Custom T-Shirt Info

Get the Custom T-Shirt Price You Need.
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Get the Custom T-Shirt Price You Need.

Go for the price you need as opposed to the price you want. The price you need is what you need to pay to get the specific type of shirt your looking. Promotional t-shirts are a completely different animal than wearable art.

It will be beneficial for you and the printer if you are educated on the basics of screen printing and embroidery on t-shirts. Take a minute or two and read the text below. It will give you an idea of what to keep in mind and what to expect.

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Here are a few tips, guidelines and a bit of rambling.

Quick Jump:

Price Considerations
Creating Your T-Shirt Graphic
Reproducing Your Artwork
Color Matching Considerations
Image Size
Print Size
Copyright Laws
Embroidery Considerations

TPRICE CONSIDERATIONS

Here are a few general guidelines when considering what price you will pay to get a quality t-shirt produced.

A. The t-shirt itself:

…will generally cost more for heavy cotton.
…will generally cost less for 50/50 blend.
…will generally cost more for darker colored t-shirts.
…the more t-shirts you buy, the cheaper they are.

B. The printing:

…will generally cost more as the number of colors in the print increase.
…will generally cost more for prints with fine detail.
…will generally cost more to print on dark colored t-shirts.
…will generally cost more for specialty inks.
…will generally cost more if you want to watch.
…will generally cost more if you want a sample for final approval.
…the size of the print area can affect price.
…the more t-shirts you buy, the cheaper they are.

The cheapest adult quality t-shirt you can buy is generally a white 50/50 Poly/Cotton (sometimes 100% cotton) T-Shirt with a one color print. In quantities of 12 dozen, or more, you should be able to get prices ranging from $3.50 to $5.00.
Artwear may cost more for the printing than the t-shirt. If you want a very high quality t-shirt and print, you may be paying up to $8 or $9. Because the set up of an art print is so costly, you will need to order 100 dozen or more to get a good per shirt price. The price will go up significantly if you want to be there for the first strike-off; and, even more if you want to mix your own colors.

Artwear is not easy to produce but a quality printer will truly create a beautiful line of wearable art worth the effort and worth the cost.

Creating Your T-Shirt Graphic

If you are not an artist you should consider hiring a pro. For a minimal cost you will get a t-shirt you can be proud of. You can post art projects here and get graphic artists that are familiar with screen printing and embroidery bidding on producing it for you.

If you cannot afford a professional artist, consider Clip-Art. You can sift through thousands of designs organized by theme and choose just the right piece of art to use for your t-shirts. The cost is minimal and the selection is huge. To visit a good clip art resource - Click Here

Please note - If you plan on using Clip-Art and marketing the designs for retail sales, you need to make sure you read the Terms and Conditions very carefully and possibly contact the company about your intentions. Clip Art is usually only licensed for one time non-commercial use. You may need special permission to use clip art in commercial products. Most of the clip-art places are very reasonable and you’ll find making an arrangement to license their artwork for the printing and reselling of the artwork over a few years time relatively easy to negotiate. Plus, they may help you sell your shirts if you approach it right and are paying them a royalty.

Reproducing Artwork

It's rare that artwork doesn’t take some manipulation and extra attention to create a nice clean screen print on a t-shirt.

Reproducing artwork on a t-shirt is an art and it can cost a lot to prepare artwork for screen printing. If you have doubts about how easy your artwork will be to print, don’t go too far in to the planning stage of creating the design until you have someone look at the artwork. Do a rough sketch and describe the finished product. Post your project and you can usually get good ball-park figures from a rough idea.

You can also post an artwork project and begin by working with an artist that is familiar with screen printing and embroidery.
Having good artwork camera ready will generally reduce your set up costs.
Sometimes a piece of art will look like it is a single color print on paper; but, to print it on a t-shirt it may take a number of screens using subtle colors to create a quality print.

Color Matching

A photograph can achieve nearly perfect color, a poster can get great color, but a screen printed t-shirt is a rough and irregular substrate that can give you all sorts of headaches if you need to match colors exactly. Prepare yourself for a color shift. - if you want perfection, get ready for a battle and have your checkbook ready.

Image Size

If you are going to upload your artwork to the internet, keep the resolution at 72 dpi and not over 1 meg.

They should be in JPG or GIF format.

When you send your artwork to the printer, you aill want as high a resolution as is feasable. 300 dpi at 12"x12" is generally good.

Print Size

Here is a list of common print sizes:

T-Shirt Chest and Back print size is generally 12” X 12” to 14"x14".
Pocket and Crest print size is generally 3"x3" to 4” X 4”.
Sleeve prints are generally 3” X 3” at the top and 3"x14" top to bottom .
Oversize printing usually requires an additional charge.

Copyright Laws

Be careful about where you get your artwork.

It is illegal to print artwork that you did not create yourself unless you own the copyright or are licensed by the copyright owner. Printers will refuse to print material that they think might be infringing on a copyright. They are, and you are, individually and separately liable for damages. See Bootleggers Policy

Embroidery Considerations

T-Shirts are a knit and working with embroidery takes special care. Although you can get a great embroidered t-shirt it will usually require using a very light design - not too many stiches.

Before you decide on using your design as an embroidery, check with a printer and get an opinion.

One nice effect using embroidery on t-shirts is to print first and then embroider on top of the print. The texture and feel are great plus the ink will help the embroidery hold up better.

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by Bill Broadbent

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Ogre & Company
www.ogreandcompany.com