# My first vapor apparel press with epson 1400



## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

ive been doing sublimation for a year now never did a tshirt i did try but never tried the vapor apparel. my first test with backcountry vapor apparel basic t came out pretty good. i was suprised the colors came out awsome. now i can finally do 13x19 designs and even sell retial. these shirts are really nice. feels good not like a polyester . feel like a cotton shirt below is a pic of the end result on a Alpine Spruce color. any suggestions or feedback greatly appriciated


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## GLC (Jun 3, 2007)

twistedmonkey said:


> my first test with backcountry vapor apparel basic t came out pretty good.


Yes it sure did! - Well done you.

The only prob I have with these tees at present is that that label is almost practically irremovable to my knowledge.

Well done once again....Good first effort

--
Eze


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## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

i was thinking about making cstom opaque labels that goes over the existing label. i am not sure if it will work but thats my next move.


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## JaeAmera (Dec 25, 2006)

Great Job!!!

Jae


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## blackshirts.com (Dec 11, 2009)

Looks good.


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## limey (Apr 6, 2006)

I like it a lot.
How long can you leave the design on the paper medium before commiting to heat pressing onto a shirt.
Just thinking if you print one print 10 just in case you get a ink block or something you can still fulfill orders with the printer down.
Keep up the good work

Sean


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## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

yes its a good idea but i have almost 890 designs my website is going yo be up and running soon. what i do is i do ondemand so when someone buys i print and press ready to ship. i have a backup epson 1400 which i paid 149$ at epson store and and back up ciss system. this way i am safe. and this way i dont have to spend 15000$ on a direct to garment printer. i really wanted one i went to the iss show and went nuts over them but a 500$ investment vs 15000$ i went with the cheaper way lol and happy so far. i will post my designs and shirts as i go along. 13x19 prints are awsome on shirts

as for the questiosn i do prefer pressing them right away the images come out better when its fresh off the printer vs wait couple days.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Give us specs on your $500 setup. Besides the Epson, which CIS, ink and paper are you using?

How does it wash?

Regarding re-labeling, I assume you can't use a sublimation label over whatever label they have? It would have to be plastisol or something else?

The other issue I see as far as your site is the product description. I wonder how many potential buyers will be turned off when they see 100% poly material?


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## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

splathead have you ever felt the vapor basic t back country collection? if not i suggest you do because its very soft and feels like cotton. other than than its up to them to buy or not buy. and i am not lossing anything even if nonone buys anything because i do on demand . i only keep 6 of each model in stock for tshirts i buy i as i need. so i am not loosing anything but gain from my designs and potential customers. i also do decals and wall art designs so. its just an eddition to my existing business.

i am using dye trans from conde and imageright from coastal business.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

twistedmonkey said:


> splathead have you ever felt the vapor basic t back country collection? if not i suggest you do because its very soft and feels like cotton. other than than its up to them to buy or not buy. and i am not lossing anything even if nonone buys anything because i do on demand . i only keep 6 of each model in stock for tshirts i buy i as i need. so i am not loosing anything but gain from my designs and potential customers. i also do decals and wall art designs so. its just an eddition to my existing business.
> 
> i am using dye trans from conde and imageright from coastal business.


Yes, I saw them at the Long Beach show. Very nice indeed. Indistinguishable from a cotton shirt.

Because your customer won't be able to see and feel the vapor, I simply suggest you need to do a great sales job on your product page explaining how this shirt is as soft or softer than cotton. Or you will definitely have some people not buy simply because it's poly. Regardless of inventory management, a lost sale is a lost sale.


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## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

someof my other designs i ll be printing as sson as i get my first batch of vapor samples


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## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

my sample tshirts came today and here is my 2nd test using the dyetrans 13x19 paper from conde with dye trans spray. image is 12x16 size white vapor apparel tshirts 50 sec 375 degrees. i do not like the conde paper that much it didnt relase that great. i still love the outcome but the paper from coastal business names imgeright paper was better in my opinion. i am definatkly buying more tshirts and starting to sell my designs asap. i am not even going to relabel them. i will just attach another printed label. i am still thinking about that. i will be printing more designs on differnt color shirts see my end product so i dont have to play with my colors on the print process. any feedback is greatly appricated.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

This shirt looks different. It has a tag?


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## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

i am not sure its one of the 13 tshirts came in the sample pack. it has a tag instead of a sticker you are right. i just noticed. i will be calling them 2morrow see if they have this intead of the others cause i can take the tag out. i hope they have it.


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

Very nice t-shirts, Mike!

To my knowlege, only Backcountry collection t-shirts have heat-transfered lable, the rest have sewn in tag (which is very easy to remove: cut it carefully close to the seam and pull out remaining threads).


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## FlyTech (Mar 3, 2010)

twistedmonkey said:


> my sample tshirts came today and here is my 2nd test using the dyetrans 13x19 paper from conde with dye trans spray. image is 12x16 size white vapor apparel tshirts 50 sec 375 degrees. i do not like the conde paper that much it didnt relase that great. i still love the outcome but the paper from coastal business names imgeright paper was better in my opinion. i am definatkly buying more tshirts and starting to sell my designs asap. i am not even going to relabel them. i will just attach another printed label. i am still thinking about that. i will be printing more designs on differnt color shirts see my end product so i dont have to play with my colors on the print process. any feedback is greatly appricated.


Hi what ink You using for that Epson 1400 How long them last after washing ??



PS nice production !!!!


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## mazinger (May 17, 2007)

looking good keep up......


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## twistedmonkey (Feb 19, 2008)

just a quick update. all my tshirts are still intack and great looking after 10 washes. i made sure these looked great before i sold them retail. have a great day all


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## paulbaguio (Mar 1, 2011)

nice. would like to know how's your business with the sublimation orders more than a year from now.
interested to know if the vapor apparel shirts that you are printing is a 50/50 cotton and poly. thanks!


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

paulbaguio said:


> interested to know if the vapor apparel shirts that you are printing is a 50/50 cotton and poly. thanks!


Vapor shirts are 100% poy.


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## paulbaguio (Mar 1, 2011)

oh i see. but in the pictures it looked like a cotton hybrid? or it is obviously poly? thanks.


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

Part of Vapor Apparel range looks and feels like cotton, but made of ring-spun polyester jersey. 
Micro-performance garments have more of a traditional poly look.


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Nice work. What size heat press are you using?


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## painless (Jul 18, 2011)

Your prints look really good. Are you happy with how the blacks turned out? How much time does it take to actually print one of those 13 x 19 images? 

Last question, would you mind posting the specs of your setup please? Like what kind of ink/css system you're using etc.etc.

Thank you so much!


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## BHD (Oct 31, 2007)

Nice Job Mike, and nice design!


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