# need a 3 color logo on a transfer for shirts but not expensive



## influenze (Jul 21, 2016)

Ok so i am a Newbie in the biz and am finding great success with customers and 1 color logos on shirts. I've been using F&M for their 15 and 20 cent program like most of you and made the mistake that i could do 2 or 3 color logos pretty cheap with them. I have an order of 12 shirts and when i spoke with F&M i was told they could do 17$ per transfer... That is way over my customers budget and that puts my competition at an advantage for multi colored logos. Can anyone recommend someone who does multi colored logos inexpensively? I appologize if this is a question asked over and over on here but im needing quick help for the shirts to be done in time and a search didnt yield good answers for me. i need 12 transfers with 3 colors for front of shirt and 12 transfers with 2 colors for the back. Thanks!


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

For that low of quantity not sure you will find inexpensive. That's 5 screens, 2 setups, multiple flashes. With 1 color the setup is quick and easy as just use center lines. With multicolor you have to register the screens to each other. Ink, clean up, reclaim and recount screens. May places wouldn't even take that low of quantity on a 3 color.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

What size is the logo you want to print?


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

I don't know anyone that would do 3 colors for 12 shirts. We want to see 24 shirts per color for screen printing


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## VeeLove (Jul 18, 2010)

Is vinyl out of the question? Sounds like this would be ideal for cut and press if the artwork isn't too detailed.


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## Stefano (Aug 5, 2013)

influenze said:


> Ok so i am a Newbie in the biz and am finding great success with customers and 1 color logos on shirts. I've been using F&M for their 15 and 20 cent program like most of you and made the mistake that i could do 2 or 3 color logos pretty cheap with them. I have an order of 12 shirts and when i spoke with F&M i was told they could do 17$ per transfer... That is way over my customers budget and that puts my competition at an advantage for multi colored logos. Can anyone recommend someone who does multi colored logos inexpensively? I appologize if this is a question asked over and over on here but im needing quick help for the shirts to be done in time and a search didnt yield good answers for me. i need 12 transfers with 3 colors for front of shirt and 12 transfers with 2 colors for the back. Thanks!


Check Stahls.com for their CAD Printz digital transfers. No limit to colors - they go by the square inch. The minimum order is 12 pieces but they will be pricey. You aren't going to get 3 colors cheap. There are some jobs that just aren't worth taking.


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## influenze (Jul 21, 2016)

yeah i am thinking that i may just have to do them in vinyl. I am going to have to eventually buy a screen printing station with at least 4 colors it looks like. At this point in my business i would rather not try and send business away and would rather take in business. I was just unaware of the price difference when adding one or two colors. I wonder if direct to garment would be an option?


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## influenze (Jul 21, 2016)

the size of my logo is 7x9 inch


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

I've never done it, I can't recommend doing it, but I have a local competitor who has shown me some shirts he's done with layered 1-color plastisol transfers. I can't suggest it because I personally haven't washed these or seen them hold up long term but he swears by it. I have no clue who he buys the transfers from but the shirts he's shown me were actually pretty good and he's probably doing whatever cheap single color transfer deal is out there and just hand aligning them.

Again, not something I'd suggest doing but if you're looking for cheap, maybe run 3-4 different transfers with a lot of space added between color edges and see how it works. Wash them and if it's good enough then at least you have an option. And report back if it works (or doesn't work).

Some folks seem to have done it: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/plastisol-transfers/t187799.html but I'd be concerned with peeling if you actually crossed colors over each other.


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## influenze (Jul 21, 2016)

hmm, yeah that seems a little much for something that probably wont work very well. I will now know for next time to charge significantly more to cover cost of shirts and printing. Most people that come in are either fundraising or some sort of softball team and they want to pay no more than 15 to 18 dollars per shirt.


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

If someone comes in and wants a fund-raising shirt, I don't sell them a 3-color design. Be clear that one color is cheap, two colors and up becomes a lot more expensive.

You can always supplement your transfers with some cut vinyl or dye sub options but then your overhead goes up. Still, you can do multiple-color cut vinyl jobs pretty cheap if you get good at weeding and application. 

The other option that might work for you is to gang run jobs together with the same colors and split the cost in half.

Transfer Express offers 11.25" x 14" prints and doing 12 shirts with 2 colors is $16.35 per transfer, so if you can sell two different designs to two different customers at 11.25" x 7", you get them down to $8.20 per print per customer. With a basic shirt you're at $10 even so you can easily sell them at $15 a pop and make $360 profit between two jobs (12 shirts each).

Even better, you can do FOUR jobs at 5.5" x 7" 3-color chests (12 transfers = $23.38 each / 4 = $5.85 per customer shirt) and do a one color back at 11.25" x 7" (12 transfers = $9.32 each / 2= $4.66 per customer shirt) and you're looking at a final costing per customer of $12.26 per shirt for each customer with that 3 color front and 1 color back. Sell them for $18 each and you're still making $70 profit per customer or $275 total for 4 gang runned together.


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## Stefano (Aug 5, 2013)

influenze said:


> yeah i am thinking that i may just have to do them in vinyl. I am going to have to eventually buy a screen printing station with at least 4 colors it looks like. At this point in my business i would rather not try and send business away and would rather take in business. I was just unaware of the price difference when adding one or two colors. I wonder if direct to garment would be an option?


Sub them out to a DTG shop. But for such a small job, it will probably cost you quite a bit. There is no shame in turning away business if you can't do it or it will cost too much to vend it out. This is reality. When you get deeper into this world, I think you'll see that even with a screen print set up, burning 4 screens to do 12 shirts is not practical.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

influenze said:


> the size of my logo is 7x9 inch


I think cad- print/cut digital transfers will be your least expensive option: Opaque Full Color Digital Transfers - CAD-PRINTZ | Transfer Express


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