# vinyl cutter cost per shirt



## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

I am considering buying a vinyl cutter for printing dark color t-shirts. Does anyone know how much the average cost per printing a one color full front design on a t-shirt is with this method?

It is hard to tell, becuase when looking at the price of vinyl, websites tell you how much it costs per roll, but Im not sure how much is needed for a full front design.

Thanks for the help.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

11x11 or so is probably a good estimate for a large print; this will cover a good portion of a shirt for most sizes. If you really want a FULL print, you might consider as high as 13x17, and probably only for larger shirt sizes. A normal text-only shirt would probably be around 11x5.

Take whatever estimates you can make here and divide that by the size of the whole roll. I'd kinda be interested in the answer too (though I haven't seriously looking at getting a cutter, yet).


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## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

Its sold in 15" x 5yd rolls. From TLM they cost 36.75 . It think you can get it cheaper other places though. If you use a piece of vinyl that is 15" x 12" you would be able to get 15 full print shirts a roll. 36.75 / 15 would be 2.45 per shirt. That seems reasonable (I guess)... That would be about 3.75 for a printed dark shirt. I think you can charge more for dark t-shirts though. Anyone know a place that is cheaper for vinyl rolls? Is there a particular type of vinyl that you use for t-shirt transfers, or can you buy any roll of vinyl?


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## MarkSD (Aug 13, 2005)

Yeah, you could probably find cheaper vinyl but, you're not going to find the quality of Thermoflex from TLM.

As far as pricing figure out your cost per sq. inch. Include the s/h of the vinyl. If I figured right it costs me about 0.07-0.08 cents to get a 15"x5yd roll. Then mark it up to what you think it is worth for you to weed it and press it.

Mark in SD


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## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

where do you buy vanyl for cheaper?


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## lawaughn (Jul 5, 2005)

What do u mean vinyl on a shirt? Does anyone have examples?


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## Bougie (Jul 12, 2005)

Is cut vinyl the same thing as what Spreadshop calls "flex print?"
Also, can you get the flock version of that just like Spreadshop?
Spreadshop made it sound like they're the only ones who can do
flock print, but I doubt it.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

lawaughn: Vinyl transfers are just that - vinyl cut to a design, then transfered to a t-shirt with a heat press. It'll feel a little bit stiff, but not really in a bad way; some people prefer them to a screen print, even. 

Vinyl and Flock are essentially the same; flock is just felt-like (so it has a smooth, fur-like feel so to speak) instead of flat. Flex is along the same lines too, I believe, but I think there are some differences...


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## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

Its like the vinyl numbers on the back of sports uniforms.


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## belfastfumanchu (Aug 19, 2005)

Can Cutters only cut out simple designs?
Or could a cutter cut out a design like the one on this shirt for sale on ebay here? (link below)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sonic-Youth-D...339764542QQcategoryZ53043QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## buddha (Aug 14, 2005)

belfastfumanchu said:


> Can Cutters only cut out simple designs?
> Or could a cutter cut out a design like the one on this shirt for sale on ebay here? (link below)
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sonic-Youth-Dirty-Tour-Shirt-Nirvana-Mundhoney_W0QQitemZ8339764542QQcategoryZ53043QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Cutters mostly only cut simple one color designs such as text or line art. Now you can get a vinyl plotter/cutter which actually prints an image on vinyl then cuts the contouur of the image out. So a plotter/cutter could do the image that you posted.

The machine cost some money though. Depends how deep you want to get into it if it's worth it or not.


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## AeonTees (Jul 9, 2005)

jdr8271 said:


> I am considering buying a vinyl cutter for printing dark color t-shirts. Does anyone know how much the average cost per printing a one color full front design on a t-shirt is with this method?
> 
> It is hard to tell, becuase when looking at the price of vinyl, websites tell you how much it costs per roll, but Im not sure how much is needed for a full front design.
> 
> Thanks for the help.


Hi JDR,

Let me know if you go ahead and invest in a vinyl cutter. I'd be more than happy to place an order (and more on an ongoing basis if it's cost effective) from you once you get everything worked out. That way you can make a little money back on your investment.

Cheers,
Chris.


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## belfastfumanchu (Aug 19, 2005)

What technique would say was used to create the design on this t shirt ? (same link as one i posted above) 
link
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sonic-Youth-Dirty-Tour-Shirt-Nirvana-Mundhoney_W0QQitemZ8339764542QQcategoryZ53043QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## quilterk8 (Sep 10, 2005)

I wander through here ocassionally, but usually just have time to read a few messages. This one is one I have some experience with... I answered the "how it was made question" on another list, so won't address that again. I agree ThermoFlex vinyl is about the best you can get. Easy to work with and a decent hand on the garment. Not stiff or shiny. (Of course if you want stiff and shiny, there are other very good brands available.)

As for price, they tend to be very close across the board at all the wholesalers. BeaconGraphics has free shipping on orders over $100 which helps. I figure about .50 per inch retail/applied - but that's only a guideline...

I buy a quite a bit - and with a pretty significant minimum I negotiated a better price through my local wholesaler. I do mostly local orders, but also cut for many on another list I'm on so hopefully I can keep up on the minimum, ggg.

Kathy


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## julian_coronel (Oct 10, 2005)

Hi to everybody. I'm kinda new in this and i would like you to help me. I want to start making some T-Shirts for myself but I really don't know all about it. I'm gonna by the cutter but still I don't know what kind of vinyl to buy or where to find it. I've been told that the one I should use is different from the one that I can make stickers with, I've also been told that it's called vinyl film that's the one i Should use. I know what i have to do with Illustrator... everything related to the design i want to print (in this case cut). Please I hope that you guys can help me with this issue

Thanks

JC


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