# White letters on a black shirt



## dolphii (Oct 18, 2015)

Hey guys! I am very new to this place and i must say it is a very nice forum you have here 
I have browsed around but couldn't find the answers for all my questions and for some i just couldn't understand the terminology being used in the answers which brought me here to make my own thread where you can hopefully help me. Thanks in advance! 

I will briefly sum up what tools i have right now, just so you have an idea what i am and am not capable of doing.

http://www.skilteproduktion.dk/semi-automatisk-varmepresser-med-rulleplade.html

http://www.skilteproduktion.dk/ink-jet-transfer-papir-pakke-med-10-ark-a4-215mm-x-279mm.html

http://www.skilteproduktion.dk/opaque-inkjet-transfer-papir-til-sort-mork-tekstil-a3-a4.html

It probably does not make a lot of sense since it is in danish but i believe it is a pretty standard heat press and some opaque and normal transfer paper.
I also have a very standard inkjet color printer and a black/white laser printer in my arsenal.

So now to my question.
My friend and I are very interested in fashion and we like to create our own designs through spreadshirt-like companies as well and we thought, why pay them to do it when we can make it ourselves. We are big supporters of the minimalistic black-shirt-with-white-letters-ish trend going on right now, so for a start we want to make a design like that as well, but i cannot figure out which is the best way to make white letters on a black shirt with this equipment.

As far as i have understood you can buy a vinyl cutter for around the same amount of money as a heat press costs which can then cut the letters for you and you can transfer them using the heat press, is that correct? 

^Since we are not equipped with such machine at the moment we are looking for the best alternative and i thought(well, i browsed ur forum really) and came up with 3 ways:

1. Make the letters a little off-white color so they are actually printable using the inkjet printer, then cut them out as precise as possible and transfer them with the heatpress.

2. Print a black box with the letters in it and print it and then transfer it to the shirt with the black box so you won't have to do any cutting. The black box will be somewhat invisible to my understanding, it is still there on the shirt though.

3. Print a box any other color than white with the white letters in it and cut the letters out so you won't have the black box and won't need to use an off-white color, but you still have to do some cutting though.

I read something about using a website like transferexpress to do the letters for you or something like that or otherwise get a color laser printer with white toner that can do something as well but i couldn't quite understand that. So finally my question is: Can somebody clarify these last 2 options for me and could somebody tell me the best way of doing this when your equipment are as limited as mine, maybe you can recap the up- and downsides for the options mentioned (and for other options, if there exists any).

Very big wall of text, i hope somebody has the time to help me anyway, thanks for listening and thanks in advance  Any help appreciated.

Kind regards Arne E.


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## dolphii (Oct 18, 2015)

Thanks for your fast reply williekid!! I am glad that i have understood most of it already but great tip with the black outline! Also cool with the sites, i checked Stahls and it looks very tangible, my only concern is - Is it perhaps US or high shipping for EU customers? I live in Denmark so if that is the case, it will probably be too expensive a solution for me :-/


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Easiest way to put white letters on a black shirt is to buy a cutter and heat transfer vinyl. It's sold by the roll and you make your design in the cutter's software, then mirror image it so it's looks backwards, and the cutter cuts the design (or letters) into the vinyl. You remove the excess vinyl around your lettering (this is called "weeding") and then put the vinyl side down on to the shirt and press it with a heat press. Done! 😊


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## Ripcord (Sep 2, 2006)

Or for a few bucks you can make a homemade screen press, buy a screen, a quart of emulsion, quart of ink, and a squeegee. Expose the screen in the sun and flash and cure the prints with a heat gun. There will be somewhat of a learning curve but once you get used to it you should be able to do a shirt every five minutes or so. If the shirts are to be sold at retail outlets, the customers will no doubt find hand cut inkjet transfers unacceptable.


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Inkjet transfers are tatt. MDP do a weedless Imageclip White for lasers and it only uses black in the process that might be an idea, I've got some but have yet to give it a go. 
There's some great vinyl out there, my favourite is hotflex from MDP Supplies. cuts and weeds great and washes hot wash. 
Buy yourself a cameo and get creative.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Dekzion said:


> Inkjet transfers are tatt. MDP do a weedless Imageclip White for lasers and it only uses black in the process that might be an idea, I've got some but have yet to give it a go.
> There's some great vinyl out there, my favourite is hotflex from MDP Supplies. cuts and weeds great and washes hot wash.
> Buy yourself a cameo and get creative.


Totally agree! I haven't used laser transfers but I did buy a Cameo on EBay for $200 brand new. I've been working it to death doing heat transfer vinyl as well as Oracal 651 -- and I LOVE the Cameo! Makes doing all this stuff EASY. Has presets for blade depth, etc. it's a no-brainer! And I'm finally able to put white designs on a black shirt! I strongly recommend using vinyl and the Cameo!! EXCELLENT!!! By the way, I've been using Siser Easy Weed and it's worked great. I haven't tried any others -- so maybe you can tell me how HotFlex compares... Thanks! 😊


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

I've had the cameo for about 6 moths now, bought 2 spare blades 3 months ago 'just in case'. Still on blade one!
Love the cameo as it sits there impersonating a laminater haahaa.

I needed a vinyl that would hot wash as I press work tees and hoodies for SME's and they just wanna bung it in the wash.

Started off using easy weed from Xpres which is a 90 wash and tumble. nice to press and is very stretchy and has a sort of slightly rubbery hand to it which is very okay.
But,, when cutting very small detail like cap motifs the blade was having difficulty cutting right into some of the corners because the vinyl is very rubbery and I suppose at the minute detail level the vinyl was shifting on the sheet so the corner didn't quite connect up, not all of the time but annoying when it did and having to use a scalpel to cut the corner out. The backing is also non tack which I wasn't fond of having to tape it in position.
I think, with big bold designs it is the DB's and have it in stock in white and silver.

The hotflex from MDP is now my very much preferred vinyl for what I'm doing at the mo. 
although it has an 80 wash, that should suffice. 
It is slightly thinner on the sheet than easycut and isn't rubbery at all. It weeds very nice and just peels straight off in one move and doesn't break easily when the cut goes back on itself.
it'll cut (with my cameo) down to the finest of hairlines and even circles no bigger than a pin head because it stays still on the backing sheet letting the blade hit the right spot.
The backing is a medium tack and sticks to hoodies very well when lining things up and then transferring to the press. once or twice I've had a small piece start to lift when releasing but have just started the other end and repressed after.
There is virtually no hand with it and it bonds in so well that the weave is usually visible, so I don't think it'll be going anywhere in a hurry! so it's 8/10 for easycut and 9.75/10 for hotflex as far as I'm concerned.


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

Dekzion said:


> I've had the cameo for about 6 moths now, bought 2 spare blades 3 months ago 'just in case'. Still on blade one!
> Love the cameo as it sits there impersonating a laminater haahaa.
> 
> I needed a vinyl that would hot wash as I press work tees and hoodies for SME's and they just wanna bung it in the wash.
> ...


if your blade is having cut issues with vinyl than you need to change it out cause its dull.


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

dolphii said:


> Thanks for your fast reply williekid!! I am glad that i have understood most of it already but great tip with the black outline! Also cool with the sites, i checked Stahls and it looks very tangible, my only concern is - Is it perhaps US or high shipping for EU customers? I live in Denmark so if that is the case, it will probably be too expensive a solution for me :-/


personally I would say stay with outsourcing your work cause what you have is not going to work for a clothing line. like posted above if anything make a homemade silkscreen press and start there. its a very very big learning curve but once you know it you will be ok. Vinyl cutter are limited on what you can make but good at the same time. 

now if you plan on making 100 or more shirts I would suggest silkscreen as weeding 100 shirts will make you soon give up.


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## LucidDavid (Jun 6, 2014)

This sounds like a good case for the Forever Flex Soft. It is no cut, no weed media for use with any laser toner printer. Print complex designs using black toner and transfer as White to your garment.


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