# PLASTISOL or NO PLASTISOL transfer. That is the question?!



## Amaa301 (Jun 22, 2010)

Hello all!
I am a newbie to the industry, based in the UK and I have quite a few questions about plastisol tranfers. I am starting up an online t shirt company aimed at launching at the start of next year and I have been doing loads of research on printing methods. 
Most of my designs have a lot of colours and a few have quite intricate detailing, so I was thinking that screen printing would not be cost effective. And then I came across plastisol transfers and DTG. I quite like the idea of plastisol transfers, and for some reason I'm more inclined to this because of the ease of application (after perfecting this of course). 
And as my designs are quite artsy, I dont want them coming out too photo-like.

Here are my questions.
1. What are the pros and cons of using plastisol transfers as opposed to screen printing or DTG.

2. Are they of good retail quality? What do they feel like? I don't want my shirts having a plastic feel, or the design sitting on the shirt. I'd like it to look like that's how the material was made.

3. Is it wise and cost effective to start a business with this method? Especially since I plan to outsource all the application work.

4. Are there any good plastisol vendors in the UK?

5. I am quite interested in having my shirts made abroad. Does any one know of any good vendors outside the UK and the US? Possibly China.

Feel free to post any opinions about any of the questions.
Looking forward to your replies!

Thanks!
FK
X


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

Best off to do dye sublimation on poly/poly-blend shirts.
Try dyesub.org


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## Amaa301 (Jun 22, 2010)

I want to use cotton shirts though :s


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

Amaa301 said:


> I want to use cotton shirts though :s


 sublimation is the only way that I know of to get a shirt with "no feel" to it.


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## Amaa301 (Jun 22, 2010)

I have designs with loads of colours and I will be printing on a few dark coloured t shirts. I've heard plastisol transfers are better than sublimation for this. Especially on cotton shirts.


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## MarLai (Aug 14, 2008)

Waterbase and discharge printing on cotton shirts will also provide a soft feel and the inks will soak into the fabric. Plastisol inks lay on top of the fabric and you will definitely be able to feel the print. They do have some soft hand plastisol inks available as well, but they still aren't as soft as waterbased inks.


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## mrfunone (Oct 4, 2010)

Printing darks and, especially, black is difficult except for heat transfers. I'm new to this too.
I want to go the heat transfer and sublimation route.


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## Amaa301 (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanks James..
Hmmn I'll need to find out more about waterbased and discharge printing. Are those just different types of inks used by screen printers?
Are they of higher retail quality than plastisol transfers? I.E does it last? And do the colours come out brightly on both light and dark shirts?
And can they take up many colours?
X


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## MarLai (Aug 14, 2008)

Screen printers can use waterbased inks when the ink color is darker than the shirt - when the shirt is dark and you want the ink to be a lighter color than the fabric that's when they use discharge inks. Discharge is a chemical that removes the shirt dye and then the waterbased ink is printed over the area that has been discharged.

Typically the high end brands use these types of inks due to their softness, I'm sure some dabble with plastisol screen printing in certain situations. Sometimes shirts cannot be discharged depending on the type of dyes that were used. We use waterbase and discharge on our shirts and they last - I'm not sure about plastisol transfers - haven't used those before.

As far as colors are concerned - screenprinting a design with a lot of colors can get very costly.


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## Amaa301 (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanks James, that was goodstuff.
My designs are quite colourful, so I don't think screen printing would be so cost effective for me.
X


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## HippieGuy (Sep 27, 2009)

I would think all of this depends on budget/investment.
If you are new, as you say, I beleive plsatisol transfer is the best alternative. At least until you get a feel for the industry, your market etc.

One alternative, which may be cost effective: outsource your work to a transfer biz that will place your art onto plastisol transfers. You can purchase a good heat press and press these yourself saving $$$$. No need to buy a printer/vinyl and all accessories


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