# Step One - should I use a print on demand service or get t-shirts screen printed?



## Ownaholic (Mar 27, 2009)

Alright, recently I've submitted some T-Shirt Designs to some companies and have received some encouraging feedback.
I've decided to start my own "company", if you could even call it that, however I'll be using a fulfillment company for most of the work.

I've done my homework and narrowed the choices down to either PrintMojo, or Printfection; both obviously greatly different.
My aim is to create a medium-sized company with my own domain, my own website template (Which I can design), as well as something I have yet to see anywhere other than Threadless: an interactive Forum for customers and staff (basically me) to receive feedback, help pick the best designs to put up for sale, etc.
My theory is that the key to keeping customers coming back, is to lock them into a fun Forum where they can have their say in what designs should be put up. (I would post up regular design possibilities, and they would vote for a winner to be made into a buyable shirt)

However, this is only a "side-job" dream. I want to use a fulfillment site to take care of all the time-devouring areas, and still make a decent amount of income monthly. (Enough income to juggle 50 or so designs while putting a few bucks in my pocket every month)

I WANT to use PrintMojo for my designs, but the starting-up process (hence the topic title) is where I'm having trouble.
Financially, Printfection seems like a better option to get started, because I don't need to put money up-front. 
HOWEVER, if I use Printfection, then I can't really advertise for the sake of confusing customers when I get enough money and switch over to a new domain url and work with PrintMojo.

These are my current potential start-up options:

1) Create a forum/custom site/custom url using PrintMojo, and advertise the hell out of it, hoping to reel in some fans who will stay until I get my first shirt out for print. Once I get over 30-40 people on the Forums who say that they'll buy the shirt, then I'll order a bulk of 24 of the first design and hope that the people follow-through.

2) Start a store at Printfection under a different name, don't advertise it locally, and try to get money to start off at PrintMojo.

3) Raise money by heat-pressing shirts with the old ironing method (which I have done in the past for my dead "band"), then try to sell them locally. (But I need advice on where to try selling them)

4) Start right off the bat and invest the $195 into PrintMojo for ONE design in ONE color and hope that I attract 24 people to buy them within the month while simultaneously advertising on myspace/facebook/twitter/word of mouth and gaining popularity on the forums.

--
Now, I'd like to do #4 out of all of those, however it's the riskiest method; because I've read up on how hard it can be for people to start off selling only one design and can take up to 2 months before you can even get enough money from the system to put up a second design. 

Obviously, my biggest issue is the financial aspect, and I want screen printing over anything else; I don't want to rip people off even if it means more of a struggle for me. Therefore my only option is PrintMojo.
My budget is essentially $200 to start; although there are some options I have to earn another $200 before I start. I am unemployed at the moment (I have a sure-hit job set up for the summer which will probably pay $10 an hour for 9-5 shifts, but right now I'm trying to finish my Senior year in High School)

I really need some advice on how to go about starting this right, because if I do it wrong, it could mean a loss of customer-trust, a loss of invested money, a loss of time, etc.

I need some Graphical advice too; as I need to know how to make a proper Hi-Res image with Photoshop CS3. Is Illustrator reccomended over CS3? 
Can somebody show me some guides in CS3 on how to take a photo, turn it 2D, and make it only use 2 colors? (therefore being more appropriate for a shirt)

I've whipped up a few quick designs which are getting relatively nice feedback in comparison to other submissions from other people

There are other designs I made listed below on that page.
I'd like to make them look more as though they are actually on the shirt, becuase I'm well-aware of the fact that with screen printing, they will not look like that.

Also, can anybody relay to me if I need a license in the state of Pennsylvania in order to market these shirts, or would that only apply to me if I don't use a Fulfillment company?

I'm also concerned about the slowness of PrintMojo; I signed up two days ago and they still haven't had a staff member "confirm" my application. I've also heard it can take up to 6 weeks for them to get an order of blanks ready.

As you can see, I've just wet my feet on the topic and need some second-opinions and suggestions on what action I need to take first.

Thank you so much for anybody who takes the time to help.

- Julian


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

*Re: Step One*



> HOWEVER, if I use Printfection, then I can't really advertise for the sake of confusing customers when I get enough money and switch over to a new domain url and work with PrintMojo.


I don't understand this part. Why couldn't you start out with PrintFection? They offer printing on dark shirts as well as a very brandable checkout process through their mybrand service.



> My budget is essentially $200 to start; although there are some options I have to earn another $200 before I start.


If your budget is $200, that only leaves you money for just printed t-shirts. That doesn't leave anything for marketing and advertising to get those t-shirts sold.



> I really need some advice on how to go about starting this right, because if I do it wrong, it could mean a loss of customer-trust, a loss of invested money, a loss of time, etc.


It seems like you've thought it out well and weighed your options. Now it's up to you to pick the option you feel most comfortable with 



> I need some Graphical advice too; as I need to know how to make a proper Hi-Res image with Photoshop CS3. Is Illustrator reccomended over CS3?
> Can somebody show me some guides in CS3 on how to take a photo, turn it 2D, and make it only use 2 colors? (therefore being more appropriate for a shirt)


There are all kinds of topics you can read where members have shared great tips and resources for which software they think is best and tutorials on how to design graphics. 

Here: best software related topics at T-Shirt Forums


And here: Graphics and Design Help - T-Shirt Forums



> Also, can anybody relay to me if I need a license in the state of Pennsylvania in order to market these shirts, or would that only apply to me if I don't use a Fulfillment company?


You may need to check with your local city laws on that one, as it can vary from town to town and state to state (sometimes county to county).

You could also search the forums for Pennsylvania or start a new topic with that as the title. Since not all members read every post, the folks from Pennsylvania with an answer may not see the post titled "step one" and know there's an answer they can contribute to.



> I'm also concerned about the slowness of PrintMojo; I signed up two days ago and they still haven't had a staff member "confirm" my application.


Usually the applications are approved the same day, but during higher volume times it can take a bit longer.



> I've also heard it can take up to 6 weeks for them to get an order of blanks ready.


That doesn't sound correct. Any delays on getting blank garments would come from the manufacturer or the wholesaler if the garments are out of stock. 

The standard turnaround time from the time you place your order from the time that the order is screen printed and ready to go is roughly 2-3 weeks.


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## Ownaholic (Mar 27, 2009)

*Re: Step One*



Rodney said:


> I don't understand this part. Why couldn't you start out with PrintFection? They offer printing on dark shirts as well as a very brandable checkout process through their mybrand service.


I worded that in an odd way, sorry. 
What I meant to ask is, if I start out with PrintFection and advertise it to my community/friends/online communities, then wouldn't they be confused once I switch over to PrintMojo due to the URL changes? (Remember, I want to have a tight community of people who are involved in the design selections, therefore I need them to be able to come back on a regular basis)
I was unable to find whether or not PrintFection offered the option to host your PF store on an external website; like PrintMojo. (Which is what I wanted to ask before) If they do, then I could just buy my domain and webspace now and setup the PF site and redirect the URL once I switch to PrintMojo.



> It seems like you've thought it out well and weighed your options. Now it's up to you to pick the option you feel most comfortable with


Thank you; it's more a matter of patience at this point. 
In relation to the above response I gave you, I think it would be best at this point to start with a PrintFection store, customize it, while balancing a domain and forum site so I can gather a community.
Do you believe this is the best way to go at this point given my financial situation?



> Usually the applications are approved the same day, but during higher volume times it can take a bit longer.


I was being impatient from being overwhelmed by everything being in the air when I wrote that; they just accepted the application a bit ago.




> That doesn't sound correct. Any delays on getting blank garments would come from the manufacturer or the wholesaler if the garments are out of stock.
> 
> The standard turnaround time from the time you place your order from the time that the order is screen printed and ready to go is roughly 2-3 weeks.


Hmm, thanks for clarfying this for me. I suppose the person who wrote that had some bad luck.

-----
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through that mess and answer every question, I really appreciate it!


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

*Re: Step One*



> What I meant to ask is, if I start out with PrintFection and advertise it to my community/friends/online communities, then wouldn't they be confused once I switch over to PrintMojo due to the URL changes?


To avoid that, my suggestion would be to use your own domain name/website with whichever printing method you select.

Brand and market "yourteesite.com" and then when the customer is ready to checkout, you can send them to whatever fulfillment company you like.



> I was unable to find whether or not PrintFection offered the option to host your PF store on an external website;


Yes, I believe they have a few ways of doing this.



> In relation to the above response I gave you, I think it would be best at this point to start with a PrintFection store, customize it, while balancing a domain and forum site so I can gather a community.
> Do you believe this is the best way to go at this point given my financial situation?


Yes, if keeping the $200 budget is a top concern, then PrintFection may be a better option because it has no out of pocket printing, or payment processing expenses. Much less risk. The "reward" is also less since you're not printing in advance, but for many that's OK since they aren't risking their own money on untested designs.



> I was being impatient from being overwhelmed by everything being in the air when I wrote that; they just accepted the application a bit ago.


Good to hear



> Hmm, thanks for clarfying this for me. I suppose the person who wrote that had some bad luck.


It's possible. There are sometimes unavoidable delays with just about any service, so I definitely wouldn't discount that it could happen. 

I just don't think it's the norm for any of the major services either


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## Ownaholic (Mar 27, 2009)

*Re: Step One*

Thanks a million for your help, I'll definitely come back to this forum every time I run into a problem or need some extra help.

I do have another question though:
If I go with PF to start off and link their store to an external website, I'd be able to put up essentially as many designs as I wanted to at one given time, and that could result in...many...designs. (Upwards of 100?)
Let's say the company gets rolling for awhile and profits start increasing over the months; it's time to switch to PrintMojo.
Do you think it would be a good idea to keep the PF store open to the public even after I switch to PM? 
In other words, having both stores open at the same time, and explaining to the visitors in a user-friendly way the difference between Screen Printing and Digital, and that's why I chose to keep both stores up. (This way, I can keep all the 100's of designs that I have on PF available to the community, while still offering select designs at higher-quality shirts and print designs.)

Because if I make many, many designs on PF, and then the community knows/recognizes them on their own, wouldn't they be a little peeved that I wouldn't be able to stock all of the 100 designs at once in the new "higher-quality print"?
They might find it a bad decision on my part, and therefore I may lose some customers.


Hopefully you know what I mean.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

*Re: Step One*



> Do you think it would be a good idea to keep the PF store open to the public even after I switch to PM?


Sure, why not?



> In other words, having both stores open at the same time, and explaining to the visitors in a user-friendly way the difference between Screen Printing and Digital, and that's why I chose to keep both stores up. (This way, I can keep all the 100's of designs that I have on PF available to the community, while still offering select designs at higher-quality shirts and print designs.)


Linking to them both from the same site could get complicated for visitors, but it has been done.

You may want to split it off somehow into 2 separate lines or figure out a creative way of separating the two.



> Because if I make many, many designs on PF, and then the community knows/recognizes them on their own, wouldn't they be a little peeved that I wouldn't be able to stock all of the 100 designs at once in the new "higher-quality print"?


People could get peeved for lots of reasons, but you have to run your business the way that best works for your business. There's no way for you to please every customer.

If you tried to please them by printing all 100+ designs at a screen printing place, you could go broke trying to make them happy.

Just try your best to do what's best for you and your customers and you'll be fine  

Don't get too hung up on the details and keep moving forward.


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## Ownaholic (Mar 27, 2009)

*Re: Step One*

Good point...

I decided just to use the Digital Printing (I actually changed my mind to CafePress despite the negative quality reports I've read; mainly because at PF the prices are ridiculous, and I want them to be at least somewhat fair while still making a good profit), as a main. 
If we get enough success to pay for 100+ designs of screen printing (highly doubt it) then I'll gladly switch over. However I'm content with Digital Printing...I think it can actually help bring out a design more this way in some cases.

Thanks a million for your help, it really helped wade me into the right direction.
I've still got a lot to figure out, but all of that is for me to handle.

Thanks again!


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