# Best products for sublimation start up.



## Zacaz (Jan 11, 2015)

Hi t shirt forum members.
I am thinking of starting a sublimation business but need help with what products I will sell. I have no experience and would like to know what sells the best or has the best profit margin.
Thankyou all for you help.
Zacaz


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## jpkevin (Oct 22, 2007)

We really need a lot more information to answer the question accurately. What is your target market? Shooting for a high end or low end customer. Are you selling on the internet, storefront, or out of a residence? What size equipment do you have? Where are you located? All of these things can make a big difference in what sells and for how much which certainly impacts the profit margin. I have seen lots of people make a lot of money in what one person would deem an odd market, but they had the right product mix for that specific market.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Zacaz said:


> Hi t shirt forum members.
> I am thinking of starting a sublimation business but need help with what products I will sell. I have no experience and would like to know what sells the best or has the best profit margin.
> Thankyou all for you help.
> Zacaz


 Adding to jpkevin's excellent points ... what skills do you bring to the table? Are you an artist or photographer? Or have some experience there?

Having either or both skills is a big plus in this market and can help you decide your market(s).


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## tmventures1121 (Feb 16, 2015)

mgparrish said:


> Adding to jpkevin's excellent points ... what skills do you bring to the table? Are you an artist or photographer? Or have some experience there?
> 
> Having either or both skills is a big plus in this market and can help you decide your market(s).


Hi all - I have similar questions. I just bought a heat press, printer, and lots of ink - got a great deal on the package. Trying to figure out the best market to jump into. I'm noticing that there are some major drawbacks to sublimation printing - i.e. use mostly white shirts - maybe some grey, but cannot print on black shirts...and cannot print white ink. I have located some average priced shirts from Next Level ($3.50 per shirt for 65%/35% shirt) and I think Gildan may offer even better pricing for their poly blend shirts. I was thinking of either entering either the:
(1) Funny crude humor t-shirt market of funny images/designs and logos - targeting mostly men or, 
(2) The baby-onesie prints and sorority shirts market - composed mostly of women.

I create all my own images and designs using Gimp and Inkscape. I am aiming for creating a store on Etsy, but could also setup an host a website. Any pluses or minuses to these two markets? Any markets too saturated that I should avoid? I was in a sorority in college (don't judge.) so I have some experience there...but I'm really just a savvy entrepreneur trying to find the best niche - so I don't really care 
Any comments /thoughts / recommendations are welcome !
Thanks!


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

tmventures1121 said:


> Hi all - I have similar questions. I just bought a heat press, printer, and lots of ink - got a great deal on the package. Trying to figure out the best market to jump into. I'm noticing that there are some major drawbacks to sublimation printing - i.e. use mostly white shirts - maybe some grey, but cannot print on black shirts...and cannot print white ink. I have located some average priced shirts from Next Level ($3.50 per shirt for 65%/35% shirt) and I think Gildan may offer even better pricing for their poly blend shirts. I was thinking of either entering either the:
> (1) Funny crude humor t-shirt market of funny images/designs and logos - targeting mostly men or,
> (2) The baby-onesie prints and sorority shirts market - composed mostly of women.
> 
> ...


A couple of comments.

1. You cannot color manage sublimation printing with Inkscape. The ICC profile support has never been finished even though they put in "hooks" for it. Suggest Corel Draw if you are doing desktop sublimation.

2. When you call a website a "market" ... I'm not a marketing expert but I think that is too vague in concept just having a website. Who does that website cater to and who is your _target_ audience? You can 't just build it and expect people to come. Zillions of websites out there, how do you get people to go there?

I have never tried Etsy before so others perhaps can chime in on that.

You mention you do your own art and design, so that is a huge plus. Keep in mind there are a lot of people on Zazzle and Spreadshirt doing humor shirts, so you need something to set yourself apart.


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## tmventures1121 (Feb 16, 2015)

mgparrish said:


> A couple of comments.
> 
> 1. You cannot color manage sublimation printing with Inkscape. The ICC profile support has never been finished even though they put in "hooks" for it. Suggest Corel Draw if you are doing desktop sublimation.
> 
> ...



Hi and thank you for the awesome feedback! That is very good to know about Inkscape. I have heard a lot of mixed information about Inkscape. I have done most of my color management and printing with GIMP. I will look into Corel Draw. Does it matter what version I get? I am seeing that eBay offers Corel DRAW Graphics Suite X7 (education edition) for $70. Not bad at all. 

Here is an example of a website that markets to the sorority/women market: Gonegreek 
(this website sells more than just shirts, but I could probably expand/dabble into selling some of these items as well, since sublimation ink works on poly sub coated plastic surfaces.)

Here is an example of the other target market - which is the "funny/trendy/nerdy" t-shirt market. http://www.bustedtees.com/
I think this market is a bit saturated...there are tons of websites selling these kinds of shirts. 

So I am leaning more towards selling to the "women folk" market - sorority shirts, baby onesies, monogrammed shirts, lily pulitzer-looking bright colored designs, etc... (by the way I do not wear these kinds of things, I just know many many many girls/friends who DO!  )
I think maybe I could start on Etsy.com and then if things go well I can branch into setting up and hosting my own website. 

I would do marketing on Facebook, Linked-In (email my sorority sisters all over the US), Pinterest, local sororities around Raleigh/Chapel Hill area (UNC, DUKE, NC State).


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