Create Your Own T Shirt

T-shirts have become an important icon in our culture. They have allowed self expression to reach the level of an art form. Who isn't familiar with Band shirts and given the recent election, political t-shirts?

With the rise of the internet, buying, selling and creating your own t- shirt has become easier than ever.

New technology such as Direct To Garment(DTG) printers have made it possible for people to have just one t-shirt printed. This gives shirt designers the opportunity to see how their designs looks on a real shirt instead of a mock-up on their computer. And most importantly it won't break the bank. DTG printing is very affordable for doing small quantities or even one ofs.

And that of course has given rise to a new business niche....Internet companies that will print your designs for you, no minimum required. Thus, saving you the choice of either investing in expensive equipment or buying more shirts than you want. Or worst of all, not seeing your design work come to fruition because you cannot afford to have it printed.

All this has made it easier and more exciting than ever to create your own t shirt!

What has this got to do with shirts? Nothing! But it's my page and I can do what I want...lol.I started a new website call Tactical Knife Outfitter. 

It's all about tactical knives made by companies like Gerber, SOG,Cold Steel, Kershaw, Columbia River Tool and Knife to name a few.  So if you are into knives for whatever reason check it out!

Custom T-Shirts - Choosing Between Screen Printing and Digital Printing By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jamal_Jones]Jamal Jones  When buying custom t-shirts, many buyers are unclear on whether to have their shirts screen printed or digital printed. Each method of printing produces a different result on the shirt. This article will explain the advantages and disadvantages of each type of shirt printing, and hopefully help you decide which method is best for you and your customized t-shirts.  One of the main factors in deciding which type of shirt printing to use is the quantity of shirts that are going to be ordered. Digital printing, in general, is more suited towards smaller orders, since there is no minimum quantity - you have the option of ordering just one custom t-shirt. With screen printing, however, ordering a single custom t-shirt is unreasonable because. There are relatively high setup costs involved with screen printing that go away only when many shirts are ordered. On the other hand, the cost of digital printed t-shirt does not decrease very much as the quantity of shirts ordered increases. For example, the cost of digital printing will only decrease by 10 or 20 percent as the number of shirts ordered increases, but screen printing may offer as much as a 50 percent price deduction for higher quantity shirt orders.  Another factor that must be taken into consideration is the color of the t-shirt. When buying light colored t-shirts, such as white or natural colored t-shirts, both digital printing and screen printing are acceptable for your custom t-shirts. However, when ordering darker colored shirts, like blue or black, the digital printing option is eliminated. The ink used in digital printing simply is not strong enough to penetrate through the darker colors of the shirt.  Finally, the print itself must be taken into consideration. Digital printing produces a very colorful print that is not high resolution, but also leaves the t-shirt very soft to the touch. Printing more colors using digital printing will not increase the price of the shirt. Screen printed t-shirts produces a stronger print that can sustain very many uses and countless times in the washing machine.  By choosing the correct printing method, you are one step closer to having your own custom t-shirts.  Jamal Jones is a custom t-shirt printing specialist at http://www.ooshirts.com  To design your own   custom t-shirts please visit our site today.  Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamal_Jones http://EzineArticles.com/?Custom-T-Shirts---Choosing-Between-Screen-Printing-and-Digital-Printing&id=1277682       

I just took my newest blog live.  Funky Shirts World. 

I'll be creating a new Hub soon that will be very similar to the blog.  I'm going to need your help finding the funkiest shirts so be on the look out!!  

Here is another method to create your own t shirt using iron on transfers.  You can by them pre-made at craft stores or make them yourself using your computer, desktop printer and special transfer paper.  Thanks John!

T-Shirt Transfers Tips While the instructions say you need a HOT iron, they mean it. Some of tips and explanations based on people own experience with creating and applying iron-on transfers. Always try to print a preview copy of your image before printing it on the expensive transfer paper. Try to do this to insure that colors print correctly, that your image doesn't fall into your printer's no-print zone along the margins, and to see what size your design will be sometimes the on-screen view can be deceiving. Never forget to flip or mirror your image. It is especially critical if you have text in your design. Related text should be backwards on screen or on the print out. Some other good reason to print a preview copy first. As some programs do this automatically.  Always transfer paper has stripes on the non-printing side. And be sure to put the paper in your printer so that it prints on the clean white side. Every designing artwork remembers that white does not print. All fabrics will be shown through any parts of the design that are white. As, if you print a white ghost on plaid fabric you'll get a plaid ghost. Always plan your design accordingly, as with any desktop publishing project, consider the background color when selecting colors for your designs. Do test your design on scratch fabric before applying it to your final t-shirt or other fabric. As some types of fabric may require more ironing heat than others or may not show off your design as well as you expected.  Try to use your iron's hottest setting but no steam. As it takes a lot of heat to transfer the image evenly and completely to the fabric so peel off the paper while it is still hot. Another reason transfer instructions specify a hard surface is because it holds the heat. While ironing boards tend to disperse the heat and the transfer paper needs to be very hot to work properly.  Ascribable to all of these benefits, inkjet tee shirt printing is common. This printing offers many benefits that no only include saving money, but that also include people being able to create custom designs, be creative, and have fun making printed items using inkjet tee shirt printing. And if you live in Orlando and want to do your own tee shirt printing, or if you prefer to have a local business do it for you, there are a few things you will want to consider and remember. Above first of all, if you want to do tee shirt printing on your own, be certain to have the necessary supplies and tools to do so. We will need a computer, good quality inkjet printer, paper, and of course shirts. We have many different types of transfer paper and you will want to choose the one that is best suited for your needs. As there are several places that offer tee shirt printing in Orlando.  About the Author  John Bush is a professional fashion designer with 10 years of experience in the Custom Printed T shirts design and Screen Printing T Shirts design field.   

If you are a business person in the Buffalo, NY area, plan on attending the networking event sponsored by Buffalo Graphix.  It is planned for the end of March.  No firm date has been set so please check our blog, Buffalo Business Networking, for the latest infomation. 

This is take straight from one of my favorite design websites.  GoMediaZine.com.

This is great advice regardless of what business your are in. 

Check it out!  12 Tips for Flawless Service & Happy Clients 

As always when discussing software of any type there is going to be controversy.   Design software is no different.  There are basically two camps....Adobe (Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator) and Corel.  Both cost a lot of money and are the same but different.  In other words they will both help you create your own t shirt design but in different ways.  Adobe Illustrator(AI) and Corel are vector based and Photoshop is bitmap based.  If you want a more detailed explanation go here. Vector vs Bitmap But which is better?  I'm not sure one is 'better' than the other...just different.  I prefer Corel because that's what I learned first.  I've studied AI and Photoshop and I always go back to Corel.   My suggestion is to download free copies of each and experiment.  Before the trial period is up you'll have a pretty good idea of which one you prefer.  Then you can make an informed decision on where to spend your money.   And speaking of money...are there any free design programs?  Funny you should ask because yes there are.  Gimp.org (bitmap based) and Inkscape.org (Vector based) are both free .  I have no personal experience with either one but a friend of a friend said they are worth checking out.  And they are free...hard to beat that!  So now that you have played around with the software and have basic idea of what each offers and you are ready to buy one or download a freebie...how do I learn this stuff!!!!    Never fear help is here!  Each program comes with tutorials that will give you a great start. Or you can always do a Google search for tutorials on your selected program.  Be prepared to wade through many many pages of search results.  I'm going to recommend a couple of websites that I have used and like.  One strictly for Corel, is AdvancedArtist.  He offers many of free tutorials and sells a number of training packages that are well worth the money.  The other site I highly recommend is Lynda.com.  It is a paid site and they have tutorials for all the major graphic design programs and a whole lot more.    If any of you have comments or ideas please let me know.