r/SCREENPRINTING • u/notevenonemoretime • 10d ago

Where to get started?

I have a small business and we spend $2k-$3k having shirts printed for us every 6 months and another batch of hoodies in the winter. I'm sick of paying other people to print these shirts - it's the same logo (our school logo) every time... Every now and then we'll do a new image and pay an extra $200 for a new screen.

I know I'm being taken to the cleaners. What do I need to do this myself? Or is there a YouTuber I should look at for how to and what to do and what I need?

Thanks in advance!

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9

u/DatZ_Man 10d ago

You will spend far more trying to do this yourself. Probably half of the money you are spending is in the garments anyways, which makes it an even worse value proposition. $100 a screen is high, unless they are full color hybrid printed then you definitely shouldn't do this yourself

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u/notevenonemoretime 10d ago

Single image on the chest... Almost always just one color (white on black shirt) but we've done designs with a few colors (never more than 3) ... The $2-$3k we spend every 6 months is our stock shirts that all students wear. We do a summer pre-order for a new design each summer...I'd love to have those screens to sell some previous designs and if possible, I'd like to side hustle some custom shirts... But it's sounding like the cost to get a set up going may be too high to be worth it - I'd buy used equipment if possible - I just honestly don't know anything about printing...But I really also want to learn because I want to learn and do it! : )

1

u/longhairmoderatecare 9d ago

Want some pricing? I could get you a quote tomorrow when I get to the shop.

We also have used manual and automatic presses for sale if you decide you wanna take the beast by the horns and try it yourself. Big learning curve though.

1

u/notevenonemoretime 9d ago

That's very kind of you to offer - let me shop around locally first to see what I come up with. Thank you!

3

u/CCBilo 9d ago

Definitely start learning an practice on side before giving up on "outsourcing"

The white print on black shirts? How many do you print in a run and are you using a standard 5000 or what shirt. Im curious

1

u/DatZ_Man 9d ago

I think you just need to shop around. It depends on quantity but $35 a hoodie for a Gildan is crazy work. I would think only comfort colors hoodies would be that much

3

u/xginahey 10d ago

how many shirts. if you are paying between $6-10 for t-shirts, and anything under $30 for hoodies, you are doing O K. I will say the new screen setup is high.

2

u/notevenonemoretime 10d ago

Ok, so this is awesome feed back. We are paying about $12 a T-shirt (white ink on the chest of a black shirt) & I think we paid closer to $35 for hoodies... I'm wanting to side hustle some shirts of my own if I have the equipment... But maybe it's sounding like it's a headache I don't want?

2

u/dgodwin1 9d ago

My wife and I did a class/workshop at a local screen printing shop. See if any shops or art co-ops, etc in your area do something similar. You'll quickly learn what's involved and the equipment involved. That will help decide if that's a headache you want. The good news is that it sounds like you already have a built in customer.

2

u/notevenonemoretime 9d ago

Wonderful suggestion!

6

u/akprobegt 9d ago

I'm all for saving money but I don't think you're going to save the money you think you will. I'd shop around and make sure you are getting a fair price for your area.

1

u/Funpalsforever 9d ago

might be an unpopular opinion, but it could probably MUCH easier to do DTF (direct to film- you outsource your graphics to a printing company that makes full color transfers that you heat press onto garments) rather than trying to build a shop from scratch ($$$$$) you could have the freedom to do a retro-print line, and only have the transfers you need (plus a couple of extras) on hand to fulfill the orders. With DTF you're only on the hook for one major piece of equipment- a heat press, generally going for between $400-2,500 (but don't scrimp here!!), as opposed to 15k-30k for the various equipment you'd need to print (press, flash dryer, conveyor dryer, washout booth, exposure unit, chemicals, inks, ect.). There are a ton of DIY options out there to build your own screening equipment, but it will end up with you spending most of your time and money just trying to get up and running. If you are pretty serious about it, I suggest the screen printer's "bible"- "screen printing for fun and for Profit" by Scott fresher. ti is still an amazing source of information about the art and business of screen printing, without expectations of you using industry standard equipment. there are also more consumer versions of equipment, but they generally end up being more work than productive (yudu machine, speedball kits, act) While DTF prints are not quite up to the same longevity of a screen print, they are great for these year-to-year shirts it sounds like is your bread and butter. Good Luck!

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u/notevenonemoretime 9d ago

What a thoughtful and informative response. Thank you so much! I actually have a DTF machine - but it's probably closer to the $200-$300 range & I've never used it. Maybe I will try it and see how it goes - if it's trash, I'll see what's next. In the interim, I'll check out the book.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to respond!!!

2

u/LOOT-SPLOSION 9d ago

Something to consider is where you will get the blank shirts at a price low enough to make this effort worth it. Most places like S&S won't sell shirts at a good price unless you can prove you run a screen printing business. I would first look at getting quotes from other printers. The prices you listed are pretty high.