How do I start a t shirt business? Well the journey of a million dollar t shirt idea begins with a single idea. Perhaps you have a few ideas rolling around in your head for the next "Have A Nice Day" design. Whatever your motivation for joining the incredibly fun world of t shirt design, welcome!
There is a lot to learn so don't worry about making mistakes.
You've probably been wondering if you should set up a screen printing business in your basement, use heat transfers, or if any of those online Print On Demand (POD) services are worth your time. Well it depends on your end goals. Do you want to market yourself to local schools, clubs, business's, and churches? Would you rather put a few killer designs up that people all over the world can find and purchase? Perhaps a combination of the two?
Let's take a look at screen printing. Screen printing is the method of developing an image on to a screen, most generally a nylon screen nowadays, and then placing ink through the screen on to a t shirt. This is the old school tried and true method that some purists think is the only way to go about making a cool t shirt. Well, it is a great method, but not nearly the only method available. Screen printing can be relatively expensive if you get a 4 color machine with the rotating arms that looks like a partially amputated octopus. You have to also have supplies on hand such as a dryer, ink, screens, and an assortment of different size and color of t shirts. This could set you back around $1500 for up front costs.
How about heat presses? A heat press is a machine that is exactly what its name implies, it is a heater that is pressed on to the shirt and transfers a design to the shirt. The transfer papers are printed, usually by a third party company, and then the ink is heated by the press and transferred in to the fibers of the shirt. This method has come a long way and I believe is the preferred method if you are starting up an at home t shirt business. There is also a new development with transfer paper that allows you to use a standard ink jet printer at home to print your own designs. This can be great to see exactly how your design will look on your shirt. With the price of presses dropping you could get in to this business for as little as $600.
Another method is Direct To Garment (DTG) printing. This is a method of running the actual shirt through a printer which prints the image on to the shirt just as a standard in home ink jet printer would print out a document from your computer. There has been some talk in the design community of the ink drying or clumping up in these machines, but I have seen the work they do and it looks great and feels great on the shirt. This is a higher end option at this time with some printers going for around $25,000. You could get a used on for around $16,000, but it would take a lot of shirts to pay off that large of an investment.
Online printing from companies called Print On Demand (POD) are an increasingly popular option. CafePress, Zazzle, Printfection and many others have started online companies that give you your own storefront to put your designs up for sale. They provide the server space, web site, t shirts and other gifts, shipping, and payment processing. All you have to do is design! The start up cost for CafePress is $60.00 per year for a Premium Shop. If you think you want to branch in to the online world with your designs I would recommend giving CafePress a look. I have used them for the past few years and their service is great and their t shirts look awesome. They are printed with a Direct To Garment printer also, so the feel and quality is top notch.
I know some people who want to dip their toe in to both the online and at home sides of this business, and it's great to be flexible like that. If I were doing that I would go with CafePress for my online option and the heat press method for at home printing. You could capture some local and global business by combining these methods. Later on you might decide to set up your own on line store and focus solely on what you create at home, and that's fine. I would suggest trying out CafePress for your online presence first as it is very low risk compared to purchasing a domain, equipment, designing your website, handling payment and shipping, which can end up consuming time you could spend designing and promoting. There are some great videos and information out there on CafePress to help you get past the learning curve and on your way to getting your designs online. Good Luck!
I am an entrepreneur, teacher, and t shirt designer. I enjoy this business so much that I have combined my passion for teaching and designing to show others how to get their own brand started. I have several articles and videos that can help you begin your journey in the t shirt design business. I am always here to help with special requests or design help so let me know what I can do to assist you. Happy Designing!
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