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Tshirt printing methods ?
Now then, i just went to vancouver on holiday, nice place.. saw a tshirt shop in the city centre called bang-on, they have a website i beleive.
They make custom tshirts, and i was looking at the stuff in the shop and it was all very good stuff, but i just couldnt work out how it was done..there is some “cut vinyl” type designs, although very complex and im not sure how they would even begin to “weed” something like that.
The stuff that really caught my eye was the full colour stuff, it was obviously heat pressed on, they do that in the shop, but i wondered how they were created ?
All ive heard of is “dye sublimation” and you need a specific type of tshirt in a specific colour is that right ? these tshirts were 100% cotton and you could choose any colour, or indeed have stuff pressed onto other garments.The quality of the print was really very good, it was some sort of print and cut thing and felt slightly rubbery to the touch, i just wondered if anyone knew what sort of process is involved in making this sort of full colour top quality tshirt graphics ?
what sort of machinery do the use for it ? they seem like a big business so i assume the spent a lot on hardware but if its something affordable i would love to do some with a similar process. -
17 Replies
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have a look at http://www.themagictouch.co.uk They are not the only ones that supply the kit, but the website is very good for an explanation of how its done.
Peter
the uk site also has videos (edit) -
If the designs on the shirts are full-color, it is possible they were printed on an inkjet like the versacamm. I have purchased a roll of the heat transfer print media for the versacamm and WOW. The print is excellent and transfers to the shirt well. However it seems difficult to do anything besides a solid decal that you can just peel and position on the garment (no small separated text). I will post some pictures of some of the shirts I have made with the vcamm. They really do look great, but you cannot dry them with heat, as it will damage the image.
Doyle
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as a matter of fact, the shirt I am wearing in my pic to the left was made with the versacamm, and also has on huge print on the back.
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I have a Epson1290 for sublimation printing and a heat press but still havn’t tried tshirts…… Everytime I look at doing them I get sidetracked with something else
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drogers4 what is the material called ? & what type of ink do you have to use on it ???
I presently use Magictouch’s paper & some other stuff from Xpres, but they are both reliant on Laser copying ( which is always getting chewed up in the copier ) so i’m after another solution to short run transfer printing…
Thanks for any help 🙂
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Doyle, which roll did u order ?
Is the versacamm solvent printer?
How is washing with the shirts, any pealing or fading? -
quote drogers4:However it seems difficult to do anything besides a solid decal that you can just peel and position on the garment (no small separated text). DoyleHey Doyle….
I got some samples at a trade show on saturday, and they were printed on the versa cam…. I was told They used transfer tape to pick up multiple objects and lay them on the shirt – (that were printed and cut)
They said to leave the tape on while pressing them. I think it’s just regular tape, but not sure. I’m sure we can find out.
I plan on doing them wehn i get my printer…Dave….
I made a bunch out of Dark Fabric iron on transfers bought at staples, and printed on my desktop inkjet. A friend of mine and i have been testing those…
If you wash them inside out, and hang dry or dry them inside out on Low heat – They seam to last over a year befroe serious cracking.. prety much like screened shirts. The test we did got washed once a week and never dryed with heat.
I imagine the industrial stuff would be comparible or better -
quote drogers4:However it seems difficult to do anything besides a solid decal that you can just peel and position on the garment (no small separated text).DoyleThe Magic touch are offering a combination of products that enable print and cut with separated elements, I think it is their OBM paper with an application tape. I had a demo at their offices and it worked really well. You have to put the cut print and application tape through a cold laminator. I haven’t used this system myself so please don’t take this as an endorsement. My preferred method of adding separated text is by overlaying cut vinyl over a printed image.
On sublimated garments, I am a great fan of sublimation for most of its applications and use it a lot but I am totally turned off by the usual range of polyester faced garments for sublimating and what they cost. Recently there has been an improvement in the styling of such products and I must admit to being curious about the Vappor Apparel range from The Transfer Press. Notwithstanding this I find a greater range of garment styles available from traditional fabrics which I print using Colour Laser Copier processes. My favourite supplier of garments has a good range of stylish products in a wide range of colours and contrasts, many of them with white as the prime colour. I can also print onto customers own items such as baby wear etc.
I’m rambling now so,
See you dreckly
Andy
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Something I forgot to mention. I have been looking at digital printing direct to garments. It has until now been somewhat limited because of the problems printing onto anything but white. However, I’ve seen at least 2 machines now that include white inks and offer full colour printing on to even black.
If you are interested I saw one of the machines here:
http://www.yesltd.co.uk/html/fast_t-jet.html
There is no mention of the new print on dark facility but I saw the output at a show last weekend.
See you dreckly
Andy
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quote Andy Picton:Something I forgot to mention. I have been looking at digital printing direct to garments. It has until now been somewhat limited because of the problems printing onto anything but white. However, I’ve seen at least 2 machines now that include white inks and offer full colour printing on to even black.
If you are interested I saw one of the machines here:
http://www.yesltd.co.uk/html/fast_t-jet.html
There is no mention of the new print on dark facility but I saw the output at a show last weekend.
See you dreckly
Andy
Looks good, you got a price for one yet??
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i think its about £5k
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Cadlink also do the same or similar, they have a video here, http://www.cadlink.co.uk/systems_t-jet_videos.htm
Just tried the link, , maybe the server is ill at the mo but it did work recentlyPeter
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i actually got a call from cadlink yesterday, they were doing the rounds with this machine giving a free demo at certain locations up and down the country.
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If you want the machine with the ability to print on dark t-shirts, the cost for the machine is around £10k.
I was going to see one, but was told that it isn’t as good as they say it is.
Janine
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I’m going to go down for the Trophex 2006 next weekend and see both types in action for tshirt printing.
My money is on the versacamm for value rather than spending £10k on a machine for tshirts alone
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Hi
when I started, I used to do a lot of sublimation on t shirts – using an epson 1290 and heat press.
The plus sides?
Provided you use good inks, and the correct transfer paper, you can get some really vivid designs – photos are great. They dont fade after washing, and also no peeling/cracking.
The downside?
For standard subli, you can only do white, there are some grey, and pastel colours now, but white is the best.I found some brands of subli tees tend to bobble after only a few washes too.
You can subli on dark using a transfer paper, but the background is white so you have to cut round the design carefully – I rarely use this method.
I would also say, IMO, subli is good for very low volumes, but would be too expensive for large runs.
Martin
PS – my favourite use for subli is mugs 🙂
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quote Martin Forsyth:The downside?
I found some brands of subli tees tend to bobble after only a few washes too.
Yeah I’ve noticed that they bobble after a very few washes 🙁
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