Starting a small T shirt printing Business at home

metalheadzander

Hi there all i've been trying to find information on the net about t shirt printing and I was wondering if anyone has done some small scale printing in there own home and if it has been financially successful or not.
It's something i've always wanted to do but the problem I have is i've found a niche part of the market, but my question is can you legally print images made by others, not necessarilly copyrighted. For example, an image of a lolcat or a video game character. Any guidance would be most welcome. (sorry if i've spanned this post into the wrong part of the forum )
Regards
Alex

louisa81

Hi I recently started my own t shirt printing company from home.
As far as I'm aware you can't without permission from the image owner but with lolcat type images you could probably get that fairly simply with a few emails and possibly a small donation/percentage- similar to using other peoples fonts.
Video game characters are an entirely different matter and will most likely all be copyrighted. If it's a less popular/niche character that you think could have a cult following then it may be worth contacting the creator/artist.
If you're planning on having an online store I'd be very careful with your copyright issues as you can easily be caught

There are lots of places where yu can buy royalty free images or you could contact artists- either browse for lesser known people online or contact your local art college. Better yet- learn to draw and make your own designs- this is the only way to avoid all the legal issues.

The main problem I think you will have (unless you happen to have bought a DTG Printer- in which case I am full of jealousy!) is that methods of tranferring photo quality images often leave a lot to be desired.
The type of transfer papers available professionally are not really that much better than those available at WH Smith or PC world- they tend to have a heavy hand- meaning they have a plasticy feel, they often crack and fade in the wash extremely quickly.

Not sure how much research you've done so don't want to waffle on at you when you probably know it already!

Best of luck!

metalheadzander

Thanks Louisa, I haven't done any real investing into but my partners an artist and has been studying printing at a nearby college and in the next three years are very hopeful of getting something started as another form of income.
My biggest fear really was getting a distributer of bulk t shirts. Mind if I ask what equipment your using or have used? Including t shirts, transfers (if any) and machinery.
I'm looking mostly in the short term to get started and then use profits to buy machinery for mass jobs if it all goes well. Are there any companys or guides you could recommend me in terms of getting started?
Regards
Alex

HappyMJ

Just a quick suggestion but all my work stuff comes from "Fruit of the Loom" and they provide plain clothing to clothing decorators like yourself.

metalheadzander

HappyMJ wrote: »

Just a quick suggestion but all my work stuff comes from "Fruit of the Loom" and they provide plain clothing to clothing decorators like yourself.

Cheers mate, they seem like the best so far for quality, price and numbers.

louisa81

Hey Alex, sorry forgot about this post a little!

The poster above me would probably be a good place to start if you want to sell t-shirts with graphic art on it (in fact I'm about to PM them myself!)
DTG is about the best method available for t shirt printing at the moment- it's what most of the big t shirts brands use (in fact the sudden influx in recent years of many different funky t shirt brands seems to have come about because of developments in the DTG machinery)

If you want to try for yourself the quality of other transfer methods then two places to look are The Magic Touch (about the most advanced company in the UK for transfer papers) an Prestige Leisure (they are a t-shirt wholesaler- ask for a sample pack of the Jet Pro papers)
Test these out- print your designs, transfer them (some come with iron instructions, though a heat press is always best for a professional and longer lasting finish- but for the sake of experimenting and iron might suffice) then wear and wash them yourself a few times- you'll probably find that the finish is stiff and plasticy and that the designs fade or crack after a few washes.
Then you'll be where I am and PM the guy above probably!

I make more simple t shirts as my days of being able to draw seem to be well and truly over!
I use a cutter/plotter to cut words and logos out of different types of vinyl.
The finish is excellent but it is very limited, this method is mostly used for promotional and hen/stag t shirts but with a little style you can still make some great stuff.

If your partners college allows them access to screen printing material then this is probably your best (cheapest, quickest, easiest) way to start up- design a few simple (probably no more than 2-3 colours) images and print them in bulk!


The best place you can go for advice is the T-shirt forums- google it.
It's a good idea to spend some time (real time- a couple of days) reading though all the information there- these people have mostly all started their own businesses and while they are happy to offer advice remember that they aren't there to hold your hand and start your business for you- search for answers before asking.

Another quick (though less profitable) way to start selling your partners art on t shirts would be through Zazzle, Cafe press (etc etc) there are many services like this where you post up your designs and Zazzle/Cafe Press print them up once a customer has ordered- you then get a percentage of sales- you won't have to invest in any equipment or have your own website (though if you really want to sell you'll need to promote hard through your own channels- blog etc)

Now I am completely waffling! sorry!
Good luck!

metalheadzander

louisa81 wrote: »

Now I am completely waffling! sorry!
Good luck!

Your not at all getting some great info from this, just going to look into prices, many thanks again
Alex

paulwf

As well as thinking about the design and printing for it to be viable you also need a handle on the boring business side of things. As with any startup it is worth checking out the Business Link website and then calling them to book yourself on their free workshops which are available in most areas.

The BL courses will help you decide how to set your prices, factor in all your costs, and think through all the logistics. Many businesses fail because they are good at their craft but don't think about the financial side of things.

I don't know anything about T-shirt printing but I'm sure on paper it is viable, most printed T-shirts seem to retail for £20 and use a £5 plain T-shirt. The difficult part will be to create a market for yourself when there is so much competition around. Companies like Plain Lazy are worth looking at as they have created a great niche for themselves...I think like most companies with a high gross profit margin they spend a good chunk of it on marketing.