# Questions before my first job.



## nicwolf1 (Jun 8, 2011)

Hey all,

I've just started working on my first job (yay!), but I'm freaking out a little bit. I've got some questions that hopefully y'all can help me out with and get me set on the right course.

1) I ordered a tee square it, but for the life of me cannot figure out how to use it properly. Everything still comes out off center, any tips? Other methods of centering on a shirt?

2) I found the cheat sheet for design placement, and it seems to be working well, I'm just curious if I should be moving designs up/down depending on shirt size. Should it be lower on a large shirt than it is on a medium? 

3) What's the best way to center a design that is off register? Is it okay to make a crease in the transfer? Or can that mess with the print?

Thanks

Nic


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

1) I once did 60 shirts with the t-square it (bought it because of all the rave remarks) and 60 by eyeballing then measured them. The eyeballed ones were far and away better centered plus it took more than twice as long to use the t-square. I threw it in a drawer and haven't had it out since.

2) I move them down a bit on larger shirts.

3) Pinch the top and bottom of the paper, don't crease the print. Not sure what you mean by off register but find the center of the print, not the paper.


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## discoqueen (Jun 5, 2010)

Agree with wormil, but wanted to add this....

If you fold the tee in half, matching up the shoulder/sleeve seams, then press it for a few seconds, you then have a nice line down the center of the shirt. 

Crease the paper of your transfer (not the print itself) like wormil suggested, you then have marks to line up to the crease on the shirt. 

Adjust up or down depending on shirt size and that's it!


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## nicwolf1 (Jun 8, 2011)

Rick,

I feel like you're always the first one to respond to my posts, so thanks. A lot.

Yeah, at this point I'm iffy about the tee-square. I see all the great reviews but I still can't get it to work - maybe it's just a matter of personal preference. I just feel like lining up with the collar seams will only work if the seams are perfectly symmetrical. I've been pressing a center crease in all of my shirts and then using the tee-square, and while it works fairly well i'm averaging 3 minutes a shirt (which seems like a really long time). What's your method for eyeballing them? How close should a shirt be to perfect? I mean, I notice when the print is .5 cm too far in one direction but is that something a customer will notice? Should I be striving for perfection?

Thanks disco! I've started doing the creasing thing, but every once and a while I notice that the tag doesn't really line up with the crease. Should they? I've heard that the tag is pretty much dead center.

Sorry to ask so many questions, I'm just paranoid I'll mess something up 

Nic


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## tee09 (Oct 30, 2009)

wormil said:


> 1) I once did 60 shirts with the t-square it (bought it because of all the rave remarks) and 60 by eyeballing then measured them. The eyeballed ones were far and away better centered plus it took more than twice as long to use the t-square. I threw it in a drawer and haven't had it out since.


Glad i read this post.. i was considering to buy one

thank you


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

nicwolf1 said:


> What's your method for eyeballing them? How close should a shirt be to perfect? I mean, I notice when the print is .5 cm too far in one direction but is that something a customer will notice? Should I be striving for perfection?


Well, I believe you should strive for perfection within reason. Half a cm is less than 1/5", good enough. If you can measure that well with your eye then you'll have no problem. I don't bother pressing a crease, I just pinch the transfer paper and align with the center of the neck. If the transfers are trimmed evenly so that the print is centered (rare), I don't even bother pinching the paper, I just center it by eye.


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## Louie2010 (Feb 26, 2010)

I personally like using the "T-Square It". 

The way I use it is to put the lip of the top over the edge at the center where I have also lined up an laid the shirt. I use the numbers on that top piece to line up the T-SqIt with the collar of the shirt. Then I look at the ruler coming down vertically to get my desired distance for the top of the transfer (or vinyl). Then I slide the transfer under it and use the horizontal ruler to center the transfer and the horizontal line to make sure that the transfer is straight.

IMO, one added benefit is that I believe using it will help me supply shirts that are more consistent even if ordered at different time intervals. I write all these numbers down on paper to keep with my customers file. If they ever later order more I can pull out my notes and more confidently line up the shirts the same as the last order I did for that customer.


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## Louie2010 (Feb 26, 2010)

wormil said:


> Well, I believe you should strive for perfection within reason. .


I agree. I tend to be too critical of my own work. If it is slightly off I see it and it bothers me, but most others don't even notice it.

I posted the question here once when I was doing one of my first vinyl jobs asking how crooked was to crooked. Most people answered that we all are too critical of ourselves and the customers always and up happy even if we notice something minor. I took everyone's advice and included the one shirt I was paranoid about and the customer loved them all. I even followed up on the phone after they had enough time to wear them all and they still went on and on about how happy they were.

I worry less about it now.


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## discoqueen (Jun 5, 2010)

nicwolf1 said:


> Rick,
> 
> Thanks disco! I've started doing the creasing thing, but every once and a while I notice that the tag doesn't really line up with the crease. Should they? I've heard that the tag is pretty much dead center.


The tag is supposed to be center back, but because t-shirts are stretchy fabric, and the fabric stretches during production, they aren't always perfect. 

My thought is that it's better to go off of how the shirt will hang on a person rather than go off of a tag that is "supposed" to be dead center back. 

If you have a shirt that has a tag off-center, and go by the tag, then the design will be off-center too. 

I've had designs that were off center by up to 1/8-1/4" and they still looked acceptable to others. Not sure I would let it go much past that though.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Yeah, that's why I always center on the neckline which isn't always perfectly centered on the shirt itself but if the design is centered under their head then it will look correct.


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