Author: adamyukish

Solving Dye-Migration

Dye-Migration has become even more of a nuisance now that performance fabrics have become more popular. Our latest material – Spectra Perform has a Sub Block that will perform even better than the options available when I first published this post. The Spectra Perform Sub Block features a charcoal adhesive that aids the dye blocking and four-way stretch capability. It is also a lighter weight material with a silky smooth hand.

Heat Press Ed. 101

Dye-Migration is dye from a sublimated fabric bleeding through and dyeing a heat transferred design. Since Polyester is the only fabric that is gets its color from the sublimation process, it’s the only fabric that you’ll see migrate. Dye-Migration should not be confused with opacity. In the world of garment decoration, opacity refers to a heat transfer blocking out the color of the dark garment where as migration is the dye of the fabric coming through and becoming a part of the transfer.

So how do you solve Dye-Migration? Simply by using the right product. Standard heat transfers may not block migration. If you run in to an angry polyester that doesn’t like being transferred on to, you can use the Solutions Sub-Block for a full color printable fabric or Spectra Sub-Stop for single color vinyl cut transfer. Both products are available from Imprintables Warehouse and from me by requesting…

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How to Create a Custom T-shirt Business

I’m fortunate to work in an industry with very little barrier to entry.  I’m also fortunate to work for a company that has taken the time and devoted the resources to making it as easy as possible to make those barriers even more insignificant.  Many entrepreneurs are drawn to our industry because the start-up costs can be under 1k.

Here’s what you need:

The steps are simple.  After you purchase your vinyl cutter and heat press, you can register a FREE account on CadWorx Live.  Login to CadWorx and find a design.  You have thousands of pieces of Clip art to choose from and hundreds of different templates!  Customize the design with your own text and send the design to your Clipper vinyl cutter.  The Clipper will cut out your design in the Heat Transfer Material of your choice.  Once it’s done cutting and you’ve weeded away the excess material, take the design to your Heat Press and heat apply to your T-shirt!

What makes my industry great is that it is as much fun to make custom shirts for yourself, friends, and family as it is to sell them to your customers!  For under 1k, you can either have a fun hobby (and probably less expensive than my wife’s hobby of shoe collecting) or a legit, profitable business!

How to Price Your Heat Transfer and Sign Jobs

Fair pricing is very tough in our industry.  Competition is fierce!  Shops range from a spare bedroom, to a brick and mortar storefront to a tens of thousands of square foot production facility.  Obviously not everyone will be able to offer the same prices.

Pricing your jobs should be done on a regional basis, not national.  However, people from all over the US and beyond will be reading this article, so it’s difficult for me to be able to recommend pricing and have it be applicable to everyone.  As that is the case, the best i can do is give baseline recommendations.  You will have to work to establish pricing that your local market is willing to pay!  That price may be higher or lower than the pricing I have below.

The recommended pricing I will provide is for a Single Color Shirt (Cadcut), a Digital Shirt (Solvent / Eco-Solvent Print/Cut, DTG), Banner and general Decal.  Single color and Digital Shirt pricing is based on a 4×4 left chest and a full back print.  I’m also included a $3 base garment cost.  Banner is priced per square foot and is fully finished, including Grommets and Hem Tape.  Decal pricing is also priced per square foot and is unlaminated.

Single Color – $12.80

Digital Shirt – $14.73

Banner – $6.30 / sq ft

Decal – $9.27 / sq ft

This recommended pricing is from a national survey we did for our Ultimate Pricing Calculator.  Our Pricing Calculator is a free tool we created to help our customer determine their actual costs and to help calculate profitability of various jobs.

How does this pricing look to you??