# Advice Needed: Silk-Screening with Transfer Business Model



## McCrockett (Sep 14, 2009)

Hey everybody. I am looking for some expert advice about my business model. Currently I have a one-man operation where I do ink-jet transfers onto white and light-colored shirts (mostly white). I successfully generate a decent supplementary income while doing most of my business online. I keep an inventory of blank shirts and I will only print a shirt when someone orders it. 

My problem: I am limited by only doing light-colored shirts and I want to start silk-screening. However, my business model may not work very well with silk-screening. In other words, making the shirts just as people order them online might be a little hard with silk-screening. However, I don't know much about silk-screening (just what I've watched on Youtube).

Question: Is there a way I can make this particular business model work with silk-screening? Would it be possible to keep several screens, one for each design, and print off the shirt as it's ordered? What would you advise?


----------



## losttrail (Apr 11, 2011)

Screen Printing setup and cleanup is labor intensive and generally not worth doing 1 shirt..


----------



## McCrockett (Sep 14, 2009)

So, as far as you know- keeping a separate frame (or silkscreen) for each design and using each one to make a shirt as they are ordered wouldn't work?

I'm not very familiar with the process- I'm just trying to get some advice. Thanks.


----------



## jkewl99 (Feb 9, 2012)

That is awesome that your transfer business is doing so well.

I currently do both, Inkjet Transfers and Screen Printing, there is no way that I could do a One shirt order. if a customer ordered a custom shirt, it would take approximately two days just to get a screen prepped and ready to print.

I do use screen printing to print my Rebrand Labels with Plastisol ink and Plastisol Transfer Paper. Hope this helps a little.

Good luck on your venture.


----------



## Print Caviar (Jun 11, 2012)

I currently do screen printing and get a lot of 2 shirt orders and would love to find a high quality and economical transfer paper.


Thanks
EGO SCREEN PRINTING INC.


----------



## McCrockett (Sep 14, 2009)

Man, I really would like to find a quick way of making a single shirt using silkscreening that wouldn't require huge amounts of setup. Maybe I'll invent some way...


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Do you designs repeat often enough to get plastisol transfers done up?....This would depend on the type of designs you do.....Do you have website?...


----------



## mustangFWL (Feb 27, 2012)

Another option you could always look at is going into the DTG market... That way you can always expand your business even more, while still only offering 1 off tshirts. Plus with a DTG printer, a full color print cost just the same as a 1 color transfer. (Also gives the option for black shirts) 

Yes they are expansive, but if you wanted to offer a full color 1 off shirt (in 3 minutes), vs a 1 color 1 off shirt (15 hours), and you can afford the purchase (with financing or what ever) DTG is a no brainier.

I currently do silk screening, and my orders are 80% always over 50 shirts, with my bread and butter being the 20-40 1 color shirt range, so it dosn't make much sense to add a DTG in my case.. until I want to grow.. but for what it sounds like you are doing, it makes much more sense than going the silkscreen route..


----------



## Fenrir (Mar 13, 2012)

An old Risograph duplicator was an automatic screen print machine. The machine would load a sheet of disposable pre-sensitized mesh, burn the screen and automatically wash it out somehow, wrap it around the ink drum, and supply the ink precisely enough to make 10,000 copies at extremely high speeds. We had an old, low resolution one where I used to work, there are newer, higher mesh versions as well.

Someone figure out how to build one for shirts!


----------



## McCrockett (Sep 14, 2009)

As for my designs- at this point I literally only have the ideas drawn up in a paper notebook. I'm really in the beginning phase with this whole idea. But I'm planning on making each design only one or two ink colors.

I have looked into a DTG machine, but as MustangFWL pointed out, they are super expensive. I started building my own but have become discouraged with the whole thing. So I'm not really sure where to go with that. I am considering plastisol transfers- perhaps making my own transfers using this technique...? 

By the way, does anyone know of any good Plastisol tutorials? Lol, I want to learn this stuff but I don't know anyone who can teach me other than the good 'ol interwebs.

Thanks for everyone's input so far.


----------



## mustangFWL (Feb 27, 2012)

Your best bet on learning the whole silk screening process is to go check out catspitproductionsllc.com, he will teach you everything you need to know about silkscreening. As far as transfers goes... your really only need the heat press.. a good ol American press is going to be your best friend. Then you need the transfers, you can do custom uploads to a number of sites, Transferexpress and F & M expressions are two of the largest players in the game (but there are many more out there) and the nice thing about companies like those two, they tell you how to apply the transfers. 

There is a lot to learn about heat pressing, temps, pressure, different fabrics, how to lign things up, the list goes on and on.. A lot of how we started had to do with trial and error, and we still (after 5 years) mess things up. But after you get it going there's not a whole lot to it. 

Check out the Heat press section of the forum for a lot of good information on that.


----------

