I'm looking to do something fun for the family, and maybe for other friends as well. Does anyone know what is the most economical & efficient way of printing stuff onto t-shirts? I've seen thermal transfers & stuff like vinyl that are actually heat glued onto the t-shirts. what equipment do I need & how does one get started?

thanks!

 

check out your local printer, trust me iron ons suck, especially after you wash them, they tend to crack...


look to spend at least 8 bucks a T, and depending on how many colors, the more you have, the higher the price.

 

I know you're talking about DIY, but unless you are going to create a lot of stuff, it might be easier / cheaper to outsource it to someplace like cafepress: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/customize/ You can upload your own images to be placed on just about anything.

 

You can use the computer and design your own at home and all it takes is the transfer paper, feeds through the printer. They are just iron on but I've done iron ons that came in National Lampoon that lasted through the Ford adminsitration. Doesn't matter where or who makes my t-shirts they all crack, and it doesn't matter how much I paid for it either.

 

I'd find a local graphics shop, bring them your design, and have the shirts silkscreened. If you can get good t-shirts cheap (say at Target or TJ Max), you'll probably look at $11 per shirt on a 30 shirt order. If you only want, five, the prices would be around $16 - overall, not any worse than buying a printed tee at a retail store.