# Setting Up Shop..



## thedynamix (Jun 14, 2006)

..Trying..

Too many decisions. Not hard, life changing ones so I'm not complaining, but I just want to make the right ones. Tight budgets require tight thinking, so no room for mistakes right?

Gotta get it all right in one shot.

So here we are..

We have the unrivalled design talent but we've reached some pretty tough decisions.

1) Do we print to blank t-shirts, Fruit Of The Loom etc.. OR do we go the whole nine yards and find a company that design the actual t-shirts too, thus making us an out right fashion company?? Of course, this will drastically increase the costs, right? Does anyone know any services that offer this?

2) So question 1 aside, if we do go ahead and use blank t-shirts... Do we Screenprint or heat transfer or some other method? Never used Printscreening yet as it is too expensive (unless in nulk) what with the setup costs but I have heard it's the best for quality. And I have had mixed experiences with heat transfers.

2.5) Does anyone from the UK know of any good/cheap print services/sites?

3) We originally wanted to do a "request a design" service where the customer sends in a photo and we manipulate it, get it printed and send it back. Too long winded? Too expensive? Not Feasible?

4) Pretty generic question so don't worry about answering it unless you're friendly and have time ... What's the best t-shirt to use?


Thanks for the tips and advice. Hope it helps!

-thedynamix


----------



## identityburn (Feb 24, 2006)

1) I think it depends on your market. If you're going for "high fashion" design, you may want to have custom shirts made. I think you could get away with American Apparel or Alternative apparel if you go that route though and would be less expensive in the beginning. If you have a more casual audience I'd just get a decent quality shirt and print on that.

2) I would recommend screen printing if you really want to start out with competative quality. When you buy a shirt at any retail store, nine times out of ten it will be screen printed not transfers. So again, it all depends on what you want to be perceived as.

2.5) no idea, I'm in the US.

3) I think that would be a huge headache. You'd spend WAY too much time fixing artwork on a per order basis which I think would be a waste of time unless you are sure you can make a decent profit from how much work you'll put in. You'll be getting pencil sketches, low quality business card scans and other crap that is a pain to deal with.

4) With my company we're going to start out with Hanes Beefy-T. It's 100% cotton and a very acceptable by a general audience. Personally I really like American Apparel and Alternative Apparel, but thats for more of a vintage/high end type of shirt and they cost more.

One last thing, I think you need to find your market first and then every thing else will fall into place as far as what shirt brands to use, what type of printing to use, and what kind of business (custom or preprint) to start.

hope this helps.


----------



## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

thedynamix said:


> 1) Do we print to blank t-shirts, Fruit Of The Loom etc.. OR do we go the whole nine yards and find a company that design the actual t-shirts too, thus making us an out right fashion company??


Since you say you're on a "tight budget", go with pre-made blanks.

(I'd actually say the same thing even if you weren't on a budget - it's my personal opinion that it's better to start on blanks, then start getting your own garments custom manufactured when you better understand your individual needs as a business)



thedynamix said:


> 2) So question 1 aside, if we do go ahead and use blank t-shirts... Do we Screenprint or heat transfer or some other method?


I'd say screenprinting, because that's what I'd do. Digital transfer people will say digital transfer, DTG will say DTG, dye sub will say dye sub...



thedynamix said:


> 3) We originally wanted to do a "request a design" service where the customer sends in a photo and we manipulate it, get it printed and send it back. Too long winded? Too expensive? Not Feasible?


Sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. Nothing wrong with printing one-offs (if you have the right setup for it), but I'd have customers sign off on their artwork - if you manipulate it (or don't manipulate it enough...) and they don't like it, they're going to (rightly) blame you.



thedynamix said:


> 4) Pretty generic question so don't worry about answering it unless you're friendly and have time ... What's the best t-shirt to use?


I'm not particularly friendly, but I'll answer it anyway 

Very much depends on what you're selling. Alternative Apparel and/or Bella for fashion orientated, Fruit of the Loom or Hanes or Gildan for the average internet seller (offensive slogans, computer geek, etc.), Proclub or Conquer or etc. for the urban market.


----------



## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

Solmu said:


> Very much depends on what you're selling. Alternative Apparel and/or Bella for fashion orientated, Fruit of the Loom or Hanes or Gildan for the average internet seller (offensive slogans, computer geek, etc.), Proclub or Conquer or etc. for the urban market.


 
I'd say Fruit of the Loom was considered a bordeline fashion shirt, given Threadless.


----------

