# Dye Sub on Dark colours



## sturdy (Jan 10, 2006)

Hi guys,

I am from Australia and looking to start something similar to cafe press here at home. I have an engineering degree with a major in software so the internet side isn't the problem, its the dark t-shirt and polly/cotton blank supplier i am having problems with. 

Firstly, how are all these people printing onto dark shirts? Is it just sublimation with white ink or something a little more complex? I really need to solve the dark shirt issue before i can start anything the will be really successful. 

Also, does anyone knwo of a good polly/cotton blank supplier in Australia or anyone that imports hanes? I am really having a hard time finding one. 

As you might of guessed i am new to the t-shirt business so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Regarding a blank t-shirt supplier in Australia, check out this recent thread:
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/showthread.php?t=1605

Regarding a service like CafePress in Australia, I haven't heard of one. CafePress (and others that do print on demand dark colored shirts) don't use dye sub for the printing, they use direct to t-shirt printing (a very expensive technology).

CafePress ships worldwide (as does the various incarnations of SpreadShirt). 

If you don't mind making an investment in your business, you could also just get the t-shirts printed locally by a screen printer and setup your own online store.


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## sturdy (Jan 10, 2006)

I see. So the expensive printing method justifies the relatively high cost (compared to here anyway). 

Screen printing is an option but it doesn't have the print-on-demand properties that i am looking for and that i think are a lot more marketable. 

Does dye-sub have a future in dark clothes or not? Has anyone on here gone into the science and engineering side of the technology and figured out if its possible? Does it work well on light yellows and greens like the ones sold on cafepress?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

I don't think you can dye sub on dark t-shirts (I'm not sure if it's going to happen anytime soon).

The yellows and greens at cafepress/zazzle are printed using a type of heat press technology. 

Because there is no "white" being printed, the color of the shirt shows through quite a bit, so it really works best with whites (and ash colored garments). Also, dye sub requires a special type cotton/poly blend shirt to print on which sort of restricts your choices.

If you want print on demand and dark colored shirts, your best bet is either opening a shop at zazzle/spreadshirt/cafepress or if you're in do-it-yourself mode, you can use heat press and vinyl transfers to apply the graphics to the shirts.


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