that difficult to screenprint. bring a hard copy of your stuff and see what they say, get a price then shop around. depending on where you live there are probably more than one in your area. -peace.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

pietran2 said:


> Also I am curious as to where or what company could screen print the images i posted above. If anyone knows of a reputable print making company that does this kind of t-shirt work please let me know.


It will cost a LOT of money to print just 10 of designs like that. Lots of colors (5+ ink colors per design), all over/oversized prints.

Those types of prints are not easy to do, so they come at a premium.

You would be probably paying over $20-30 each to print those in such small quantities, maybe way more when you include screen fees. That's if you could actually find a screen printer to do a run that small.

The pricing breaks that screen printers give you only come PER design, not on the TOTAL ORDER. That's because their setup costs and process for each screen and film is PER DESIGN. So they only recoup their costs when they run a LOT of the SAME DESIGN. When they recoup their costs in the setup of that complicated design by running many of the same design, then they can pass those savings on to you.


In much larger quantities (300 pieces plus PER design) you may get some decent pricing under $10 (maybe). In quantities of 1000 pieces, then your pricing would definitely come down under $10 each.

I don't want to be a downer, but it's also good to be realistic about what to expect when contacting screen printers about these types of specialty jobs.

The designs you see out there that look like that are usually done by the 1000's by big companies, so they have the luxury of doing complicated prints and unique placements without worrying too much about costs.

If you are willing to print 100+ per design, then there's a thread here in the forums with all over printers that can do those designs. Even though they are just "oversized", you would need the same type of printer to handle it: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/screen-printing/t8891.html


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## pietran2 (Jul 24, 2008)

WOW, thank you rodney. Very informative and extremely helpful. I had a feeling my designs would cost a lot because of the size. I will check out the 'all over printing sources' for more info. Also, what does it usually cost for a printer to prep and set up the screen/print making process? Also, do you pay the set up fee once and they keep the print on file so I can order more of that particular shirt, or do you pay them each time they have to prep a screen to make the shirt? Im a newb and appreciate all of the help, Thanks again.


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