# Starting an Online T Shirt Store.



## SmugT (Apr 15, 2006)

I am looking to start a t Shirt store.

I plan on purchasing a 15x15 Heat Press, but I have a few questions.

I want to create my own designs and print them at home. What products would I need to do this? I have Adobe Photoshop But I notice most people suggesting Corel Draw?

Would Photoshop work?
What printer would I need to print my designs? What paper?

Also, when I print my designs from the computer will they end up having a background color? I don't want that. Say i just want to print a black and white image and some text. No background color. What is used to do this? A Cutter?

Where can I get that and how does it work?

Any and all help is appreciated, thanks.


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## SmugT (Apr 15, 2006)

Also, would I be able to Heat Press the designs onto all color shirts including black?


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

Photoshop is great. I use it for all my designs. 
The 15 x 15 press is the way to go.

Epson Pigment ink printer C88 for about 80 bucks.

If you're printing opaque (dark) yes you will need a background or you may have to cut around designs.
Light or white tees you use hot peel and then your background is white but when you print the tee shirt the background shows through and not the white. Hope this helps.  



SmugT said:


> I am looking to start a t Shirt store.
> 
> I plan on purchasing a 15x15 Heat Press, but I have a few questions.
> 
> ...


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## SmugT (Apr 15, 2006)

So if im printing just text on a white shirt the background will end up matching the shirt perfectly that I wont need to cut around?


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## Dave 2006 (Apr 13, 2006)

so let me make sure i understand this bodalou, your saying that the epson printer, using this pigment ink, only run for about 80 bucks??

Im a designer myself and i use photoshop and illustrator. currently i have someone who prints my t-shirts (silk screen) but ive been considering getting into the printing myself to cut cost, i just dont have any room for the equipment. I have been considering a heat press due to the fact that it seems like it takes up alot less room and can be operated in my appartment.
Ive also been considering a heat press because most of my designs have many colors and shades. But i always thought that the printers that would use this special type of ink run for about $1500 bucks. Or maybe thats for the printers that print on the larger paper?


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

The r1800 is large format printer it uses pigment ink and runs about $550. But it uses 8 inks. The c88 is about 80 dollars. There are other printers that come with Dye ink and can be converted to bulk systems that use pigment ink like the 340. I use an all in one cx7800 that uses pigment ink. Any help I can give I will. Lou


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## jeffersonsiow (Nov 11, 2006)

badalou said:


> The r1800 is large format printer it uses pigment ink and runs about $550. But it uses 8 inks. The c88 is about 80 dollars. There are other printers that come with Dye ink and can be converted to bulk systems that use pigment ink like the 340. I use an all in one cx7800 that uses pigment ink. Any help I can give I will. Lou


Hi Lou,

This is Jefferson, i just would like to know with R1800 with its pigment ink, what are the transfers I can use? and the comparison of the transfers quality and duarability.

Thanks Lou


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

SmugT said:


> So if im printing just text on a white shirt the background will end up matching the shirt perfectly that I wont need to cut around?


Not quite. You'll still want to cut around close to the design, about 1/8" away from it. You still get a partial wax window (the 'empty' areas of the paper) even when doing light shirts, but it isn't very noticeable (and becomes nearly invisible on white/ash shirts when you cut up close to it).



SmugT said:


> Also, when I print my designs from the computer will they end up having a background color? I don't want that. Say i just want to print a black and white image and some text. No background color. What is used to do this? A Cutter?
> 
> Where can I get that and how does it work?


Opaque transfers transfer everything, including the solid white empty area, meaning you need to cut out all of the whitespace for these to look decent. How hard this is will depend on the design itself. In addition, opaque transfers tend to feel pretty 'rubbery' and don't usually last that long, so many people don't use them much on a professional level.

However, you can also use t-shirt vinyl (e.g. Thermoflex) for some designs. They do need to be fairly simple (otherwise weeding out the excess, unused vinyl is difficult) and few colors (1-3 colors or so), but the quality is much better than an opaque transfer.

The downside is, of course, that you need to buy the vinyl cutter, which will run about $1500 for a good one. You can get these at a few online shops, including imprintables.com.



Dave 2006 said:


> so let me make sure i understand this bodalou, your saying that the epson printer, using this pigment ink, only run for about 80 bucks??
> 
> Ive also been considering a heat press because most of my designs have many colors and shades. But i always thought that the printers that would use this special type of ink run for about $1500 bucks. Or maybe thats for the printers that print on the larger paper?


To expand on what Lou said, You can indeed get a printer that comes with Durabrite inks for only ~$100 (I think $80 is a sale or rebate price, but It may be a regular price by now too). If you want to expand on this, you can buy a bulk ink system ($50-150) and bulk pigmented inks (such as the Magic Mix set) as well. a bulk system would reduce your future ink costs significantly, but do require that initial cost.


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