# professional transfers vs at-home iron transfers?



## tie (Mar 10, 2016)

I recently bought ten tie dyed Gildan tank tops (image link below).
https://www.directbuytshirts.com/image/cache/data/59_02_lg-500x500.jpg

I want to put some artwork on them to resell. The artwork is colorful and almost takes up an entire 8.5" by 11" sheet of paper. 

My local t-shirt shop will apply the artwork onto the tanks for $10 apiece using transfer paper.

I have no intentions of becoming a full-fledged t-shirt dealer, so I will not buy any heat press or equipment to do this.

Will my local shop's equipment do a better job than my household iron and store-bought transfer paper? Or would that be a huge waste of money for the same quality results?

Thanks in advance for any advice.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

Suggestion. Buy a pack of paper locally and try it with the home iron to see if it meets your needs.


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## tie (Mar 10, 2016)

proworlded said:


> Suggestion. Buy a pack of paper locally and try it with the home iron to see if it meets your needs.


I understand why you would suggest this, but I would prefer to know ahead of time rather than risk wasting my own printer ink for a substandard result.

I see nothing but poor reviews for all commercially available transfer papers on websites like Amazon. This tells me that I'll most likely be dissatisfied with the results.

So my question is: If my local t-shirt shop uses the same kind of transfer paper, then would their superior equipment really make a difference in the results?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Yes, a heat press will give you a more consistent result than using a hand iron and store bought paper.

If you are selling shirts, you owe your customer that. An entry level heat press can be purchased for $300. Quality paper for about a $1 a sheet, same Avery paper in the stores.

So sell 30 shirts, and you've made your money back while giving your customer a better print. It won't be like a screen printed shirt, but it will be better than a hand iron and avery paper.


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## BandPrints (Feb 4, 2007)

A home iron shouldn't be used to produce shirts for commercial sale. It is great for hobby shirts for example. With your designs being on the smaller size you will not have to get a very large heat press. Depending on what you are selling the shirts for you may want to do the first few through your local printer, this way you minimize risk of ruining a shirt and can see how the first few sales go.


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