# Make your own transfers or just print to shirt?



## DrivingZiggy (Apr 24, 2017)

Please indulge the n00b. Is there an advantage to screen printing your own plastisol transfers instead of just printing onto the garment?

I ask because I'm in learning mode and I think that what I'm learning is: If you have a heat press and need a lot of transfers, then you might want to get somebody to print you a bunch of plastisol transfers. But I was also thinking, what if you also have a screen printing press? In what type of situation would you make transfers instead of just printing directly onto the garment?


----------



## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

For a brand, you would want to make transfers instead of printing direct for the following reasons:

1. You want to offer the widest selection of sizes and colors and yet want to maintain a low inventory of blank shirts.

2. Storage space is small or nonexistent. 

3. You're not sure how a particular design will sell.


----------



## gardenhillemb (Oct 29, 2015)

We print our own transfers for things like hats and sleeves. It's easy to do and on sleeves saves the pain of setting up for printing them. Also makes it really easy to do hats.


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

There are a number of ways to slice and dice the options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.


Outsource the printing of your transfers.
The larger the quantity, the lower the price. You need nothing but a heat press and blanks. You carry an inventory of transfers, but they are not committed to a given garment.

Print your own transfers.
Print as few or as many of each design as you want. Requires a full screen printing setup and the skills to use it. You carry an inventory of transfers, but they are not committed to a given garment.

Print your own shirts in batches.
Requires a full screen printing setup and the skills to use it. Is efficient in terms of time/materials, but could leave you with designs printed on sizes/colors/styles that do not sell.

Print your own shirts "on demand."
Requires a full screen printing setup and the skills to use it. Is inefficient of time and materials. You carry no printed inventory.

I use the latter option, though with waterbase, not Plastisol. I print once or twice a week so as to minimize chasing my tail. Still, inevitably, I end up printing a single copy of some designs--which means lots of setup and cleanup and ink washed down the drain for one shirt.

If I had any sense, I would use Plastisol and do a combination of #2 (for slow to moderate sellers) and #4 (for whatever was currently selling well). If I ever figure out how to market effectively, I probably wouldn't be able to keep up using my current method. The hitch is that I really prefer the look and feel of waterbase to Plastisol.


----------

